Category — CapDist Blog

Check out the City of Topeka’s video summary of the Goody Clancy Design Workshop session:

Consultant:
David Dixon, renowned urban design & downtown revitalization visionary
David_Dixion_Qualifications | GoodyClancy.com

Took place:
Wednesday, October 13, 2010 | 12 pm -- 5 pm

Location:
800 SW Jackson, First Floor (Former US Bank Building)

More information & video coverage:
Download David’s PowerPoint Presentation for the Design Workshop
Watch the City of Topeka’s video interview with David Dixon

Here’s the City of Topeka’s two-part video summary of the Susan Harden Design Workshop session:
(Part 1)

(Part 2)

Consultant:
Susan Harden, Midwest/Kansas main street specialist
Susan_Harden_Qualifications | RBF.com

Took place:
Wednesday, October 6, 2010 | 5 pm -- 10 pm

Location:
Grand Ball Room, Ramada Inn

More information & video coverage:
Download Susan’s TownScan with Community Results
Watch John Ary’s video interview with Susan Harden
Watch the City of Topeka’s video interview with Susan Harden

Check out the City of Topeka’s two-part video summary of the Phillip Walker Design Workshop session:
(Part 1)

(Part 2)

Consultant:
Phillip Walker, a community visioning & town center specialist
Phillip_Walker_Qualifications | http://www.walkercollaborative.com/

Took place:
Tuesday, September 28, 2010 | 3 pm -- 8 pm

Location:
800 SW Jackson, First Floor (Former US Bank Building)

More information  & video coverage:
Download Phillip’s PowerPoint Presentation for the Design Workshop
Watch John Ary’s video interview with Phillip Walker
Watch the City of Topeka’s video interview with Phillip Walker

Passion, creativity, motivation, and sharing a strong sense of community with fellow residents is the recipe for how the founding fathers of Topeka built such a strong base out of nothing, a base that our community still stands strongly on today. In recent decades, Topeka has had a self-image problem that needs some serious commitment from its leaders and more importantly its residents in order to overcome. We must remember and respect the lessons that our elders taught us in order to keep the city moving in a positive direction. The rest of the world is looking at us right now with a great sense of optimism. With recent worldwide attention from Google, Business Week, News Week and a myriad of others, we must keep our heads held high and be proud of the community we have become. Perhaps Kiplinger’s pick of Topeka as one of the best places for your future was one of the most insightful to me. Kiplinger actually spent a little time telling the rest of the world about who we are and not just what we are working on. In the online version of their article, they featured a slide show that blasted our image to the rest of the world. A very simple analysis of the twelve images they selected for the presentation was that seven of them were images from our downtown and not one shot was taken of the west side of town. Being a lifelong Topekan, I was a little shocked that Wanamaker didn’t make the cut. When I sat back and realized that every city on their list has a “Wanamaker” and none of them are unique, it’s a blatant reminder that we should be paying more attention to our historical assets and the things that set us apart, our downtown in particular.

I serve as the President of the Shawnee County Historical Society and I had the opportunity to attend the Chamber’s recent inter-city visit to Oklahoma City. The focus of this trip was to learn how Oklahoma City stood up against great odds and actually turned ideas, some of which would be hard to imagine in a dream, in to sustainable reality. They did this in a very short period of time and they have been seeing nothing but great rewards and a steadily booming population from their efforts. This trip was one of the most uplifting experiences of my professional career. To hear Oklahoma City’s leadership describe where they were and where they have come, made me realize that our challenges at home are certainly not exclusive to us. Many times, I felt as though they were describing Topeka when they were actually describing themselves. From my perspective, the residents of Oklahoma City somehow gained a great deal of pride in their community. And with that pride they grew more willing to go the extra mile to share a higher quality of life with their fellow residents. They have a fantastic historic preservation plan that responsibly preserves their heritage assets, builds power of place with their residents, and encourages economic growth and development in historic districts. They have a unified city and county government that works seamlessly together to give confidence to their constituents that tax dollars will be spent appropriately and for the good of all. They have a strong business sector that is not only willing to take a chance on their residents, but is also proud to loudly sponsor quality of life initiatives. And through using the power of place as a community building tool, they have found that their youth will have a better chance to grow up without having an overwhelming dream to leave town when they turn in to young professionals.

These were the results of their successfully planned downtown redevelopment, riverfront improvements, highway re-alignment, and arts district organization. Does the combination of these projects sound familiar? I look forward to standing on the front lines with so many others to make Topeka an even greater place to call home. We would love to have you to join us!

