10.29.03
Coatesville Concludes Charrette
Bajeerah Lowe, Staff Writer

COATESVILLE -- The charrette team from Miami University’s School of Architecture, who spent a week in the city talking to residents and creating redevelopment plans, recommended the city move some of the recreational activities into town and focus more energy on historic preservation.

The team, comprised of mid-career professionals, university staff and students, concluded its week of work Monday with a PowerPoint presentation of its findings. A more in-depth report of all its recommendations will follow in several months.

"We found a lot of wonderful assets both in the people and the community," said Charles C. Bohl, director of the Knight Program in Community Building at the School of Architecture, kicking off the evening’s presentation. "..During my stay I fell in love with the community."

Focusing on the downtown area, the shatterzone and the 88-acre Tarlecky tract, the team made numerous recommendations, some the city has considered in the past, others that are brand new.

City Manager Paul G. Janssen Jr. said the most surprising idea was a possible reconfiguration of the South First Avenue and East Lincoln Highway intersection that would add an additional road running south to the west of the historic district on property currently owned by International Steel Group. "We have always talked about realigning that intersection," he said. "But we have never talked about introducing a new roadway."

The proposed road would run parallel to South First Avenue and would provide an alternative route for truck traffic.

Other recommendations included moving such recreational activities as the skating rinks, movie theater, bowling alley and hotel and conference center from their currently proposed sites along Route 82 south into the area known as the shatterzone.

The property just south of Lincoln Highway, said charrette team member Kevin Klinkenberg, principal of 180 Degrees Design Studio in Kansas City, Mo., might lone itself to those purposes and the existing steel buildings might be able to house one or two of the facilities such as the ice rink. This recommendation was also made recently by City Councilwoman Winifred Mayo.

Incorporating such historic structures as the steel buildings, the older homes and civic buildings into the new development, said Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, dean of the School of Architecture, is essential. "We are suggesting rather than glass boxes for the office buildings, they could be designed to tie into the existing architecture," she said.

In fact, from the charrette meetings has come interest from the public in developing a historical architecture review board.

The group also recommended the 88-acre tract north of the train station, that has been identified by the city and developer Donald Pulver as the future site of four office buildings, be considered for a mixed use development of single family homes, town homes and some office space. The development, said Plater-Zyberk, could then be tied in with the Hillview active adult community currently being built further up the hill in Valley and Caln townships.

Janssen said while Pulver, at this point, has only proposed office buildings on the site, there is still more land that could be developed with homes.

With these recommendations and others from the group such as changing the name of Lincoln Highway to "Main Street," Janssen said city staff and government will move forward. "We still have a lot to consider, a lot to discuss," he said. "..But this experience brought about an overall fine tuning of our plan and new opportunities to look at."

The end of the charrette came just one week after two developers, Pulver of Oliver Tyrone Pulver Corp. and Bart Blatstein of Tower Investments, announced plans to bring $300 million of commercial, office and residential development to the city.