WHAT’S THE POINT?
With whatever time and resources remain, Fayetteville should strive to make its Dickson Street area parking deck a creative contributor to the entertainment district’s vibe.
It is unfortunate Mayor Lioneld Jordan’s administration, in a push to get a parking deck built on or near Dickson Street, all but gave up on the goal to design it in a creative way that bolstered the entertainment district experience. Give Jordan credit: He set out to develop funding for the parking deck and got it done with passage of the paid parking program for Dickson Street and its surroundings.
That program provided the steady revenue necessary to support the debt to build a parking structure. Financially speaking, his leadership was crucial to making a parking deck possible.
The previous administration had, however, built up expectations about what might be possible with a parking deck, back when its potential location was on the city-owned parking lot west of the Walton Arts Center.
The idea — one we supported — was to build a parking structure somewhat disguised on at least a couple of sides by new residential or commercial development. The operating theory was that Dickson Street deserved more than just a functional multi-level deck, but an edifice that would contribute to Fayetteville’s “funky.”
Under Jordan, the mantra became far simpler — get it done. The location shifted to behind the Walton Arts Center.
The designs that emerged included a so-called liner building, but the way the city structured the finances prohibited them from creating usable commercial space. For a while, the liner idea dissolved into a small office that might house a few city employees.
More recently, Alderman Matthew Petty has pushed for something more, trying to hang on to the vision of it being a project beyond high-dollar parking spaces.
He proposed an agreement with the nonprofit Partners for Better Housing to create row houses for low-income residents on a 15-foot strip of property between School Avenue and the parking deck.
Jordan said he supports Petty’s idea, as long as it doesn’t delay the parking deck.
More recently, the Walton Arts Center has offered some thoughts: Maybe low-income row houses aren’t quite the right concept to contribute to the ju-ju of the block.
The chief operating officer, Terri Trotter, said the arts center would like a liner building that would “add a little more vibrancy” to the area and be certain to appeal to the arts center patrons sure to park there.
Partners for Better Housing says there may still be a way to include some ground-floor retail space with residential areas above.
Sadly, the best possible alternatives may already be in the past because the drive to get it done bypassed the drive to get it done exceptionally well.
But at least the people involved are talking about creative ideas to make this structure more than just a parking deck. A simple concrete structure to hold up cars may work in some locations, but the goal for this one should have been to make it a real contributor to the Dickson Street experience.
City officials should embrace the desire to be creative with whatever opportunity might be left within the strict time frame and budget that remains. If Fayetteville’s leaders want top-quality development from the private sector, they need to strive toward it with the city’s own projects, too.