Very Truly,
Chris Schultz
President, The Shawnee County Historical Society

The letter posted below was shared with the Capital District Project, and we loved it so much we asked for Jeff’s approval to publish it here. Graciously, he consented.

My name is Jeff Taylor, Co-founder and President of PT’s Coffee Roasting Co. We’ve been in business in Topeka for nearly 18-years. We are not located downtown, so I do not, at this time, have a business interest in downtown. My interest is for the mental health of this community. Having a cafe allows me to hear what the community thinks, even if they don’t always tell you. And the Capital District Project is a NO BRAINER. You know in your heart that if you really want to know what a community thinks, you need to go to a coffee shop and just listen. Not wait for the speakers at a council meeting to tell you. Those are the people who have agendas.

Thank You for you time! I welcome your phone calls or emails. I am very passionate about this because honestly, I don’t want to move.

Jeff Taylor

Years ago, when downtown was the only commercial center in Topeka, downtown merchants stayed open late one day a week.  Thursdays were always “the night” and people flocked to Downtown Topeka in search of a good deal and looking to spend some time in their community.  Lately, with the emphasis on downtown revitalization, there has been a lot of commentary on evenings in downtown.  The general consensus is that downtown is closed in the evening.  Actually it isn’t and we’d like to show you what we have to offer.

Beginning July 1, 2010, Thursday night is “the night” again!  From 5 pm to 8 pm stores are open, restaurants are open, street musicians are performing… and there’s free parking!!!!

Brought to you by Downtown Topeka Inc. and seveneightfive magazine, Top City Thursday is “the night” to visit Downtown Topeka for special discounts, deals on meals and events throughout the summer in downtown. Downtown merchants like Wolfe’s Camera, David’s Jewelers, Asay’s Sporting Goods, Hazel Hill Chocolate Traditions, Marion Lane Candles, Briman’s Leading Jewelers, Warehouse 414, The Merchant, Lloyd Zimmer Books And Maps, Buttercups & Daisies and CD Tradepost are open.  And you can have dinner at places like The BreakRoom Metro Eatery, Blended, Kansan Grill and Lupita’s, or even at McDonald’s.  The YMCA and  PC911 are also open so you can work out or get your computer fixed.

It’s a fantastic chance to stay downtown after work, meet up with your family and enjoy your community.

International Economic Development Council
How You Build It Conference
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma    June 6-8, 2010
Karen Hiller, District 1 – Trip Report

The opportunity to attend this conference about downtown redevelopment and economic development came through Heartland Visioning and the high interest on the part of citizens and community leaders to learn more about downtown redevelopment and economic development.  People carpooled and Heartland Visioning was able to cover many expenses through a community training grant. Roughly 250 people were in attendance.  They were principals of public agencies and private development companies from all over the United States and Canada.

Contingent from Topeka: William Beteta (Heartland Visioning, Capital District Group), Mike Worswick (Wolfe’s Camera, Downtown), Susan Mahoney (Downtown Topeka Inc.), Mark Kossler (Fidelity Bank, Downtown), Brendan Jensen (MorphoTrak, Inc., Think Big Topeka), Alissa Sheley (jhP Advertising, Think Big Topeka), Scott Gales (Architect One, Capital District Group), Dave Heit (Schwerdt Design Group, Capital District Group), and Karen Hiller (City Council, DTI ex-officio, Capital District Group)  This travel group gelled well….shared different perspectives very collaboratively; we gathered and debriefed after every group of sessions.

Sessions Attended: Over the course of the two days, 4 Plenary and 5 sets of concurrent sessions were held.  Sessions covered such topics as total downtown planning; sports, arts, convention and hotel developments; waterfronts; sustainability; financial leveraging and layering; public participation and the development process. Presenters were primarily mayors, redevelopment directors and principals of the redevelopment consultants on successful projects.  Many examples were from the Midwest and were close enough for us to know and easily visit.  Our group split up so that all sessions were covered.  Powerpoints from the sessions, each of which include core points and case studies, can be viewed at www.iedconline.org/HowYouBuildIt/downloads.html.

Take-Outs for us:

• We are on the right track.  That said, public will and shared vision are critical.

• Our master RFP and task list for Kansas Avenue has emerged in an appropriate way.

• We need to define “Downtown” and its internal zones, develop and use consistent terms.

• A 25-year plan is key.

• We need to define who the “owner” is for the Kansas Avenue redevelopment.

• All partners (City, County, Go Topeka, DTI) need to be on board for us to be a “good client.”

• All presenters were genuine, caring and experienced.  Nice to know they are out there.

