Your Ideas
The Capital District Project is all about getting ideas and input from the community to revitalize downtown in a way that’s appealing to everyone! To be successful, we need to know what you, the community, would like to see downtown.
Please leave a comment and tell us what types of entertainment, attractions and businesses you’d like to see downtown to compliment what’s existing. Are you interested in a ballpark? Or green space? Do you love live entertainment? Or maybe a specific type of cusine? Tell us, so we can make sure all of your ideas are considered when the engineers are developing the three plan options for the Capital District.
43 comments
June 1, 2010
Capital District Project
As I was attending the Farmer’s Market this past Saturday several thoughts came to mind. I would like to share a vision I have for Downtown Topeka. The potential is unlimited for our downtown area. I would love to see a downtown that pours into a river walk on the north.
Limit driving access on Kansas Avenue between 4th – 8th or 10th to one lane in one direction — the rest would all be for pedestrian traffic and vendors. This area would be lined with Kiosks, street vendors everywhere selling their t-shirts, flowers, newspapers, magazines, food, beverages, craft items, artwork, fruits, vegetables, etc. I work downtown and go home for lunch everyday because there is nothing to keep me here over that hour. If there were various vendors occupying downtown everyday – I would spend my lunch hour walking Kansas Avenue – I would buy my lunch downtown and eat while shopping. I know a lot of people who would love to go out on Kansas Avenue & pick up their fresh fruits, vegetables, flowers, whatever, daily, while on their lunch hour. I know there is a mini farmers market around the capitol during the week, but the parking and location are horrible. We could add evening activities, such as street fairs, concerts, etc. As this area became more popular we could grow to the north – -
Just think, a paved and green space, for a farmers’ market everyday, a place for various vendors to sell their wares, public restrooms, a band stand where there could be “battle of the band” type concerts, and various other local artist performances. (Comedians, bands, vocalists, etc.) A place where outside movies could be shown, where people can bring their lawn chairs and blankets, and purchase food & beverages from vendors. This would be both a great family place as well as an entertainment area for young and old. Allow adults to purchase alcohol and walk outside in this enclosed area. Security could be posted at the gates as well as security on segways, bicycles, or just walking. Out of town vendors could be invited in during various weeks of the year – We would only be limited by our imaginations. This does not have to be a multi billion dollar project — it does have to be something our community would support without leaving a negative impact on our environment. The set up could be similar to an upscale camp site. A place where there were hooks ups for electricity – the noise and fumes from generators is just not good. Just imagine a walk through Winter Wonderland from Thanksgiving to Christmas with carriage rides, not just Santa coming to town one night and then nothing. . . . There could be Fall-Winter bonfires to help take the chill off while strolling through the area. Like I mentioned . . . The possibilities are only limited by our imaginations.
I love Topeka, I have lived here my entire life and have no interest in moving elsewhere. (Except during winters like the past one — then places like New Mexico, southern Texas, or any place that’s warm looks very inviting). My husband & I have raised three children and over the course of their childhood we utilized all activities that Topeka had to offer, from the neighborhood parks, the museum, the zoo, movie theaters, bowling and area pools. Nothing here has changed or improved for family entertainment. They are now adults and there is no place for them to go — just area bars and similar establishments. We must stop sending our youth to Lawrence, Kansas City, & Wichita for entertainment. We need to get our citizens outside and see the diversity available right here in Topeka. We have the Mexican Fiesta one week every year, a Germanfest one weekend every year, lately we have had art walks, it is now time for our city to grow in the entertainment section.
I know that our city has invested a lot of time and money investigating other areas of the country, now it is time to stop investing in vacations and start investing in Topeka — I can’t wait until there is a time I get off work and stay in downtown because there is a reason too.
Thank you for taking time to read my thoughts and for all you do for the citizens of this great city.
Sincerely,
Mary Hendrickson
Topeka, KS
Mary –
Thanks so much for sharing your beautiful vision for downtown Topeka!
I hope that you've emailed our City Council members asking for them to support the Capital District Project. At this point in the process, that's one thing that everyone can do to help. We appreciate your support!
