Sep 2, 2010 20

Avoca Coffee headed to Magnolia

By: Kevin Buchanan

At long last, a local coffee shop is headed to Magnolia Avenue in the Near Southside.  The former Sundance Scooters building at Magnolia & 6th will soon be home to Avoca Coffee, a new indie coffee shop by owners Jimmy Story and Garold LaRue.  For context, the site is across the street from Magnolia from Spiral Diner, Lili’s, and Panther City Bicycles, a block east of Nonna Tata and The Usual, and a block west of the Chat Room.

Avoca hopes to be far enough along to host artists during Arts Goggle on October 2nd, and they’re shooting for a November grand opening.  The building will serve double duty, with the eastern half (on the left) serving as the roasting facility (yes, they’re roasting their own beans), while the western half on the right will function as the actual coffee shop.  Haven’t heard too many details of the renovations yet, but I’ve heard some talk of bringing the western end of the building out closer to Magnolia, as well as an outdoor patio on the Magnolia frontage.

A local coffee shop has been a missing piece of the Magnolia puzzle for a long time, so this is a great development.  Increasing the variety of businesses on Magnolia, and giving people places to do more than just come in and dine, will help with Magnolia’s pedestrian and bike activity as well, since people will spend more time if there’s more than just restaurants.  Can’t wait to see how Avoca turns out.

Aug 31, 2010 14

Streetfilms – No Need for Speed: 20′s Plenty for Us

By: Kevin Buchanan

20′s Penty For Us from Streetfilms on Vimeo.

Streetfilms has a new video out exploring the rising demand for urban streets to be reset at 20 mile per hour speed limits.

Earlier this month, the New York City Department of Transportation announced plans to experiment with 20 mph zones — replacing the city’s default 30 mph speed limit in one pilot neighborhood. Whoever gets the first 20 mph treatment will see benefits that residents of British cities and towns have become increasingly familiar with in recent years.

In the UK, some 3 million people live in areas with 20 mph speed limits. The experience there shows that not only do slower speeds save lives, but lowering the limit to 20 mph improves the way local streets function in more ways than one. According to the 20′s Plenty for Us campaign, the change has produced wide-ranging benefits, including less traffic, increased walking and biking, greater independence for children, the elderly and infirm, better health, and calmer driving conditions for motorists.

The mission of 20′s Plenty For Us is to establish 20 mph as the default speed limit on all residential roads in the UK. I recently met up with the campaign’s founder, Rod King, as well as other advocates in the towns of Warrington and York, to understand how the idea of slowing down traffic has spread so fast throughout the country.

I’d add that besides changing the limit via signage and such, street designs themselves should reinforce the slower speeds through traffic calming, narrowing, and other design methods (as seen in several examples in the video).

Aug 30, 2010 7

Spiral Diner Up For Best Vegan Restaurant In Country

By: Kevin Buchanan

Survey.  Click over to this Survey Monkey survey and cast your votes for many VegNews Magazine awards.  Of interest to Fort Worthians, our very own Spiral Diner is once again up for Best Vegan Restaurant in the country.  Click and do your civic duty.  Following Ellerbe’s recent award, we have the chance to have two “best in the United States” award-winning restaurants on Magnolia.  Voting ends tomorrow (8/31), so get your vote in.

Aug 30, 2010 0

Near Southside Bike Parking Improvement Plan Update

By: Kevin Buchanan

Things are progressing steadily on Phase One of the Near Southside Bike Parking Improvement Plan, a joint venture between us here at Fort Worthology, Fort Worth South, Inc., and Trinity Bicycles.  I thought I’d give everybody an update as to how things are going.

For those not familiar with the project, the Near Southside Bike Parking Improvement Plan was born from Fort Worth South’s desire to make the Near Southside a model of bike friendliness in Fort Worth.  This has already led to projects like the Magnolia Avenue bike lanes, and there are more bike lane projects in the pipeline.  Bike lanes are just one component of bike friendliness, though, and it’s also very important to have safe, secure, and easy-to-use parking for bikes at destinations across the district.  There were some racks already in place, but they were the city’s own “Texas Star” lollipop-style racks, which suffered from a couple of flaws:  one, there’s very few of them (something like ten or twelve in the entire district), and two, they don’t immediately look like bike racks, instead resembling some kind of old-timey Texas heritage street art.

