I like the block-by-block approach to rebirth! I think it's the best strategy for facade improvements on the Mall: In 2007 fix up buildings between Inyo and Kern, in 2008 do Kern to Tulare, in 2009 go up to Mariposa, etc. The block approach could also work for housing, the noise ordinance, waterworks restoration, new "perma-potties," etc. What a great way to build excitement and keep the goals achievable.

It doesn't work for everything, though: wayfinding signage has to be comprehensive and downtown-wide. So does a PBID.

Elliott

I think the convention center is a little too far for most people to walk. If the city REALLY wants to focus on Kern Street, that should be the place where the mall is "reborn". You can't do all of it at once, so take it block by block. Even if it only benefits one block, in a way, that might be best. Concentration of bodies and foot traffic is the key.

I had thought of that as well. The only downside is that I know part of the funding for the stadium is through the parking structures revenue. Also , you don't have to go too far east to get the free parking as it is. There is the spiral parking structure, that may bring a little bit of foot traffic on the mall but just for a block or two. Perhaps the convention center parking structure or some of the private structures.

Make the parking for game days cheaper east of the stadium to encourage people to walk to the stadium and enter the Kern Street gate via the mall.

I think it is safe downtown, but, there are those who do not percieve it to be safe, and, that is just as bad if not worse. You can show the statistics that it is indeed safe, but ,if people don't feel it is safe, all the stats won't help. Sometimes it is easier to make it safe then to make it be percieved as safe.
People walking the mall makes it feel safe.Open and thriving businesses with windows to the mall make it feel safe. Housing on the mallmake it feel safe.One way we could help is requiring any new high rise office or anchor stores to have no parking near by, forcing people to walk a block or two, and thus provide the pedestrian traffic for the smaller businesses and for the "eyes on the street" that help make it seem safer. We should have required that the Grizzlies have no immediate parking so people would walk through the mall to reach the parking on the other side. Currently, when I go to a game, like I did this week, I parked at the Tulare garage and never set foot on the mall.

The real thing to remember is that there are no "quick fixes". Including banners. I don't believe banners or other things hurt though. If so, why would we see them still today in suburban shopping centers?

My point about the banners is that they look like there were designed 1) by committee, or 2) by "my son, he does that stuff, I'm sure he'll do it for free." Here's an idea. Have a competition for local artists to create artwork for the banners. Give the winner a prize. Do a big Art Hop show of the top submissions. Do this every year or two. Print them in full color, not two color screenprint. At the end of the year auction off the original work to raise money for the next year.

By the way, last years FPT poster was great, this year is good too.

I have been reading "Suburban Nation" by Andres Duany et al. They talk about the Five B's that were poplular in trying to revitalize downtowns in the 80's. They are: festive Banners, Bandstands, decorative Bollards ( short thick posts), Brick sidewalks and grassy Berms. These along with the lastest light poles, trash cans, and decorative tree grates wer used a s a quick fix in many a downtown.. The authors believe these are nice but do little to revitalize a downtown. Some retail consultants actually think they distract shoppers from looking at the store front windows, and that the windows only have eight seconds to catch the attention of a passing pedestrian, and that any competion from banners etc is a detriment to that happening.

Ok, I don't *hate* the banners, but I just think they could be better.

To respond to Famous Guest:

Thanks for adding some great ideas. I hope you'll share them with the City via a letter of your own.

Also, please let me know (balch@post.harvard.edu) how to contact you and I will make sure you hear about the next Downtown Association design committee meeting. Many of the concerns you have could be expressed in that forum. For instance, that committee commissioned those banners you hate (!) and is working to restore the trash cans and the rest of the Mall hardscape.

Elliott

To answer Famous Amos:

I think you hit the nail on the head with your second point, about the image of safety.

This makes me think how idea #10 -- extending the noise ordinance, which you also mentioned -- relates to a PBID. The connection is, some cities have elected to use their PBID monies to fund a more visible security force, in addition to things of a more infrastructure-related nature. And when it comes to later nightlife, a more visible security presence would help convince the ones who need convincing that downtown is a safe place for them. Gotta love the PBID.

I also think housing on the Mall is important in creating an environment where people feel safety in numbers. San Francisco has a large transient population; our downtown has more transients than other parts of Fresno. The greater perception of safety (I guess) in San Francisco comes from the fact that there are so many other people around, too. Good ol' eyes on the street. Gotta love the Jane.

Elliott

To answer Craig:

A downtown property-based improvement district is a great #13. I had considered including it in my own list, but held back for a couple of reasons, the strongest of which was that a PBID would help enable all of the other ideas, either directly or indirectly. The PBID is really a "super-idea." It also happens to be a really super idea.

The Downtown Association collects about $38,000 annually from Fulton Mall business owners in the form of a business improvement area (BIA) tax. By paying this tax, the merchants automatically become members of the DTA.

There are several problems with how this arrangement is structured. Merchants outside the Mall have no automatic representation, nor do any downtown property owners who have made a significant investment in the long-term viability of the area.

The biggest problem, though, is the small amount of those proceeds. At $2 million, Sacramento's PBID pulls in over 50 times the revenue that our BIA does. That means that all of the DTA's events have to break even -- and some have to turn a big profit -- for us to remain solvent and spend what money we can on art restoration, Mall promotions, etc. Over time the organization becomes more concerned with making money than spending it.