Best Regards,
Alissa
We don't need any new sports parks. What we need is attractive green space that can serve as a communal gathering area for live entertainment, political rallies, or just a place to unwind downtown. This green space should be bordered with small business space suitable for everything from bars to novelty boutiques. Some may be against the idea of bars but they are an anchor for other business. Discounting the value of bars is one of the things that has been retarding the College Hill development by Washburn. There should also be mobile retail kiosks rented out by the city to promote smaller scale retail and services. The pedestrian paths should be near water features to help cool the paths in the summer plus add additional aesthetic value to the project. This are should have permanent out door sculpture as well as visiting projects. In short look to the Old Market in Omaha or the River Walk in San Antonio for ideas. It should be continuous green space totally closed to motor traffic. As one last thought, built a foot/bike bridge to link the north and south Topeka downtowns.
Thanks for posting, Christopher! I love your thought about the foot/bike bridge – that would be fun. I appreciate your support and your vision. : )
Best regards,
Alissa
I would like to see a Chinese restaurant in downtown Topeka. I would also like to see more green space. I also think that there should be a downtown business website that can advertise all the businesses that are there. A lot of people don't want to get off the main drag when they are here from out of town, for fear of getting lost. Let's get something going for promoting these businesses. I also think water fountains and small flowering trees would be great with places for outside entertainment. I am just not sure this is the right time to revitalize downtown though with the state proposing the changes to I-70.
This is a copy of what I sent to all the City Council members and the Greater Topeka Chamber of Commerce.
Gail – Thanks for posting! I think you bring up a good point about the I-70 changes. They will obviously weigh heavily on any plans put forward, but I think we're in an early enough stage in the downtown planning process that we can ensure our selected design is a compliment to the changes and that the two projects work together to strengthen the area instead of detract from it. I know that the Capital District Project committee is following the I-70 project very closely.
Thanks again for your input!
Alissa
That's great – thanks again Mary!
I would like to see some clothing boutiques aimed at the business woman. The mall cators to the teen crowd, so downtown would be a great place for the business woman to shop. Also I would like to see a few more restaurant choices, something Italian & just plain American cuisine, nothing fancy, but more than bar food. Thanks for the opportunity to share ideas. I remember when downtown had a “Hullabaloo” before school started & my mother always took me shopping for school clothes, of course with a stop at the Woolworth counter for a coke! Yes, I'm showing my age!
Thanks for posting, Caribbeancruzn! We appreciate your ideas and your support. : )
[...] from the “Your Ideas” section on this blog. Posted on June [...]
A grocery store, or some other large scale business that will generate consumer traffic. All of the ideas posted are wonderful, but none of them will survive without a continuous flow of money. Over the history of downtown Topeka, many restaurants, bars and other shops have tried to survive in downtown, but most end up failing, because on their own, they are not significant enough to maintain customers. Downtown Topeka needs some sort of Anchor project that operates daily, year-round to consistently draw in people. Once the traffic is there, the other business will follow, and so can the street scaping.
This anchor doesn't have to be a giant behemoth big-box, and it can be part of a mixed-use development as well. But a simple, 10 to 20000 square foot unique commercial store is where this redevelopment has to begin. Otherwise, Topeka is just wasting tax dollars and time.
Thanks for posting, Commercial Advocate! There have been many people talking about bringing a strong anchor to the downtown area – some talk of major retail, others talk of the Jayhawk theatre and some think it's a major entertainment venue like a ballpark. Do you have any specific retail options that you'd like to see downtown? If we know who the community is interested in, it's easier for us to go after that specific company and attack it similar to the way the town rallied behind the idea of getting the Google Fiber Experiment.
First off, I don't believe the City can just target one retailer or business and “attack” them, I believe that would violate some competitive bidding laws. However, if the City was smart, you would send out an RFP to multiple grocers that could operate in downtown.
Not that I am promoting them, but I know Wal-Mart has a store model to fit into downtown spaces like Topeka's. But I believe local grocers should be given a priority, i.e. Dillon's or Lawrence's Merc. But ideally you would want downtown Topeka to draw in people from other communities and give folks passing on the highway a reason to stop in, so a national chain with name recognition would be great…which leads me to suggest Trader Joe's Grocer. They offer affordable, healthy food and have a foot-print that is within the square footage parameters I recently mentioned. Their name and brand is alluring to many and I am pretty sure they are looking to expand their mid-west operations.
The problem with a ball park or a theater as an anchor is that they only operate when they have events. The ball park would be closed during the winter, and aren't there already 2 theaters in downtown Topeka (Jayhawk and TPAC)? Jayhawk may need some restoration, but a private enterprise would do that in a heartbeat once downtown proves to have some vitality.
