1. Town Center Tour
February 20, 2015
DRAFT

2. Overview Apartment Projects Retail Public Amenities Sidewalk Amenities
Debris
Access & Community Feel
Parking
Retail
Public Amenities
Sidewalk Amenities
Summary

3. APARTMENT PROJECT DEBRIS
Trash and debris is evident on Apartment Project’s decks. Boxes, garbage, and recreation equipment are stored on patios. There also appears to be a significant amount of transition in/out of the buildings
Public Amenities are not very practical, are hidden, or may even be obstacles (note art behind truck)

4. Project’s accessibility & community feel (or lack thereof)
Large locked iron gates – no sense of community
Urban crevices and cement stairwells
Poorly designed open space (if any)
No plazas or enticement to walk in the projects

5. Retail
New ground floor retail seems to target service industries vs. retail. Banks, Doctor Offices, Nail Spas, Workout Facilities, etc. makeup a large portion of the street/sidewalk facing storefronts.
Comments on Nextdoor and from other areas of the community would prefer more dining options, better designed storefronts for shops, and a more village like feel. This does not mean the services mentioned above aren’t appreciated but many would like them to be embedded in the buildings, or perhaps even on the 2nd floor, to open up more ground floor retail.
Logic suggests, as well as voiced opinions, if there is enough business on the island to support 7 Coffee Shops and various duplicative service industries on the Northend, then increased density won’t necessarily increase revenue. A better designed town center would achieve the goals of the community and stimulate small businesses.

6. Retailers are trying to generate additional revenue they can by setting up seats on sidewalks and utilizing sandwich boards to advertise. In addition, benches are also placed on the sidewalks. The unintended consequence is the few “widened” and “walker friendly” sidewalks are no longer wide and are filled with obstacles.
Note reduced path

7. The only example of a successful business that meets the criteria of the 1994 visioning process appears to be the Lodgelike/Village Like Starbucks which seems to be very successful. It is interesting to observe what the Town Center could look like as compared to how it has been framed in by recent projects.

8. Are these the mid-block connectors the community desired and the visionairies expected?

9. I’ve been told this is the site of a newly proposed 100 unit complex of apartments.
What can our streets handle? This is the street that runs parallel with the newly proposed Hines Development. The developers have alleged they will be working to put in a Whole Foods. How much will traffic increase? How will the increased density impact schools? How will it impact the goals of a more walker friendly community?

10. These benches are placed throughout the city
These benches are placed throughout the city. They are dirty and right on the traffic line. In some cases they placed within a foot or two of billboards advertising Apartment Project Vacancies.
Assuming the benches are ever used, they are not protected by bollards and if a car jumps the curb it could result in significant injuries. With increases in traffic, so do accidents.

11. Did you know this means public parking is available?
Signs and thoroughfares
This is what I call the “Mercer Island Wall” separating QFC from Baskin and Robbins.

12. Unless the Council/City takes a timeout, the Island Town Center will inevitably continue to replicate existing and current projects. The whole town center will eventually look like the scene below as developers plan their massing studies. In addition, there are other consequences that either need to be mitigated or planned for related to our schools, services, roads, and public support services (ex. fire/police).