Spending money on downtown revitalization is a full time job, though. Just look at all the ideas that have come up on this blog. It's a job just to read them all! A PBID would provide a larger, more stable funding stream so resources could be focused on spending that money wisely.

Thanks for the point, Craig! I see you've launched me into a major digression. Oh well, too late now.

Elliott

Establish some sort of visual theme for the mall, and stick to it. The current plastic covered wire benches were NOT part of the original mid century modern design. The original benches were built-in wood & concrete structures, and you can tell that the current green benches were the "cheap" solution, rather then fixing the old ones. No one ever thought "does this aesthetically fit the rest of the mall." They don't. Same for the faux-Victorian "mall directory" at the Mariposa intersection. Restore historic architecture where we have it, but the rest should be cutting edge modern, glass and steel, it will better complement the design language of the mall. The clock tower (base) needs to be restored. Also, how about some new artwork on the mall? Maybe on a rotating basis? And please oh please ditch the boring banners that are up right now, "Fulton Mall Art" and get something colorful and full of energy.

Also, as I understand it, the stage and the free speech area were later additions to the mall. (the old Grand Central Hotel used to be there, before it was torn down a few years after the mall was built). Look at it next time and you can tell the pavement doesn't match. Maybe a new multi story mixed use building should be built there, and the platform could be relocated someplace else? (on the Mariposa axis?) It will bring more energy to the center of the mall, and make it feel more dynamic by making the space smaller.

Also, improve the trash and landscape clean up efforts. The pine needles on the pavement are a mess. People in an urban environment don't mind so much a dirty sidewalk, but a dirty pedestrian mall is a different story.

1) A new landscaping plan. In some places the trees are so overgrown that you can't see the stores you're looking for. Shade is good, but in some places it's actually too much. Also, many of the trees are not that healthy. Also when you look at the early pictures of the mall, and look today, there have been many landscaping changes. Some new plams, and other fresh plantings would give the mall a fresh look.

2) New building owners who "get it". Not out of town developers who want to sit on a building and let it rot. It would be helpful if the owners owned multiple properties along the mall, and managed them (and MAINTAINED THEM) just as Fashion Fair is owned and managed by one mall manager.

3) Craig posted on this forum some time ago the idea of the city buying out the Gottschalks owned portion of the Gottschalks building, renovating it, and turning into an indoor public farmers market, a la the Pike Place Market in Seattle. This would be a "home grown" destination, and would be easier to pull off than wooing a major retailer to the mall (at least at first). It also would show off our ag heritage, ethnic foods, and be part of the exciting plans for Kern Street already in the works.

4) Remove the parking lots at the north end of the mall, and build buildings! When the mall was built, there were buildings on both sides all along the north end of the mall all the way to Tuoloumne. Right now the mall is surrounded on both sides by asphalt parking lots. As the Cultural Arts district takes off, the mall needs to connect with that district. You should be able to walk right across the street from the Warnors or Trade Center and be in an urban setting, not a suburban parking lot.

5) Also, remove the Tuoloumne "diverter" street. It is no longer necessary.

the article is a very good start. some people seem to act like figuring out what the mall needs is rocket science, when really the only issue is what criteria we are using for success in renovation, which leads back to the discussion of who are we trying to attract. i'll assume we are in agreement that what we want is something similar to what SF, NY, Chicago, new orleans (had and will have), london, paris, and dare i say amsterdam(!), etc. have, which is a place where people can get from cool and diverse places by foot, including but not limited to shoppes, housing, and entertainment.

specifically, if number 10, the one about allowing live music until midnight/2am is at all controversial, then i've no hope. for me, i'd prefer to see live music allowed until 4am in the mall on weekends, but let's get to 2, first.

i don't know if your article presupposes this issue is important, but i think any conversation about how to renovate the mall that doesn't discuss saftey issues is rather naive and pointless. i'm sure this website is loaded with folks who aren't afriad to strut the mall as it is, but success in renovating downtown depends first and by far foremost on (1) making downtown safe, and (2) convincing people north of shaw that it is in fact safe. The first point will give the mall's success longevity, the second will start the ball rolling.

To elaborate a bit on point (2) above, I believe it is absolutely imperative that people north of show - yay even people who would never put their children in any school district outside of clovis - take part in the life of downtown, by which i don't mean they necessarily have to move in to high-rise condos, but they have to shoppe and hang out there. Because for one thing their money will sustain businesses and bring in *better* businesses, and for another thing they are generally well behaved, physically relatively attractive people who are pleasing to be around, if only at a distance.

if you want to just copy and paste this into your letter, you have my permission.

How much is the DTA currently receiving in Business Improvement District assessments? Just to compare with the numbers I stated above.

Craig
What is an authentic community?

My #13 would be a PBID. A property-based improvement district to support events, safety, clean-up...whatever the downtown building owners deemed as top priorities (they're the one who pay). A PBID in downtown Sacramento raises $2 million for their downtown efforts including downtown guides, events, and even help for homeless in finding downtown housing. Visalia's PBID and Business District raises $500K for their program. Clovis is beginning the process of a downtown PBID. There are 200 of them in sunny CA!

Funding for Fresno's first is in jeopardy, and hopefully a veto over-ride will happen on Monday. Even then, it might go to the area of Shaw around Fashion Fair rather than downtown.

Craig
What is an authentic community?

Man, this is someone who gets it. All one through twelve are killer, Elliot.

The city just needs to post this up, say "This is what we are doing!" and get to work RIGHT NOW.