350 N Saint Paul St. Dallas, TX 75201
P 214.969.5599
THE TEAM 8 STREET CORRIDOR REVITALIZATION
A pro bono project of HKS Architect at the Dallas Office Cooperator: Dallas City Design Studio bcWorkshop 2000RosesFoundation Urban Strategic Solutions BPP Investments Matthew Southwest City of Dallas Global Payne Solutions The Bottom Group MSCapital, LLC HKS Team: Yogesh Patil Leonardo Gonzalez Jay Taylor Yao Lin The mission of HKS is to enhance the human experience HKS works to address issues of community development, design, planning, affordable housing and civic projects that meet the goals and visions of partners Contact: Yogesh Patil HKS Inc. 350 N Saint Paul St, Ste 100. Dallas, TX 75201 P 214.969.5599 ypatil@hksinc.com @2013
CONTEXT ANALYSIS
CONTEXT CITY CONTEXT 5 MILE RADIUS SITE CONTEXT SITE BOUNDARIES POPULATION & INCOME EDUCATION ANALYSIS LANDUSE COMPARISION
GREEN SPACE CIRCULATION
09 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25
35 37
49 SIDEWALK ANALYSIS
41 TRANSIT ANALYSIS
39 LAND DEVELOPMENT
FOREWORD
07
VISION DESIGN
5 YEAR DESIGN 10 YEAR DESIGN 15 YEAR DESIGN STREET SECTION SHOW HILL EASEMENT TRAIL GRADE CHANGE PLAZA
68 70 72 74 76 78 80 82
85 CONCLUSION
DESIGN
67
63 BLOCKS
59 GREEN SPACES
55 CORRIDOR
53 VISION
CONTENTS
FOREWORD
Throughout the time spent analyzing the area’s existing conditions, assets and challenges, there is a common thread that continues to emerge as both the biggest challenge and the underlying response for a significant improvement to the 8th Street Corridor connectivity. Absent any inherence in actual private development, as planners we must focus on those things which we can affect in order to promote change from within the neighborhood. The area surrounding this 8th Street Corridor exists disconnected from itself, creating pockets of unrelated activity that are completely segregated from each other. Some of these barriers are physical, such as the dramatic change in elevation from 8th street down to The Bottom neighborhood. Others are manmade, such as the harsh, desolate asphalt environment that is currently 8th Street. The combination has left residents disconnected and land values low due to lack of desirability. However, banking on its assets (i.e. community, views, topography
and location) this neighborhood could be a thriving community full of energy and activity. In this exercise, we try to focus our efforts in identifying such strategies to create an infrastructure and framework plan that sets a benchmark for the future. Rather than establishing an idealistic design of private land that is out of our control, we attempt to direct the flow of human activity to promote growth and re-vitalization, allowing private development to follow the lead. While much work remains to be done, this exercise hopes to establish a strong vision for the area’s evolution and re-vitalization.
CONTEXT
SCALE / DEMOGRAPHICS
CITY CONTEXT DALLAS / FT. WORTH / DENTON
Regional relationships between the largest metropolitan areas as related to transportation show that the 8th street corridor site has immediate access to a vast network of connectivity.
11
5 MILE RADIUS DOWNTOWN AREA
In the immediate vicinity of downtown Dallas, several neighborhoods have historically emerged as a support system surrounding the downtown area. Now more than ever these neighborhoods are becoming symbiotic, strengthening the physical and economic relationships between each other. Because of its proximity to this network, the 8th Street Corridor emerges as a natural progression of the pattern of redevelopment in the area.
13
8TH STREET
SITE CONTEXT
SURROUNDING AREA
A closer look at the 8th Street Corridor identifies potential neighborhood assets which provide a natural springboard to a re-development strategy. The corridor is book-ended by DISD’s Townview Magnet Center on its east end and by DART’s 8th & Corinth Street Station on the west. At the midpoint of this stretch is the natural topographic high point of the site, which yields great views across the Trinity River back towards downtown.
