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That 70's Square
The residents of Northville, Michigan have long enjoyed living in this upscale community with its quaint, historic downtown, a regional shopping and dining destination.
In the 1970s, Northville was ahead of most communities by making streetscape improvements throughout the downtown. This has been an enormous benefit to the city over the last three decades. But since the 70s, little had been done to downtown and by 2006, the town was noticeably in need of renewal.
The Downtown Development Authority (DDA) knew the city need to attract new businesses and patrons, retain current businesses and promote the vibrancy and small-town charm of downtown.
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With the support of the Northville City Council, the DDA retained the local landscape architectural firm Grissim Metz Andriese Associates (GMA) to develop the conceptual design plan for downtown improvements. The project encompassed approximately six blocks of streetscape improvements, the entrance to Ford Field (an athletic park), renovation of Mary Alexander Court (a one-way service drive) and complete redesign of the Northville Town Square in the center of downtown.
Town Square Design The Northville Town Square renovation project began immediately as the first project for the downtown improvements after approval of the conceptual downtown design plan. There were several reasons the town square was chosen as the first phase of redevelopment.
The Northville community hosts events throughout the year. During conceptual design of the downtown plan, it was determined there were 53 planned events for Town Square by various community organizations. Given that range of activity, the square was just too small, dysfunctional and did not contain essential amenities required to host successful events of such various needs.
Gaining Consensus ?EUR??,,????'?????<
To build a consensus, GMA and the DDA held numerous public presentations and visionary sessions to review and gather input for each component, material and layout proposed for the square. From a design standpoint, it was imperative to maintain the design concept so that it did not get watered down in compromises from group to group, thus losing the functionality and uniqueness so vehemently desired. The Chamber of Commerce and several other groups presented a list of the events they held each year, and daily needs they expected the Town Square?EUR??,,????'?????<
Solutions for All GMA, interpreting the input received, created a unique, updated and appealing design style sympathetic to Northville?EUR??,,????'?????<
To establish a design precedence for the pavilion, GMA referenced images of the Art Nouveau metro entrances in Paris, which are constructed of custom glass and iron. Another aspect was to address the neighboring businesses that flanked the Town Square to include their properties within the square?EUR??,,????'?????<
Other amenities in the Town Square are electrical services large enough to support the various venues and events, a portable stage and stage lighting and a fountain that converts to a fire pit in the winter months. Also, a snowmelt system, overhead festival string lighting and oversized custom planters add to the function and character of the space. Along Main Street the large planters act as traffic calming devices, define the edge of the road and create a gate announcing Town Square.
Timeless With a Twist As part of the DDA?EUR??,,????'?????<
Construction of the Solutions Because everything within the Town Square and adjacent streets needed complete updating, GMA enlisted several consultants on their team. The expertise of the consultants expertise covered utility upgrades, pavilion design, lighting and the performance sound system. GMA also worked with several contractors to develop specifications for the boiler-driven snowmelt system and retained a structural engineer to assist with structural components of the project.
As the construction plans were developed, DDA hired a construction manager to facilitate construction administration and expedite construction, as DDA wanted Town Square available for their largest annual festival in mid-September. The construction schedule presented the CM with the daunting task of getting the work done within three months.
The view of the pavilion reveals the temporary stage, kept in place during the summer for the weekly Tuesday and Friday performances. The steps in front of the stage offer seating for children, like this ?EUR??,,????'?????<
Aside from the tight schedule and dealing with ?EUR??,,????'?????<
The construction manager came up with a brilliant strategy to entice customers to come into town to observe the construction by distributing child-size yellow hard hats so children could be part of the project. Mothers made it a daily event to bring their children into town. Business owners were also enthusiastic about all the activity. DDA promoted the project with a constant flow of information, holding weekly construction update meetings for local merchants and the public with free coffee and baked goods.
A Successful Project As a result of DDA?EUR??,,????'?????<
Outside groups are looking at downtown Northville as an example of redevelopment success. During the last year, several movies and commercials have been filmed in the downtown. Besides events, the square truly is a 24/7 space with people enjoying a cup of coffee in the morning, working on their laptop in the afternoon and sitting by the fountain after a great meal. Because of the year-round amenities like the fountain/gas pits, heat melt, and lush plantings, the space is used almost every day of the year.
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The Team Landscape Architect: Grissim Metz Andriese Associates Project Owner/Client: City of Northville Downtown Development Authority Civil Engineer: Zeimet-Wozniak & Associates, Inc. Structural Engineer: Desai / Nasr Consulting Engineers Electrical Engineer: Peter Basso Associates, Inc. Architecture: David Peterhans Irrigation Designer: Graber & Associates, LLC Lighting: Illuminart Audio Visual: Command Performance Audio-Visual Systems, Inc. Surveyors: Orchard, Hiltz & McCliment, Inc. Construction Manager: McCarthy & Smith
Materials Asphalt pavement Concrete sidewalks and curbs (natural and stained) Unit precast concrete pavers Clay pavers Custom pavilion of steel and fritted glass canopy Custom metal railing Custom metal landscape edging Custom aluminum and stainless steel cable trellis Fixed and removeable metal bollards Bike racks Custom fountain/fire pit Precast concrete segmental unit planter walls Custom planter urns Customization of Main Street clock metal work Vinyl screen type fencing Snow melt boiler system Sound system with custom cabinet, rack and controls
Vendors Unilock: Precast concrete pavers and precast planter wall units Brick Tech Architectural, rep for clay pavers Paver Manufacturers: Endicott, Pacific Clay and Yankee Hill Bike Racks: S & G Products Trellis, Stainless Steel Cable: Carl Stahl Bollards: Canterbury Fire Pit: Airmaster Planter Urns: The Chandler Co. Concrete Stain: Scofield Polyvinyl Screen Fencing: Digger Specialties Snow Melt Boiler System: Laars Pennant Boiler Lighting: ?EUR??,,????'?????< ?EUR??,,????'?????< ?EUR??,,????'?????< ?EUR??,,????'?????< ?EUR??,,????'?????< Fountain Tile: American Olean Tile Co. Custom Sound System: Command Performance
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Francisco Uviña, University of New Mexico
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