Lessons Learned by other Cities:

Voters had to be convinced that all core needs were being addressed before they were comfortable in going ahead.  The four needs were:  Infrastructure, Public Safety, At-Risk (the poor), and Education.

Oklahoma City used polling a lot, has done almost everything through major sales tax initiatives, and always made sure they had at least 51% public support before going for a vote.   Collingwood, Ontario, on the other hand, demonstrated how they found themselves faced with unpopular challenges, figured out what to do about them, then got the public support afterward from an impressed public.

Everyone had made some mistakes and learned from them.

A key approach that worked was to start every downtown visioning conversation with, “What do we do for fun?”

Let’s play house for a minute…   what is the one chore you always have to do that no matter what you will never catch up with? Hint… read the title. Laundry is one of those things that you know you have to do, you expect it, you plan for it and you get it done on a regular basis (or so I dream). No matter how much you strive to live a laundry free life you will not achieve it unless we come up with disintegrating clothing or holographic wear.

Potholes have the same effect in any city, state or the world wide location that has a paved road.  Our city has a great resource in the ½ cent sales tax. This funding goes towards road repairs. (See the attached report from the city.)

Though the city is working at covering these, new ones appear every day and it becomes a regular occurrence.

Check out John Ary’s video. He has caught the City doing work on potholes in different areas of town. Thanks John!

There are concerned citizens wanting to ensure these maintenance needs of the city are being taken care of before we try allocate funds to develop downtown. To those concerned Topekans, I want to let you know the work is being done and the budget for pothole repairs is not being touched for downtown redevelopment.

Don’t let your dreams for Topeka go down the Pothole!  This is a great time in Topeka. We have several businesses, individuals and community groups all working together on improving our Downtown. We want you to join in, provide your input and collaborate in this transformation.
Look at it this way, would put your life on hold in right when you’re in the middle of a developmental boom? Would you put your life on hold because you have to stop and do the laundry?  Especially when you have support of people around you that are doing the laundry for you so that you can dream, achieve and excel!

Quotes, observations and reflections
International Economic Development Council
How You Build It Conference
Oklahoma City June 6-8, 2010

Comments on OKC:
Oklahoma City has been in the process of actively redeveloping the city for over 15 years. The voters have approved an additional initiative that will bring to 25 years the active partnership of government, business and community. The process has been funded by a 1% sales tax the voters have approved and renewed three times. This process raises about 750 million in each of the votes. The first was used to build the Bricktown area, build an arena and more. The second round of $750 million went to improve schools in the core of Oklahoma City. The third round of $775 million will focus on infrastructure and redevelopment in the city core.

One significant note is that Oklahoma City has used these funds to do these improvements on a cash basis. So things like the Bricktown canal and the Ford Arena were built debt free. These cash basis improvements has given the city staying power and the ability to attract tenants because there is no massive debt service issue on any of the projects.

Oklahoma City officials report that Bricktown will continue to require city support. The city appears committed to the success of this area because of the belief that a vital center city is essential to making OKC a world class community. One speaker indicated that they have had substantial turnover in bar and restaurant operators in the Bricktown area. Walking the district, one can see signs of failed businesses and many spaces that have yet to be initially developed. In spite of this observation, the area has a very positive feel and personality. We were told that Bricktown does not produce events. They rely on the ball park, the movie complex, Bass Pro and ambiance to draw traffic.

A flaw OKC development people see is that the small amount of retail in Bricktown is too diffused. They hope to concentrate the retail in one area of Bricktown in an attempt to gain some consumer sales traction. Bass Pro arrived in 2003. The canal project started in 1996 and opened in 1999. (Other than Bass Pro, I saw very little to indicate that retail was vibrant in this area).

Substantial tax credits were used to attract Bass Pro to the area. Mayor Cornett of Oklahoma City stated that the retailer was the catalyst to making the Bricktown area work. According to the mayor Bricktown will continue to require financial incentives for development. The city must invest for success according to the Mayor.

There is very little general retail business in the city core. OKC redevelopment officials have no expectation of general retail returning. They plan to add some specialty retail in an area called automobile alley. This is a multilane street which is substantially wider than Kansas Avenue.

Devon Energy is building a 50 story skyscraper in the heart of the city. The vertical campus will include a corporate park with public areas and a small auditorium. They are designing a complex that will be a visual highlight for the city. One hundred million dollars of TIFF funds is being generated as part of that development. The negotiations with the city by Devon resulted in those funds being used to overhaul a nearby large city park and improve every street in the downtown. This will include some street narrowing. I repeat that there are streets in OKC that look more like airport runways rather than streets. Kansas Avenue seems like a quaint country lane in comparison.