Both Trader Joe's and Whole Foods have been listed as possibilities that people would like to see. They're been especially popular in Facebook discussions. I've not been to either grocer, but it's neat seeing so many passionate people advocating for them.
I'm not sure about the City and the ways the go after bringing in new business. I'd imagine you're right, that there are specific rules that must followed. I only know the way private companies go after new business. They draft a “hit list” of the top companies that they'd like to have and then they make plans to start courting them. I've target lists as small as 10-15 companies, and I've heard of others with as many as 100 companies that they go after. It just gives the appropriate parties a place to start. At this point, I'm not even certain who the appropriate parties would be. I think the City would have a role, but I don't know whether it's something they'd take on alone – I really don't know how all of that works.
Thanks again for taking time to share your thoughts! I appreciate your input. : )
I don't mean to be offensive here, but if JP Huyett Partners does not know how a City is supposed to properly and legally attract businesses to our downtown, what are they doing running the show?
jhP isn't running the show. I work there, and they support the idea of revitalizing downtown and have agreed to allow me to help with the Capital District Project as pro-bono work, but that's the extent of jhP's involvement. The Capital District Project group is actually comprised of lots of volunteers from many businesses/organizations and is being primarily spearheaded by Heartland Visioning. If you're interested in participating, I'm sure you could attend one of our weekly meetings.
If jhP is supportive of the revitalization of downtown, and the Capital District Project, why don't they donate some of the money they secured from their contract with Topeka back to the Capital District Project? I appreciate you doing your pro-bono work, I am just surprised that jhP would appear to take such an active role in this project, but not pony up some cash they earned from the taxpayers…this of course is an assumption I have made from the absence of jhP form the donor list on your webpage.
Also, when are your meetings? I would love to attend one, but it seems everyone spends all their time tweeting and facebooking instead of updating this page (or heartland visioning) with information about when the group is meeting and which City Council / Planning Commission meetings the public should be attending.
jhP often offers our services instead of writing a check, because the value of the time we invest in support of non-profit groups is greater than our contribution budget would allow. We believe giving our time to organizations that would not other wise be able to afford professional services provides a greater return to them and our community.
The Capital District Project meets most Thursday mornings at 8 a.m. at Downtown Topeka, Inc., if you're interested in attending let me know and I'll make sure we're still planning to meet this week.
There is just not enough parking down towwn. Why not rebuild S Topeka Ave. (the old White Lakes area)?
Hi Amwwew, there is actually quite a bit of parking, but its pretty well hidden right now though. This is one of the major topics we’ll be reviewing as part of this project. We need to know what we have and how it’s being used. As well as how much we’d need with a more populated downtown and what’s the best layout for what everyone wants to build. Thanks for your comment!
in addition to brendan’s response if you look at truly thriving downtowns, parking seems to be an issue. the point of these types of districts is to get people out of their car walking around town and enjoying an ample amount of the amenities offered. ideally, if you provide more amenities people don’t mind walking a few blocks to get to their desired destination.
I have always loved downtown. I would go as far as wanting to live there. Maybe in a little loft apt. above a nice little store. We need a
grocery and something like the old days like Pellitiers or Crosbys when it came to clothing. I recently spent a week and a half on jury duty and found that there were totally a nice number of resturants that gave varity of healthy and well priced meals. I know the Fox brothers and I am impressed with what they are doing. Now at this close to retirement and OMG so tired of home owner upkeep, I would absolutely love to sell my house and enjoy a nice little loft and be able to walk to the farmers market ……
I think a metropolitan version of dillons would be sweet!! or aldi, or (not that it would happen) but trader joe’s SOOO needs to come to topeka!!! and don’t put it out west with EVERYTHING ELSE, put it in our downtown!
There was a bunch of discussion at each of the Design Workshops surrounding adding basic living amenities like a grocery store and a pharmacy. I think people realize it’s a necessity if we want to get more people living downtown.
Thanks for sharing!
http://www.preservenet.com/freeways/FreewaysCheonggye.html
Here’s an example of redevelopment I have seen overseas. Seoul removed a elevated highway and restored a stream in the heart of downtown. Now it’s the center of tourism for the city. Copy the link into your browser or search Cheonggyecheon to read more!