15
THE BOTTOM
SITE BOUNDARY
SITE CONTEXT
OVERLAPPING BOUNDARIES
Our site boundary overlaps with the area known as “The Bottom�. Even though both areas overlap we are not proposing changing The Bottom. The focus of this study is the revitalization of the 8th street corridor. Our site area and The Bottom both share 8th street. Most of the design and vision within this study pertains to the area south of 8th street.
17
POPULATION
POPULATION: 15,721 AREA SIZE: 5.1 SQUARE MILES DENSITY: 3,973 PEOPLE PER SQUARE MILE
INCOME
MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME
PERCENTAGE OF POPULATION FALLING BELOW POVERTY LINE 8TH STREET AREA 36.5% DALLAS 23% TEXAS 17% UNITED STATES 14.3% 19
5%
PERCENTAGE OF POPULATION WITH HIGH SCHOOL DEGREE BY RACE HISPANIC BLACK WHITE OTHER
54% 40% 5% 1%
RACE 54%
40%
EDUCATION PERCENTAGE OF POPULATION WITH HIGH SCHOOL DEGREE OR HIGHER
8TH STREET AREA: 47.1% 21
ANALYSIS CULTURE / ECOLOGY / DEVELOPMENT
E 8th Street Single family Multi-family
LAND USE
SINGLE FAMILY : MULTI FAMILY
An assessment of the land use around the 8th street corridor showed a low density of housing compared to the rest of Dallas. This low density provides an opportunity to increase the single family and multifamily housing as well as mixed used spaces in the surrounding vacant lots which could be a strong catalyst for urban growth.
HOUSING DENSITY BISHOP ARTS DISTRICT
HOUSING DENSITY 8TH STREET
25
E 8th Street Retail Office Industry
LAND USE
RETAIL : OFFICE : INDUSTRY
The assessment also shows that there is a lack of commercial services along the corridor, which typically is a hurdle for increasing population density. This lack of retail and commercial space provides a great development opportunity, which in conjunction with the DART Station can become a re-vitalization catalyst for the area. A new supply of services (i.e. a coop grocery store, community credit union) would in turn support greater residential density, leading to a flourishing, dynamic and vibrant community.
RETAIL DENSITY JEFFERSON BLVD
RETAIL DENSITY 8TH STREET
27
E 8th Street Institutional
LAND USE
INSTITUTIONAL
DISD’s Townveiw Magnet Center lies as the front door to the 8th Street Corridor area on the east. Its mission is to provide an educational experience that empowers highly capable students to interact with their intellectual peers in academic, creative, aesthetic and social endeavors in order to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow. As such, the neighborhood has a great opportunity to take advantage of this asset. A greater interaction between the school and the surrounding community could be fostered to provide much needed support for the residents of the area. Additionally, the former N.W. Harlee Elementary School building across the street for Townview, represents a great opportunity for re-purposing into a new use which could support intellectual and artistic growth for the area’s residents.
29
E 8th Street Vacant Land
LAND USE
PARK LAND / VACANT LAND
The land assessment shows that the 8th Street Corridor and vicinity suffer from a lack of dedicated park land which is a necessary amenity in a thriving community. In contrast, it has vast areas of undeveloped private land, much of it fenced off and unkempt. As an asset on a larger scale, this open space can be capitalized through development to provide public/ private amenities that can take any number of shapes and uses. Providing a weaved pattern of connectivity through lawns, pocket parks, trails, plazas, pedestrian walkways, playgrounds and parks along private development, will afford the community a greater chance of thriving as a whole.
PARKS: UPTOWN
PARKS: 8TH STREET
31
E 8th Street
Street pattern
LAND PATTERN
STREET PATTERN
An analysis of the street pattern surrounding the 8th Street Corridor shows a disjoined grid with little rhythm and poor connectivity. When compared to nearby Kings Highway, the broken pattern is more evident and highlights some of the hurdles that residents face when trying to move through the neighborhood. Poor connectivity leads to undesirable land based on lack of access and potential crime hot spots from desolation. Re-structuring the grid to increase pedestrian and vehicular circulation through the neighborhood will have a dramatic effect on the area and its future development and growth.