A key reminder from every OKC speaker: the projects are debt free and built on tax revenue cash flow. (Look at the cost Topeka spends annually to fund infrastructure debt service.)

My personal comments on sales tax as a funding mechanism:
This form of tax has been relatively easy to administrate and collect. There are arguments that people outside the taxing area make contributions to the cities cost of operation. All that has been true. By the way, OKC sales tax including MAPS 3 is 8.375%. Topeka tax will be 8.95% after the new increase. The internet is changing the taxing equation. As sales tax approaches 10%, people look for a way to avoid paying this expense. It is easy to get a high dollar bicycle, HDTV, computer or other expensive gear shipped to a doorstep. A two thousand dollar tax avoided expenditure saves the consumer $180. Few consumers pay the state use tax. As tax rates increase the desire to skip the tax payment grows. (Count the number of out of county cars buying cigarettes at an Indian reservation.) As sales taxes increase in the internet age there are a number of consequences. First, people attempt to avoid the tax. Second, the higher the tax rate the more the incentive to avoid. Local retailers who may be price competitive are still placed at a disadvantage because of the tax differential. As these retailers close their stores because of reduced sales the community loses jobs along with income and property tax revenue. Either a uniform tax must be assessed nationwide in place of the current tax model or government must stop relying on this mechanism for tax collection. Another possibility is aggressive auditing of citizens PayPal and credit card accounts looking for use tax avoidance. Who wants to be the politician to push this thought forward?

More thoughts from the conference:
• In OKC private sector coordinates with the public sector in advance. Agreements are made by the time the projects move forward. The parties work to assure media buy in.

• Craig Seymour states there must be a profit motive in the investment. In assessing the feasibility of a project three things must always be considered. Is there adequate demand in the marketplace for the project (i.e. skating rink)? Can the technical and physical issues of the site be overcome? Is the project economically viable based on projected revenue streams.

• If the area contains functionally obsolete buildings they must be torn down. Green grassy areas are better than dead structures (heard from at least 3 speakers)

• The public sector may need to invest funds to lower the risk for a private investor to become involved. This could range from land acquisition to tax abatements and more.

• There are almost no large hotels being built in the USA without a substantial contribution from public and community involvement.

• Land control is an absolute must to the success of an area wide project.

• Ralph Basile states that there must be a rational business model. There must be value to cover the development cost and provide a return to all investors. (My note: the public sector may define its return based on additional growth in the area for having made the investment.)

• Mr. Basile notes that in phase one of every project that the addition of extra parking is critical. This infrastructure issue must be met in advance.

• Biggest challenge for most projects today is finding construction financing. The market for long term seems to be opening up but interim money is the big problem.

• Jerry Lee of Hines: a developer needs to be part of the project very early in the process.

• A number of projects are funded by additional room taxes on hotels. To make this work, operators must see that the project is not a burden but will produce additional room nights.

• Successful projects create destinations. (i.e. where would a biker like to ride)

• Blake Cordish: Projects must have enough critical mass to create an impact.

• Cordish believes that experiential environments (think Power and Light District) are the development opportunity in large markets.

• Cordish reiterated the OKC statement that development takes a long term partnership of government and private entities. His example was a 25 year plan for Toronto. Similar words were heard from officials in OKC and Baltimore. (How will we in Topeka insure a plan that survives repeated changes in elected officials?)

• Mayor Cornett of OKC: Suburban population must recognize the value of a vibrant downtown if a project is to succeed. He further stated that there must be resolution to the basic issues before a vision project can succeed.

• Mayor Cornett: Unfunded ideas are a dime a dozen.

• Mayor Cornett: It is easier to get citizens to agree in desperate times.

• OKC used a process similar to our Visioning process. They accumulated 1700 items of citizen input to consider for MAPS 3 (MAPS is their 1% sales tax development fund). No item got into the final plan presented to the voters that did not poll at least 50%. No project was allowed that could not be easily explained or defended. The third vote approval came because the public could see and remember the accomplishments of the first two tax votes. They did not give specifics but gave the impression that they got enough votes to win this las election but not with much margin to spare.

• Richard Ward of Zimmer (Ward is a long time developer): in most studies there is a latent demand from about 15% of the employees in an area to want housing close to their work.

• Richard Ward: projects are only successful when you have something to build on. There must be a major institution leading the charge or a major sponsor/investor.

• A master developer is critical to coordinate development in an area.

• Once a project gets started too many bells and whistles often get added and destroy the feasibility of the project.

• Recurring theme: does the project meet a real need? Is there enough demand? Is there a measurable return for the investment?

