The EWEB Riverfront Master Plan was completed between May 2009-June 2010. The project's first three months were dedicated to the collection of background material, existing conditions research, community member interviews and focus groups. During this time, the design team also worked intensively with the Community Advisory Team to develop the master plan's Guiding Principles, potential use scenarios, and preliminary project parameters. The design phase began after a first public meeting to gather community input and following an AIA-supported design charrette. Three distinct Design Options that met the project's Guiding Principles were presented to the public in November 2009. Following this event, public input on the designs was gathered for four months. In March 2010, a single design option developed with CAT direction and public input was presented to the community. Following the completion of an ecological analysis, design guidelines and additional refinements, a single refined design was presented to the public in May 2010.
After receiving the Community Advisory Team's approval, the EWEB Board of Commissioners unanimously approved the master plan on June 1, 2010.
PUBLIC EVENTS + DESIGN CHARRETTE
Four large public events and a design charrette were held to gather public input on the riverfront property and master planning process. The first of these events was Wednesday, September 30, 2009 at the EWEB North Building (500 E. 4th Avenue) from 6:00-8:30pm. More than 140 members of the community joined the Community Advisory Team, EWEB staff and Rowell Brokaw Architects for site tours of the EWEB property and both small- and large-group discussions about possible futures for the riverfront site. Download Public Event #1 Summary.
An AIA-supported Design Charrette was also held on Saturday, October 3, 2009. Rowell Brokaw Architects prepared materials for and coordinated this charrette as a pro bono service to the community. More than 80 members of the professional design community, public at large, and Community Advisory Team participated in the event, which was held at EWEB. Following early-morning site tours and a brief presentation, participants worked in round-table groups of 5-9 to generate a master plan framework. Each team reported their proposal back to the group with the aid of a "real-time" PowerPoint presentation composed of digital photographs from each group's design. Overarching recommendations and recurring themes generated from this day-long event were reported back to the Community Advisory Team and helped to inform the development of different design options.
The next major public event was held on Tuesday, November 10, 2009 from 6:00-8:30pm at EWEB, and nearly 250 members of the community attended. Using the feedback gathered on September 30, at the AIA Design Charrette, and from the design team's work with the CAT, Rowell Brokaw Architects presented a series of design options for the redevelopment of the downtown riverfront site. The feedback gathered on November 10 helped identify which design elements from each of the design options should be incorporated into a single design option. Download Public Event #2 Summary.
The master plan's third public event was held on March 3, 2010 from 7:00-8:30pm at the Hilton. A "rough draft" of the master plan's framework was presented to a crowd of nearly 300 people. Input and comments from this event helped to refine and develop the single design option. Download Public Event #3 Summary.
The fourth and final public event for the EWEB Riverfront Master Plan was held on May 12, from 5:00-7:00pm, on the EWEB Operations Yard in an area normally closed to the public. Site tours to orient community members to the proposed design, presentation boards overviewing areas of the master plan in greater detail, opportunities for feedback, activities for children, and a formal thank-you to the Community Advisory Team were among the evening's activities. Download Public Event #4 Summary.