Cities explore measures to become a place - Pflugerville

Cities explore measures to become a place - Pflugerville

Written by Christi Snow-Covington Tuesday, 07 August 2007

Pflugerville

City hall controversy develops as community weighs options for downtown revitalization

A new city hall might be in order for Pflugerville—but it may not end up in historic downtown.

This summer, Pflugerville’s bond committee, comprised of city staff and council appointees, is developing a package for the May 2008 election, which may include financing for city hall. However, the city and council will not promise that it will be built on sites recommended by the Downtown Planning Committee and the 2004 Downtown Master Plan. That has some residents and business owners upset.

“If city hall is moved, there is nothing down here to keep downtown alive,” said Caroline Graaf, owner of the downtown florist shop Flowers and Frills. “It will be a ghost town.”

At a July 24 council meeting Mayor Jeff Coleman assured constituents that no decision had been made. He also said downtown’s benefit and preservation will be considered.

“If city hall is built downtown, we would rebuild or build around the current city hall,” Coleman said. “That may bring with it a little revitalization. If it is not downtown, we would encourage service professionals such as architects and lawyers to move downtown and they would start the revitalization. They would eat at the European Bistro, they would frequent the shops and they would benefit the folks doing business there.”

Stick to the master plan

That might work in theory, said Duane Blakeslee, a former council member and downtown property owner, but he said if city hall did indeed move, it would leave a large gap in the middle of a historic center.

“I don’t say [revitalization] can’t happen without city hall. I just don’t see how it can. If you take out a 100-some odd [city] employees all at once, you can’t replace them overnight.”

Blakeslee and Graaf point to a 2004 study commissioned by the city, which became an award-winning downtown master plan that recommended either building city hall at the old cotton gin site on Pecan Street or around the current site on Main Street.

Since the United Methodist Church has purchased the property with the gin that leaves the Main Street option.

City staff has noted that although the master plan is a guide for downtown restoration, that some of it is not practical. Part of the design includes the MoKan rail right-of-way, where the city cannot build. It may be used for a future commuter rail.

Potentially, a city hall complex might surround a new city hall that would include an amphitheater, a new recreation center, retail and an extensive pond, Coleman said.

“We have the opportunity to create a place,” he said. “There are a dozen of pieces of property, including where city hall is now, where we could put a building. We have to decide if we want to build a place.”

Small steps

Three years after the study was completed, Pflugerville Planning Director Trey Fletcher assured that Pflugerville has taken small, but necessary steps to reach the final goal, which is “to revitalize downtown and spur economic development,” according to the plan.

For that to become a reality, Pflugerville must have a walkable downtown, it must become a “place,” which is not the case right now, Fletcher said. That means replicating the design and atmosphere on Main Street between First Street and Railroad Avenue into the rest of downtown. Main Street is a cluster of historic buildings now used for restaurants and small shops.

Ideally, other downtown streets would have a similar structure with short roads, regular intersections and on-street parking bordered by sidewalks that would go directly to appealing storefronts. Alleys give added pedestrian access to buildings that would house a mixture of niche retail such as antiques, craft and gift shops, restaurants and office space.

In the interim of the study and the present, the city has formed a site development code tailored specifically for the downtown area to provide the rules for growth. Several single-family residences were also — or will soon be — rezoned for commercial purposes. That means in the future it could become something such as a boutique, restaurant or office.

The master plan explored measures to draw even more traffic through downtown, such as a Main Street extension to FM 685.

Pflugerville’s five-year Capital Improvement Plan highlights that vision as a possible project. That does not mean it will happen soon, Fletcher said, but it is a project being seriously considered.

Chair of the Downtown Planning Committee Rod Reyna said at the council meeting that while he appreciates the efforts taken by the city so far, enough public money has not been devoted to downtown.

He describes the area of Main and Pecan streets as “the jewel of the city and something to be proud of.” Moving city hall suggests just the opposite to him.

“Downtown is the heart of the city,” he said. “It’s where the city began. It is where we need to revitalize it and keep it vibrant. Unless someone can show us otherwise, then I think it needs to be there.”

The Proposed Willkommen Center is a concept plan from the 2004 Pflugerville Downtown Master Plan developed by TWC Restoration Architects and commissioned by the City of Pflugerville.

*Although the site was originally proposed for city hall, the United Methodist Church bought the property. Then in 2005, the Downtown Planning Committee recommended city hall be built around the current city hall and on the surrounding land.

 

 

 

Developing downtown

In 2004, the City of Pflugerville commissioned a study for a town concept plan for downtown Pflugerville. While not an actual requirement of the center’s future structure, the Downtown Master Plan is a strategic guideline for planned development.