Chief
07-14-2008, 06:30 AM
http://www.vbjusa.com/stories/2008-07-11/from_transit_to_turtle_place.html
Plaza redevelopment presents opportunity for downtown businesses
BY CHARITY THOMPSON of the VBJ
July 11th, 2008
A slab of concrete on Seventh Street in downtown Vancouver is now known as Turtle Place.
Turtle Place is the temporary plaza being developed by Vancouver’s Downtown Association in the space that was a C-Tran transit center until last fall. It will serve as a community gathering space until future use of the property is determined, which could take as long as 10 years if the site is needed for a new transit center with the Columbia River Crossing.
The group of downtown merchants took the project on two years ago when its members got word that C-Tran would vacate the space. Lee Rafferty, a VDA board member, said it presented an opportunity to reinvigorate the business corridor.
“People who have held on in business in this part of town are very hard working, and this will be an encouragement to them,” she said.
Rafferty started her clothing consignment business Spanky’s downtown in 1981. That location has since closed, but even current vacancies near the plaza present opportunities, she said.
“Property owners have been waiting for a breath of fresh air downtown,” Rafferty said. “There are a lot of vacancies across from the plaza that could bring a new element to the neighborhood.”
She and the VDA raised funds for the project through a state tax credit incentive program targeted at reinvigorating Vancouver’s downtown along Main Street to about 15th Street.
The city of Vancouver will manage the 50- by 200-foot plaza, and Carl Dobbs is the project manager. He is a VDA board member with a background in construction project management.
The project’s general contractor hasn’t been announced, but groundbreaking is expected this month, Rafferty said. She hopes to see the project finished this summer so it can be introduced to the community in warm weather.
**SCHNIPP**
Great idea to do something with that area until the Columbia River Crossing is settled, but is 10 years long enough?? If Sam Adams gets his way, it will be more like 30 years...
Developing...
cewl
Plaza redevelopment presents opportunity for downtown businesses
BY CHARITY THOMPSON of the VBJ
July 11th, 2008
A slab of concrete on Seventh Street in downtown Vancouver is now known as Turtle Place.
Turtle Place is the temporary plaza being developed by Vancouver’s Downtown Association in the space that was a C-Tran transit center until last fall. It will serve as a community gathering space until future use of the property is determined, which could take as long as 10 years if the site is needed for a new transit center with the Columbia River Crossing.
The group of downtown merchants took the project on two years ago when its members got word that C-Tran would vacate the space. Lee Rafferty, a VDA board member, said it presented an opportunity to reinvigorate the business corridor.
“People who have held on in business in this part of town are very hard working, and this will be an encouragement to them,” she said.
Rafferty started her clothing consignment business Spanky’s downtown in 1981. That location has since closed, but even current vacancies near the plaza present opportunities, she said.
“Property owners have been waiting for a breath of fresh air downtown,” Rafferty said. “There are a lot of vacancies across from the plaza that could bring a new element to the neighborhood.”
She and the VDA raised funds for the project through a state tax credit incentive program targeted at reinvigorating Vancouver’s downtown along Main Street to about 15th Street.
The city of Vancouver will manage the 50- by 200-foot plaza, and Carl Dobbs is the project manager. He is a VDA board member with a background in construction project management.
The project’s general contractor hasn’t been announced, but groundbreaking is expected this month, Rafferty said. She hopes to see the project finished this summer so it can be introduced to the community in warm weather.
**SCHNIPP**
Great idea to do something with that area until the Columbia River Crossing is settled, but is 10 years long enough?? If Sam Adams gets his way, it will be more like 30 years...
Developing...
cewl