Thanks for sharing, Brian!
I would love to see outdoor areas for entertainment. Perhaps something like the street performers at Pear Street Mall in Boulder, CO. Or areas for free outdoor concerts or movies in the Summer. Like the River Walk in Jenks, OK. This would draw people to the downtown area and hopefully bring more businesses to the area. Both of the places I mentioned would be a great palce to look for some ideas.
Thanks for commenting, Brandon, and giving us a few more communities to look at for good examples!
Thanks Brandon!!
Thanks for the idea Brandon!
Here’s an article from the Chicago Tribune about plans to reduce roadway width to encourage pedestrian activity on Lawrence Ave in Chicago. Sounds very similar to Topeka’s plan!
http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/automotive/traffic/ct-met-getting-around-0110-20110109,0,377920.column
Thanks for sharing Brian – it’s cool to see other communities are looking at the same type of options we are. I like the way they’ve figured out how to incorporate bike lanes in their redesign. I’m hopeful that we’ll have a more cycle-friendly Kansas Avenue by the time we’re finished with the design.
Thanks again for your support!
In downtown Topeka it would be cool to see an Orange Leaf. It is a frozen yogurt branch that would attract alot of people. Orange Leaf is a bright fun place to be, and it would attract a younger crowd. There is Orange Leaf’s in Manhattan, Lawrence, and Kansas City, if we expect to make downtown more like these areas we have to have what they have. This is the franchising website, http://oly.publishpath.com/franchise
Thanks for sharing, Mikala. I’ve never been to an Orange Leaf before – but it looks pretty cool. I know that I’ve heard many people express an interest in having a frozen yogurt/ice cream place on Kansas Avenue. Especially this past summer during Top City Thursdays.
Thanks again for posting your idea, and the link to the franchise website!
I think we should turn the downtown water tower into an outdoor rock climbing park. Paint and land scape it to look like Devils Tower in Wyoming and we would have a unique, highly visible, family fun and wacky point of interest near downtown.
Tower could also be used for corporate team building exercises, police, fire, and military could have training days on it… seems like it could be utilized often enough to warrant the investment.
Also would be a good example of re purposing an existing structure.
Curious to hear responses.
Gary -
What a cool idea! After I read your comment, I talked with a friend about it briefly and she got pretty excited about what a rock climbing park could offer Topeka. She’s not an avid climber, but has done some while on vacation and loved it. It’s unfortunate that we don’t have something similar already, but I love your idea of re-purposing what’s here and making it a benefit to everyone.
Thanks for taking time to share!
Gary,
Thanks you for taking the time to share your idea. Yours is the kind of creative thinking that will continue the success we are having in the redevelopment of downtown Topeka! My familiy and I included the Devil’s Tower in Wyoming as part of our family vacation this year. Not sure I would ever be able to climb the actual one, it would be cool to have some type of complex around an actual Climbing wall of the scale you described. Thanks again for sharing your ideas!
Gary,
I think you have a great idea. I think a rock climbing tower would be a great activity to have in Topeka. Whenever I see rock climbing in other places, they are always packed and look like so much fun!
It’s encouraging to hear these positive responses. Granted my idea is a bit off the wall,but I think that’s exactly what this town needs and believe if done right, it could actually draw folks from afar.
I certainly think the repurposing aspect could garner some media attention and significant donations if marketed correctly.
A quick google search for urban rock climbing, or rock climbing parks reveals quite a few results and think the Terrible Topeka Tower would be a unique attraction and welcome recreational addition to the region.
Definitely, and when we add more urban living accommodations, more attractions, and who knows, maybe even a hotel or two,
i can see people living there and around north/east Topeka, not wanting to drive 15-20 minutes to wanamaker! People might actually leave there car at home and walk, bike or bus to the grocery store!
Thanks for your comment AR!! We’re hoping to build these very opportunities into Downtown! Please stay tuned!
Trees are always a good idea, water features are good and calming too.
No overly modern abstract art sort of things. Not fond of the jarring sight.
Benches and other features made from recovered architectural pieces. Recycling is a good thing.
Don’t forget that some of us have a hard time walking distances – so keep us in mind when you plan places that have to be walked to. Maybe a few spaces close up?
Keeping in mind that this is a college town – maybe some place for students to study outside when it’s nice.
Leave a Comment