WILLMAR -- The Willmar Design Center will begin a preliminary study of the concept of creating a downtown commons area on Becker Avenue Southwest between Fourth Street and Sixth Street.
The concept will be studied by the Design Center's urban planner, Adam Arvidson, a Design Center contract employee who is a landscape architect in Minneapolis.
Development of a downtown commons is one of the Design Center's four strategic actions. Those actions are based on suggestions made by community members during meetings with the Minnesota Design Team two years ago, according to Beverly Dougherty, Design Center project coordinator.
"What the community told us ... is that we need a community gathering place, which usually is called a downtown commons,'' Dougherty said.
The Design Center had considered Block 50, which is the city-owned parking lot south of Bethel Lutheran Church, as the site for a public commons because the block is in the middle of downtown.
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However, Dougherty said a parking study was undertaken and the determination was made that the block cannot be taken for a commons until other parking is made available.
Until Block 50 becomes available, the Design Center will focus on the concept of establishing a plaza along a two-block area of Becker Avenue from Fourth to Sixth streets, with wider sidewalks, public art, gathering spaces and a place where the street could be closed for public events.
Dougherty said Becker Market has been successfully operating for a few hours every Thursday afternoon on a closed portion of Becker Avenue between Fourth and Fifth streets. She said closing Becker Avenue for the market has not been an issue.
"I think that the people on the street are very happy with the results of bringing a lot of people into the area,'' she said. "We'll work with city government because they own the sidewalks and the street and property owners.''
Arvidson be shooting photos, preparing sketches, taking measurements and preparing preliminary designs during the remainder of September.
In October, Arvidson will meet with the Design Center's Downtown Commons Committee. Also, he'll meet with city officials, adjacent property owners and possibly Becker Market vendors.
"All of this will help determine exactly what the commons should be and how it will be used,'' wrote Arvidson in a letter to the Design Center Board. The board discussed the project at its monthly meeting Wednesday morning.
Arvidson will present concepts in November or December, prepare a general cost estimate and brainstorm possible funding possibilities.
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"I expect the implementation discussion will be ongoing, but if we work hard through the winter and identify fast-track funding sources, we may be able to implement some improvements by the spring of 2008,'' Arvidson wrote.