• Jeff Downs Deputy Mayor Montgomery Alabama: City offers incentives to get merchants involved in the development area. They make low interest loans to fix buildings etc. If the business stays and operates for 5 years the loan is converted to a grant.

• Quote of the meeting “You can’t fall out of a ditch.”

Downtown Topeka has always been my favorite area of town. I was born in Topeka, grew up here, and got my degree from Washburn University. I grew up with you, your children, and your grand children. When I was 22 years old, I took all the lessons and gifts that Topeka taught me and, with very little means, decided to put everything on the line and start a business, Field Of Greens, in Downtown Topeka. It has been nearly 10 years since I started dreaming that if I built it, they would come… Luckily they did!

My business has changed a lot since then. It has brought my whole family together and become something that we all take pride and ownership of. Slowly but surely, after many baby sized steps forward and a few giant leaps back, we opened The Break Room in 2006, right next door. If you knew all I went through to get where I was; the many years of waking up and going to work without ever getting a pay check, living for free in the spare bedroom at my brother’s house (Thanks Frank!) and working part time jobs (in retail and as a DJ), you might have screamed “WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?!” The answer is simple and I learned it from the people who pioneered our city. Those who spent years constructing the majestic buildings in our downtown. These people didn’t just slap up a building in three months in an over crowded business district with the sole idea of getting as much money as possible without caring who they stepped on. They had a sense of community, they didn’t just construct buildings, they built legacies. They put everything on the line and took a risk in order to make their community a better place for their families, friends and neighbors for generations to come. We must never forget what they have done for us and we must learn from their sacrifices and successes. It’s a simple and universal thing that most good parents teach us as children… We must respect our elders!

I purchased the Tinkham Veale Building , which houses both of our restaurants, in 2008. Since then, I moved in to one of the apartments in the building, and I have to say that I love it! Yes… I started with nothing more than a dream and struggled for years in Downtown Topeka, and after all that, I moved in to the neighborhood and I just said that I LOVE IT! I must be crazy, right? Guess what else is going to sound crazy? I don’t feel like downtown is an unsafe neighborhood and I don’t really think that our parking situation is that bad either. I have begun to take a little personal offense to negative comments that people make about these items because they are generally made by the ignorant. Pardon me if your complaints are legit, but when most of the people who are scared for downtown safety at night find out that I live here, they verbalize their serious concerns for safety, even though they have never been down here at night to truly know what they are talking about. Criminals go where the money is, and thanks to the people spreading rumors about how “unsafe” downtown is at night, the criminals go elsewhere… Unfortunately, so does everyone else… So if you catch yourself spreading unwarranted fear about downtown when you haven’t been down here for more than 10 minutes at night in the last 10 years, please stop and think about how you are standing in the way of a potentially revitalized area.

I don’t even want to talk about parking, but I will. So many people want our downtown to be exactly like Mass Street in Lawrence… But they never seem to remember all the parking meters that line the street there when they complain about potentially having to pay for parking in Downtown Topeka. Those people also forget that Mass Street does not have to provide parking for 30,000+ employees that work there every day, and that Lawrence is certainly not as blessed to have the kind of booming daytime business district that Downtown Topeka has. They also seem to forget that you rarely get to park right in front of the business that drew you to their neighborhood that day. When people visit Lawrence, they don’t mind walking. Guess what? Walking is good for us and it allows us to see and explore busineses and things we might not have known about, like the multiple new parking garages that have sprung up in downtown Topeka in the last few years.

Downtown Topeka is most likely to be the area where your neighbor, Joe Topekan, will take a chance on his dream of owning a restaurant or a gift store. It’s the place where people who visit Topeka from other states are destined to end up at least once during their visit to our city. It’s the place where Topeka’s original flare on life should be highlighted and supported. It’s the place we should be the most proud of in our city; where the residents of the whole state of Kansas, like it or not, just spent nearly $300 million on improvements to their capitol. Let’s assure them that we were worth the investment and that we appreciate their substantial investment in our community’s infrastructure and job market. As we approach the idea of a vibrant downtown, please try to remember that the arms and legs of our city (north, south, east, and of course west) will all eventually die if the heart of the city stops beating. Our Downtown doesn’t need us to spend money unreasonably, it needs us to formulate the best possible plan and execute it in order to save it from the destruction of time that we have already allowed to take such a toll. When we manage this, we will have successfully given future generations of Topekans a reason to respect their elders. I’m Chris Schultz and I LOVE DOWNTOWN TOPEKA! Won’t you join me?

Originally posted on Chris’s Facebook profile; reposted here with his permission.