Capitol Park is poised to transition into a fully-utilized mixed-use district. There are some integral ingredients in place: the restoration of the Book-Cadillac is underway, construction of the Griswold ~ Capitol Park condominiums is imminent and its historic building stock is remarkably intact.
While the district currently serves as DDOT's site for transfer operations, the completion of the Rosa Parks Transit Terminal is estimated to be December of 2008, at which time that use will cease. The Downtown Development Authority is utilizing this window of opportunity to institute a comprehensive investment strategy for the district. DDA project manager Olga Savic says that the agency is asking the question: "What do we want this district to be?"
To get started, the DDA has contracted with Katherine Beebe and Associates to undertake the following tasks over the next few months:
- evaluate the district's residential and commercial potential;
- make specific recommendations for the use of each of the approximately 20 buildings in the district, which is bounded by Woodward and Michigan Avenues, Clifford Street and Washington Boulevard;
- craft a schematic design for public space and streetscape improvements as well as the improvement of the district's connections to Woodward, Washington and Michigan; and
- develop a strategy to address the district's social issues.
The DDA hopes to begin work on the park at the center of the district as soon as the Transit Center is complete. MSHDA has committed $200,000 for the park but, depending on the recommendations of the study, Savic explains that further fund-raising may be necessary. She says, "It could be as simple as lights and plantings and sidewalk repair or it could be something more dramatic than that. There could even be a use of the park as a public space that activates first floor storefronts, maybe more green, maybe an extension of a café."
The DDA also hopes to determine what economic benefits would accrue to the city if the district were fully utilized.
Source: Olga Savic, DDA
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh