Comments on: Real Urbanism: What Should Be Done With Flatiron Park Downtown?

By: Urban Dreamscaping: The Flatiron Community Garden | AltDaily : Creating and celebrating local culture in Norfolk and all of Hampton Roads.

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 16:17:14 +0000

[...] felt like it formed itself as it folded in the layers of the site and the surrounding context (see the first article for more detail on this).We began at the macro scale, zoomed out to the equivalent of an aerial view of the Park. The [...]

By: JAson

JAson — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 02:44:55 +0000

Please take a photographer that can shoot in low-light situations. I think HT is the only one that can get a decent shot once the sun has descended.

By: Chris Malendoski

Chris Malendoski — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:09:45 +0000

Way to think out of the box, guys. Great ideas!

Chris
Norfolk, VA

By: Manecdote

Manecdote — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:40:01 +0000

How do you reclaim the city�s streets �or forgotten public spaces- for pedestrian use in a way that is flexible, inexpensive and contextually appropriate to the site in question?
Seems to me we may have a great opportunity here to explore the ways in which space is reclaimed; we must rely on neighborhood-specific solutions that enhance the existing use of that little space and enable new uses.

UrbanRae: A few of us created this group a couple of months ago (check out re:vision Norfolk, and thanks for the tip. I am an architect and a planner and it frustrates me a lot the lack of support from the city on this…But I am putting my thinking cap and will contact some people at city hall and planning, maybe get some support from them…

We could have a great opportunity here to create a sharable space with the contextual appropriateness that works for easy reconfiguration and everybody would benefit.

By: Thom White

Thom White — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:49:21 +0000

Great comments, all – very, very helpful.

Grant, thanks for the encouragement! We are going to have a follow-up meeting soon to advance some concepts and to discuss strategies for digging deeper into the realities of the site. I’ll post here in the comments the time/date/location – it would be great if you could join us. If you send me a message at thomwhite@gmail.com, I’ll include you in the correspondence that I send out about the project.

Ned, nice to meet you! I should have mentioned your building in the article – it is definitely a gem, in my opinion, with its monumental entrance & stone facade. You most definitely would add value to our discussions. As I told Grant above, check back here for more info, or send me a message. thanks!

wspeid, I spoke to Ann prior to our “sidewalk charrette” and she graciously shared historical information about the site with us, as well as images of her proposal. She was unfortunately unable to join us for the first session, but will hopefully be able to for the next.

UrbanRae, thanks for the insight into the zoning. As we go into the next phase of our work, this is of course a critical factor to our analysis. Regarding the ‘locals’, the majority of folks that participated, including myself, are members of the group “Re:vision Norfolk”. (For more info, see the article “New Vision for Norfolk” in the News Section of http://www.veermag.com.). We selected Flatiron Park because of its excellent context and apparent state of limbo.

By: UrbanRae

UrbanRae — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:14:15 +0000

I’m curious about the group who conducted/participated this ‘locals’ mini-charrette. How did you all get together to discuss the future of this parcel?

Also, although the City owns the property, has owned it since 1991, have you considered that this parcel isn’t a park at all? It’s zoned D-3, a sort of all-encompassing Downtown District zoning that does not include parks or open space. So, in the eyes of the City, this is developable land, not a park at all and it’s a misnomer to describe it as such. The first step would probably be to somehow get it rezoned to reflect it’s preferred status as a park. Until then, it’s open season and the City is free to consider for the land any development opportunities it sees fit.

By: wspeid

wspeid — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:07:48 +0000

A park design was created by Ann P. Stokes Landscape Architects, whose office almost overlooks the space, and was submitted to the city. You might start by asking the city council to implement that vision.

By: m.

m. — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:07:38 +0000

I remember seeing that on the side of The Boot & wondering what it meant..

By: Ned Lilly

Ned Lilly — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:12:12 +0000

As the owner/occupant of the little two-story building that sits between AT&T and the Granby Pit (it was formerly the Bute St. branch of the Southern Bank of Norfolk, now it holds the software company xTuple), we’d love to be involved in any of these conversations if we can add any value.

Cheers,
Ned

–
Ned Lilly
President and CEO
xTuple
119 West York Street
Norfolk, VA 23510
tel. 757.461.3022 x101
email: ned@xtuple.com
http://www.xtuple.com

By: Grant

Grant — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:04:30 +0000

Location, location, location. Potential, potential, potential.

About two years ago the Downtown 100 had a “clean the spot” for Flatiron Park. For hours we trimmed trees, raked mulch and the like. The whole time, grooming the mediocrity, I had to wonder whether our efforts weren’t completely misguided. There’s a place for maintaining the status quo, but a young professionals group shouldn’t be the ones in charge of it.

So sign me up, Thom. Any one of the aforementioned brainstorms gets my vote. Particularly intriguing are the ideas that bend logic, question reason, and slap conventional wisdom on its heiny. As you and others continue to iron out (ha!) the possibilities, I encourage you to aim high and aim weird. Such a space should set the benchmark, not settle.