STREET PATTERN : KING HWY
STREET PATTERN : 8TH STREET
33
VACANT LAND
GREEN SPACE
PARKS / TRAILS / OPEN SPACE
35
OWNERSHIP PRIVATE PARCEL PUBLIC PARCEL
DALLAS ISD COFFEY SUE FAIR BISHOP CORWIN PROPERTIES LLC. BIG D INVESTMENTS BISHOP ENGINE PARTS INC. DALLAS AREA RAPID TRANSIT TEXAS UTILITIES ELEC CO.
PARCEL USE
CURRENT ZONING
SINGLE FAMILY MULTI-FAMILY INSTITUTIONAL RETAIL OFFICE INDUSTRY VACANT LAND
37
8TH STREET, DALLAS
8TH STREET, DALLAS
8TH STREET, DALLAS
LAND DEVELOPMENT IN 1995
LAND DEVELOPMENT IN 2001
LAND DEVELOPMENT IN 2012
ADDISION CIRCLE, ADDISION
ADDISION CIRCLE, ADDISION
ADDISION CIRCLE, ADDISION
LAND DEVELOPMENT IN 1995
LAND DEVELOPMENT IN 2001
LAND DEVELOPMENT IN 2012
LAND DEVELOPMENT HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT
VACANT LOT
An aerial look through the decades paints a stark contrast of historical development in the 8th Street Corridor Area. Keeping scales relative, a comparison with the Addison Circle development in the same timeframe illustrates what is possible when a framework and plan are in place. These types of tools give existing residents, land owners, potential developers and future residents a certainty of expectations that allow for growth and re-vitalization.
39
TRANSIT LINES BUS AND DART
8T
ION I L S TAT A R H T N H/CORI
41
DART BUS ROUTE ST
OP
TRANSIT LOCAL LINES
43
E8
TH
STR
EET
CIRCULATION MAJOR AND MINOR PATHS
45
TRAFFIC PROBLEM
TRAFFIC
ANALYSIS OF SCHOOL CIRCULATION
OLD DROPOFF CIRCULATION
NEW DROPOFF CIRCULATION Middle School Drop Off High School Drop Off and Student Parking
47
8TH STREET EXISTING CONDITIONS
Internal focal point
49
SIDEWALKS
CONDITIONS AND CONCERNS
A walk through the neighborhood highlights one of the bigger areas of concern in relation to lack of connectivity. The condition of the sidewalk pattern on 8th Street shows varying states of usability, ranging from useable –but-not-ideal to unsafe and dangerous. The sidewalk infrastructure lacks continuity and is frequently broken or in disrepair. Few areas provide a safety buffer from high-speed traffic and crosswalks suffer from poor visibility. Establishing a guideline and a benchmark for a pedestrian grid will go a long way towards providing much needed connectivity in the area.
51
VISION
AN ICONIC PATTERN OF CONNECTIVITY
As a result of our analysis we have learned that the 8th Street Corridor suffers from lack of desirable connections. As humans we search for a sense of community in our surroundings, a sense of belonging that allows us to feel part of something larger than ourselves and allows us to prosper beyond our individual capabilities. This sense of community is achieved through both relational and territorial means; relational being achieved through interaction with others and territorial through interaction with our environment. Both of these require connections that promote and strengthen our bonds with others and with our surroundings. The vision we set forth in the following pages aims at establishing an iconic pattern of connectivity through layers of public realm improvements and a framework for future development. The resulting concept is an intertwined series of soft and hard connections such as pocket parks, plazas, hard-scape corridors, roads, trails and lawns that help create a weaved pattern of connectivity to become the neighborhood’s most identifiable quality.
