THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, July 20, 1996 TAG: 9607200215
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TERRI WILLIAMS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 71 lines
David Levy lives in a converted warehouse in downtown Norfolk. He enjoys the energy and bustle around him.
``I'm a true urbanite,'' Levy, an architect, said. ``I really like urban places. I've traveled to a lot of urban places, and I know the potential of what they can be.''
Levy along with some other architects, historic conservationists and community citizens, wants to maximize that potential by improving the design for the MacArthur Center mall.
Levy said he and about 30 or more Norfolk citizens and design professionals are planning to gather today for an all-day intensive public design session. The session, known in architectural circles as a ``charrette,'' will be held at St. Paul's Episcopal Church on St. Paul's Blvd. from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. The public is invited to attend and offer suggestions.
The objective: to come up with several different designs for the downtown mall that accentuate the city's urban nature.
During the session, participants will also study mall designs from other cities such as Portland, Ore., and Baltimore, where, the organizers say, architects have worked to produce more pedestrian-friendly plans for downtown shopping.
After the session today, the organizers plan to present their ideas to mall developers and city officials in hopes they will incorporate some of the work in the city's designs for the mall.
The designers also intend to display their finished designs Sunday, at 1 p.m., during an American Institute of Architects fund-raising event for the SPCA at the Hermitage Museum.
Last week, the Norfolk Planning Commission and the city's Design Review Commission each approved the basic design plan for the center. It provides for a three-level mall that has six levels of parking garages along City Hall Avenue and Freemason Street.
Under the plan, each level of the mall is served by two levels of parking. The plan also calls for an 18-screen movie theater on the third level and a food court on a balcony overlooking Monticello Avenue. A three-story Dillard's and Nordstrom department stores are anchors.
Although city officials have approved the plan, Levy, local architects and others organizing today's session say they think there is room for improvement.
They stress that they're not trying to radically change the mall concept - they just want the $300 million structure to be more pedestrian-friendly.
``We're not attacking the basic concept,'' said Levy. ``We're looking for it to be more compatible to downtown.''
More compatible means shifting the east and west corridor of the mall closer to the street, he said. It means having more windows along the streets and putting cafes and restaurants on the ground level, Levy said.
That would put more pedestrians near the mall, Levy said, which would make mall shoppers feel safer - an objective of city officials. He pointed to neighborhoods such as Ghent that have lots of porches and street cafes that draw large crowds.
``There's safety in numbers,'' said Levy.
Mark D. Perreault, a lawyer and another session organizer, said Friday that he's not worried that city officials have already endorsed a design.
The City Council could still intervene, he said, and he's hopeful that planners and developers for the mall will listen to the ideas developed on Saturday.
``We kind of view this as empowering the city,'' said Perreault.
Longtime City Councilman Mason C. Andrews said he's not offended by the fact that another group is working an alternative plan.
However, Andrews said he is satisfied with the current plan. He said it will attract new business and help spur the Granby Street corridor.
Andrews said that storefronts built close to the street, such as once lined Granby Street, haven't been successful over the years.
KEYWORDS: MACARTHUR CENTER MALL DESIGN by CNB