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Mayor's Urban Design Awards 2007
Project Owner:
River Park Properties
Submitted by: Wheatland Bank
Project Team: Land Expressions,
River Park Properties, City of Spokane
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Project
Description
Location
South side of Spokane Falls Boulevard between Howard
and Wall (Spokane, WA)
Completion Date
April 2006
Purpose
of the Project
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To
enhance and complement the gateway to Spokane’s number one tourist
attraction, Riverfront Park, and its newly designed fountain.
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To
address the safety issues such as buckling sidewalks, root damage
caused by cement vaults, poor visibility and drug and criminal
activity.
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To
add to the revitalization consistent with the downtown Spokane
renaissance.
Context
When a
local business took residence in the ground floor of the building
located at N 222 Wall, a key component of improvement being made to the
building was the refurbishment of the Spokane Falls Boulevard entrance.
The five existing mature London Plane (sycamore) trees, planted like
dozens of other street trees in Spokane for EXPO ’74 were pruned. The
plaza’s fountain and surrounding paved surface were evaluated. As the
project progressed, many problems were identified and a decision was
made to remove the trees, which had damaged root balls due to the cement
vaults in which they were planted, to remove the non-functioning water
fountains to add pedestrian-friendly space which would aesthetically
complement the newly renovated entrance to Riverfront Park along with
the revitalization going on throughout the downtown core.
Working in
conjunction with three parties consisting of the City, the building
owners and the anchor tenant, a new plan was put into place to redesign
the landscape at the entrance to Spokane’s most prized natural resource,
Riverfront Park. The plan included eliminating the non-functioning water
features, removing root damaged trees in favor of Turkish filberts,
improving safety by increasing visibility and lowering criminal activity
through the construction of aesthetically pleasing architectural
planters, walls and walkways.
Improving Spokane’s Quality of Life
Citizens
of Spokane, visitors to the Riverfront Park area and tenants of the
building alike have benefited from the planting of the Turkish filbert
trees in place of the London Planes previously held up inside tree
vaults.
As a
result of the project, Spokane Mayor Dennis Hession proclaimed the
Turkish filbert as Spokane's tree of the year for 2006, suitable for
planting near buildings and streets because it is medium size. It grows
to 35 to 50 feet and is tolerant of drought and alkaline soils,
conditions typical of the Spokane area.
This
proclamation unto itself illustrates the trend-setting nature of this
project, enhancing our region’s character, beautifying the heart of the
city and bringing together public and private entities to achieve
results for the benefit of the entire community. Additional benefits
include increased visibility which in turn creates a safer and more
secure environment, better mobility of people through the pedestrian
corridor, decreased maintenance costs to the city and nearly $200,000 of
improvements to City property. |
