Latest News August 23, 2002
Latest News (August 23, 2002): Andres Duany, internationally renowned designer/planner, founder and principal advocate for “New Urbanism,†addressed the Temple Terrace CRA and a large assembly of citizens at the Lightfoot Center on the 22nd of August. Mayor Barford, the entire City Council (CRA), the STAR committee, prominent community leaders, state and county politicians and active members of the voting public were in attendance. Mr. Duany came to Temple Terrace at the request of the CRA and through the intercession of our friends and neighbors, including Don Cooper and Grant Rimbey of Cooper Johnson Smith, Architects, Inc. and the efforts of City Manager Kim Leinbach.
Mr. Leinbach opened the meeting with a summary and overview of our progress. Our City Manager mentioned the designation of the redevelopment area in 1999, the formation of the CRA on May 14, 2000, the focus on revitalizing the central business district in 2001, and the formation of STAR (Strategic Teamwork and Redevelopment) in 2002. He called the SE Quadrant a “STAR†project and mentioned the appraisals and efforts to put those properties under the control of the city, including the recently completed agreement for the Kash N’ Karry property.
DPZ’s Matt Shannon introduced Andres Duany who proceeded to describe the historical and geographic context of Temple Terrace, beginning with the purchase of the land by the Potter Palmer family as a recreational estate in the early part of the 20th century, and eventually sold to a group named the Temple Terrace Community. Duany praised our city’s location, its famous oaks, and the beauty of the river, and the original design created in the vintage age of city planning, the 1920s. He emphasized that Temple Terrace had only three years (1922-1925) before the economic bust, and urged us to be the generation that completes the process.
Mr. Duany articulated the three options for the city: 1.) Developer initiated; 2.) City subsidy and 3.) City-initiated master plan followed by developers’ bids. He emphasized that these are all viable possibilities, but we need to decide which one is best. He reviewed and critiqued our downtown area, and showed good and bad examples of community design. He defended the idea of city planning by pointing out that the first act of the United States Congress was to acquire property in Washington, D.C. in order to create our nation’s capital city, at the request of President George Washington in 1791 for Pierre-Charles L’Enfant to design a city on the banks of the Potomac river.
(Ed. Note: The plan, now in the Library of Congress, was kept by Washington in his personal papers until 1796 when he turned it over to the city commissioners).
Duany clarified ideals in city planning and noted the work of Frederick Law Olmsted, best known as the landscape designer for New York’s Central Park.
(Ed. Note: According to the book A Clearing in the Distance, one of Olmsted’s best designs was for the City of Buffalo, planned originally in 1804 by the brother of the successor to L’Enfant in Washington. Olmsted had to do a lot of talking “privately and publickly” [sic] to materially advance the “parks” project more than fifty years later in the 1860s. Several sites had to be acquired by the city. The result was not merely a park, like Central Park in NY, but a system, under Parisian influences. His original plan had a network of parks, parkways, avenues, and public spaces that represented “a degree of sophistication in city planning previously unknown in the United States.” p. 289)
Andres Duany spoke clearly and effectively about “neighborhood structures,†“smart growth,†“amenitization,” “front green†versus “backyard areas,†the “molting†of a city, and the “mind-numbing sameness†of the dueling drugstores at too many suburban corners, including our own. He paused for effect, and said that if we demanded something better we could get it, because he has seen higher quality architecture from the same “big-box†pharmacy chains. He showed a slide of a typical convenience store and called them “small atomic power plants†that reduce property values. He suggested that we need another “Main Street” within the new development area since 56th and Bullard have been lost due to their status as thoroughfares. He proclaimed that Temple Terrace has the potential to be the next great city, a model for others, and that the acreage available for development is more than adequate for what we want to do. He implied that we might look beyond that parcel to the adjacent apartment complex in our long-range planning, and that his design plan would also help to codify future construction and renovation.
As we know, the value of our redevelopment in Temple Terrace has increased already merely because Andres Duany has addressed it. Mr. Duany made a convincing presentation. He was at the podium for over two hours, answering questions until everyone who wanted to ask had an opportunity to address him personally. When asked about the city’s financial exposure and costs, he reiterated the notion in Kevin Lawler’s report that the city must get the property under control, not own the properties outright, and then developers will be eager to line up to give us value in return.
Mr. Duany charmed the crowd with his patience, insight and clarity of his vision. He commended our decisive effort to move the Performing Arts Center from the river site, and incorporate it into the revitalization plan. Andres believes that the river views in Temple Terrace are unique, and far superior to ocean views. In his opinion, the Riverhills site should be integrated into the area as a park, preserving nature’s beauty and the green areas we admire so much. We should all do our part to transform these thoughts and ideals into reality, encouraging our civic leaders to continue working in a positive direction.