Castleberry Hill

Meeting Notes - Parkland April 2000

Planning discussion

MEETING MINUTES

Meeting Date: 04/06/00

Participants: Bruce Gallman
Jerry Hoy
David Butler
Chad (Southern Tech Architectural Student)
Joel (Southern Tech Architectural Student)
? (Southern Tech Architectural Student)

Prepared by: David Butler

Subject: Planning Discussion for 10 acre Norfolk Southern site in Castleberry Hill.

The purpose of the meeting was to provide the students with background information they would use to conduct a site-planning exercise for a school project

The following items were discussed:
Previous ideas were presented including:
1. Making Peters Street an interesting walking area with shops, wider sidewalks, and diagonal parking down one side.
2. Developing a linear park along the railway
3. Preserving a stables for the carriage operators which would serve the neighborhood as well as downtown.
4. A gateway near the Peters Street Bridge.
5. Some Neighborhood park land on the site.
6. Land swap with U-haul to replace parking lot with building along Peters.
7. Neighborhood CDC owning procuring and maintaining parkland to the developer’s benefit.

Mr. Gallman stated that he had an agreement to purchase the 10 acre site from Norfolk Southern pending the results of their survey efforts, and another agreement with Beazer Homes which would have them developing the triangular portion north of Castleberry Street. (The triangular portion would be across from Beazer’s soon to be constructed Live/Work units at Haynes and Peters.) Due to the complexity of establishing a boundary survey, the deal could take up to a year to finalize.

He said the offering price for the Norfolk Southern building on Spring was $47.50 per square foot making it impossible in his view to develop lofts.

He presented his live work units on Peters north of Fair. The 24x32’ buildings made a continuous frontage at the street with parking behind. The ground floor was laid out for potential street front retail.

The students presented a preliminary site plan that showed several long multi-family units laid out to take advantage of the views from internal corridors.

Gallman stated he saw the site primarily as residential or residential and retail.

Butler proposed taking the 24x32 unit, as a preliminary exercise, and combining them in a footprint of about the size of the multifamily unit, then drafting it on the 10 acre site. There might be room for a street with diagonal parking, sidewalks, street trees and views to the skyline between a continuous frontage of individually owned units, and access alleys to the rear of the units. He stated the linear park might pass under Peters and join Mangum.

Gallman stated the DOT has leased land under bridges before, and that a road might also pass beneath Peters. There could be cut throughs at Joiner, Castleberry, and Fair terminating in parks at or near the linear park. He also stated that instead of a street there might be a green between the buildings, which could be a place for outdoor cafes and recreation.

Hoy stated the need for parking for future retail on Peters.

Butler said the potential retail square footage along Peters could be calculated and a parking factor of 1 car per 300 square feet applied to evaluate a site plan.

Gallman said the development could be built on a parking deck as the ground slopes down from Peters, but it might not be economically feasible.

Butler stated it would be a good project for the DOT to consider in lieu of the Techwood Extension.

Galman stated tax allocation districts could be helpful too.

Butler stated the West Side District was approved to Fair Street which includes part of the site.

Gallman summarized the deal as follows:

-An agreement with the railroad to purchase land.
-An agreement with Beazer for their portion
-An agreement with U-haul to give them parking other than the Peters frontage.
-An agreement with other building owners to extend the linear park behind their buildings.
-An agreement with the neighborhood to include:
1. Location of parkland
2. Size of parkland
3. Nature of easements for developer utilities, etc.
4. Sale price of parkland to neighborhood
5. Park maintainence details

Gallman stated that the idea of having a neighborhood entity police and maintain parks was a good one

The group agreed to convene in several weeks to evaluate site plans.

These are the meeting notes of this date. Project actions will be based on these notes. Please contact the writer immediately if your notes do not concur.
C:\Projects\98008\Minutes\4-06-00GallmanTech1.doc
Copy: Michael Dobbins
Garnett Brown
CHNA