CORRIDOR The stretch of 8th Street from I-35 to Corinth emerges as a clear spine atop the highest portion of the land, effectively acting as a division between The Bottom and the 10th Street Historic District. By addressing the main urban characteristics of this corridor, 8th Street can instead be transformed into the connecting corridor between the two neighborhoods, allowing for mixed use development that will provide much needed retail and commercial services for the area. The strategies include highlighting major crosswalks through paving patterns and establishing a new street section with traffic calming strategies and pedestrian amenities that promote walkability such as street trees, benches, pedestrian lighting, and onstreet parking.
55
GREEN BELT
ENHANCED PAVING
ENHANCEMENTS
USE EASEMENT TO CONNECT AREA AND ENHANCE 8TH STREET
USE COLOR TO DIFFERENTIATE PAVING PATTERNS TO SLOW DOWN TRAFFIC
COLORFUL ARTWORK TO ENGAGE AND ACTIVATE THE COMMUNITY
57
GREEN SPACES
The area surrounding 8th Street has several open spaces which can be connected with a series of green spines. The highest point on the site is both a natural inward focal point and a place for views out from the site. A public space at this intersection serves as a connection node between a potentially improved greenbelt stretching south to 10th street and northeast linking with a small walk path at the back of Townview Magnet, creating a network of green spaces that allow for pedestrian connections through the neighborhood.
59
EDGE
NODE
CONNECTION
EDGE
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF SIGNIFICANT GRADE CHANGE TO REDEFINE EDGE CONDITIONS.
CONNECTION
DEVELOP A GREEN NETWORK THROUGHOUT THE SITE AREA TO CONNECT HIGHWAYS, THOROUGHFARES, AND PARKING LOTS.
NODE
CREATE INTERNAL FOCAL POINTS FOR VIEWS TO DOWNTOWN DALLAS.
61
BLOCKS
In order to promote greater connectivity through walkability, block size needs to be addressed. Currently there is a favorable pedestrian grid at the eastern end of the corridor, on the south side of 8th Street that can be taken as precedence and applied as appropriate through the neighborhood. Dividing up large blocks into smaller lengths has long been a strategy for pedestrian friendly cities. Shorter blocks give people a place of respite and reduce the feeling of overall distance. Block size in addition to building placement and in conjunction with public amenity spaces increase residents’ willingness to walk.
63
HOUSING
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF RE ARRANGING BLOCK SIZES TO PROVIDE WALKABLE NODES OF HOUSING
PUBLIC SPACE
DESIGN A LAYOUT OF BLOCKS THAT CREATES PUBLIC SPACES FOR SOCIAL EVENTS AND GATHERING.
SHOPPING
INTEGRATE RETAIL AND SHOPPING WITHIN THE GRID OF BLOCKS TO PROVIDE WALKABLE NEIGHBORHOOD AMENITIES.
65
DESIGN 5 YEARS / 10 YEARS / 15 YEARS
In order to carry the vision through development, the following master plans set the goals and parameters for a phased process of enhancement to build upon as more detailed parcel plans begin to emerge.
5 YEAR DEVELOPMENT
REHABILITATE HOMES - Keep low density residential development - Establish frontage line on 8th Street to create a threshold as traffic enters into the corridor RE-DESIGN BRACKINS VILLAGE - Create a mixed use development to promote retail services - Increase density ENHANCE SIDEWALK CONDITIONS - Create safe walking conditions - Install landscape buffer / street trees - Install pedestrian lighting ENHANCE EXISTING GREEN SPACE - Establish north/south green belt at easement - Clean up and beautify lookout at Show Hill
EDUCATIONAL CO-OP DEVELOPMENT CENTER
69
10 YEAR DEVELOPMENT
INFILL AFFORDABLE SINGLE FAMILY - reinforce density within existing residential neighborhoods - reinforce development guidelines for historical precedence where appropriate INFILL VACANT LAND WITH HOUSING - Increase density - Develop with regards to new block structure and providing pedestrian cross paths. ESTABLISH COMMERCIAL AMENITIES - Begin to develop retail and commercial properties along the 8th Street Corridor spine. - Begin development of mixed use anchor at the west end of the 8th Street Corridor ESTABLISH PEDESTRIAN PATHS - Begin developing pedestrian pathways for increased connectivity between developed parcels CREATE COMMUNITY GATHERING SPACE - Enhance lookout to become a public plaza and community gathering space
71
15 YEAR DEVELOPMENT
INFILL AFFORDABLE SINGLE FAMILY - reinforce density within existing residential neighborhoods - reinforce development guidelines for historical precedence where appropriate - update older properties INFILL VACANT LAND WITH HOUSING - Increase density - Develop with regards to new block structure and providing pedestrian cross paths. FURTHER DEVELOP RETAIL AMENITIES - With increased residential density larger retailers can be expected, such as a grocery store or a pharmacy. CONNECT GREENS SAPCES AND TRAILS - Finish developing all planned pedestrian and vehicular paths to fully connect the neighborhood at 8th Street Corridor -create large pedestrian amenity to navigate grade change north of 8th Street toward The Bottom. DEVELOP GROCERY STORES AND SERVICES
73
STREET SECTION ENHANCEMENTS
Restructure 8th street to add sufficient sidewalks, bike lanes, and street parking to create a corridor that acts as a catalyst for development and a walkable experience for all inhabitants.
8th Street Enhancements
Residential Housing
Retail Porch
Street Parking
8th Street
Street Parking
Retail Porch
Retail at Street Level
75
SHOW HILL ENHANCEMENTS
At the center of the 8th Street Corridor is a public plaza that becomes the focal point of the corridor as well as a great lookout point with great views of the city.
BEFORE
ENHANCED
77
EASEMENT TRAIL ENHANCEMENTS
Flowing out of Show Hill to the south, a simple enhancement of the utility easement will provide a green beltway for connection from 8th Street to 10th Street.
BEFORE
ENHANCED
79
GRADE CHANGE ENHANCEMENTS
As part of the connectivity efforts, overcoming the significant grade change between the 8th Street Corridor and the Bottom neighborhood is of paramount importance. Considering high density development on these parcels would be a difficult scenario based on the cost of developing on such a slope. In addition to that, the resulting mass would tower several stories over a single family residential neighborhood, further decreasing its value. The proposed solution aims at creating a terraced development which would front 8th Street on the high side and provide a pedestrian path and linear park at its midpoint. Two wide, tiered stairways would then provide pedestrian paths up the hill from The Bottom. As envisioned, this amenity would fully connect the neighborhood in both the north/south and east/west directions, culminating in a plaza at the Canyon Street dead end.
Retail Porch
Grade Chenge
Landscaped Path With Scenic Lookouts
Landscaped Grade Change
Existing Lower Street
81
PLAZA ENHANCEMENTS
1 2
In tandem with enhancements to overcome the significant grade change, the creation of a public plaza at the dead end of Canyon Street is part of a key component to connect The Bottom neighborhood to the 8th Street Corridor. As it exists today, this is a low traffic, dark, secluded area; prime characteristics sought out for unlawful activities. A public plaza at this location has the potential to become a hub of neighborhood activity as well as connecting this corner back up to grade and onto a connection to the future Trinity River Park and trails off Corinth Street.
1. LOWER STREET ENTRANCE
2. DEAD END PLAZA 83
THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HELP Ralph Hawkins Yogesh Patil Leo Gonzales Jay Taylor Yao Lin Carolyn R. Davis Alonzo Harris Brett Prange Sherman Roberts Alicia Quintans Carmella Kendry Shannon Brown Charlondra Jackson John Payne Lee Singletary Thomas Simpson Brent Brown Dr.Lew Blackburn Magdelena Brodnax The Bottom Group