Clearly, there was room for improvement, so Fort Worth South got with us at Fort Worthology and the guys at Trinity Bicycles to come up with a plan to make things better for bikes in the Near Southside.  Together, we identified numerous destinations across the district, concentrating for Phase One on Magnolia Avenue (a designated Urban Village and home of the district’s most celebrated collection of destinations), Jennings Avenue (a designated Bike Route, potential location of new bike lanes, and an important connector with Downtown Fort Worth) and South Main Street (another important connector, as well as a designated Urban Village in the beginnings of revitalization).  The plan was to use a simple, easy-to-use, and instantly identifiable rack design (the classic “staple” rack, seen in the photo above), and provide multiple racks at each location to give plenty of bike parking at popular stops and redeveloping sites, supporting the Near Southside’s existing bike culture as well as encouraging more people to get out on two wheels and explore the district.

With funding in place from the Near Southside TIF District, things have been progressing steadily.  We recently walked all the locations with our contractor, AUI Contractors, and marked out the final physical locations of all the racks, one of the last steps before installation can begin.  During the course of setting the locations of the racks, it was discovered that we actually had more room in several spots than expected, so we are happy to announce that we’ve picked up an additional ten rack installations, with the expected final count for Phase One now running just over 80 new racks.  These will be grouped to provide parking for multiple bikes at each location.  The lowest-demand locations will get two racks (parking for four bikes), most locations will get three racks (parking for six bikes), and a few high-demand locations will get at least five racks (parking for ten bikes) up to seven racks (parking for fourteen bikes).

Further, Saris Racks, the company we’re ordering the racks through, is so excited about the project that they’ve given us an upgrade from powder-coated to galvanized racks.  This will means that the Near Southside racks will be incredibly durable and weather-resistant.  (All the racks will be black.)

The first batch of racks should be in within a few weeks, so it won’t be much longer before you start to see some pretty dramatic bike parking improvements happening in the Near Southside.

Aug 30, 2010 0

Social Media Powering the Urban Renaissance

By: Kevin Buchanan

Detroiters press for real renaissance — online – USATODAY.com.  Fort Worth never hit the depths that Detroit has, but modern online media (whether you want to use the marketingspeak of “social media” or not, a term which has become so overused as to become essentially meaningless) has absolutely had a great effect on revitalizing urban Fort Worth.  Besides the obvious example you’re reading now, all manner of movements and groups, from community gardens to the city’s burgeoning bike culture, rely on non-traditional media systems to grow and thrive.

Aug 30, 2010 0

This one runs on fat and saves you money…

By: Kevin Buchanan

Dont go outside | I support these New Bike Lane Graphics.

Aug 27, 2010 3

Critical Mass Tonight

By: Kevin Buchanan

The third event of Fort Worth’s reborn Critical Mass group bike ride is tonight. As usual, participants will meet up at Burnett Park in Downtown Fort Worth at 7:00 PM for a laid-back, friendly group bike ride around the central city to spread good bike cheer and let Fort Worth see our burgeoning bike culture.  Tonight’s ride will go around Downtown before heading into the Near Southside, then onward to the TCU/Bluebonnet Circle area before returning back through the Near Southside to Downtown.

Aug 26, 2010 1

Single-Family House Sales Hit All-Time Low

By: Kevin Buchanan

Data Dump: Nobody in America Wants to Buy New Houses Either | The New York Observer.

Aug 26, 2010 7

Stayton Progress

By: Kevin Buchanan

The first of three towers at the Stayton retirement condo development in So7 has topped out, and the building’s distinctive swooping roof is going up.  It also appears that they’re getting closer to having some facade work underway.  Towers 2 and 3 aren’t far behind – the development’s already making a pretty noticeable addition to the Cultural District.

If you’d like to get a sneak preview of the Stayton, check out our in-depth look at the project from last year.

As an aside, can I point out a problem with the new So7 sidewalks?

The width’s pretty good, but the arrangement of the lamps and trees is awkward.  You’ll be weaving your way between the two when you encounter them together, and when just passing trees their location inboard towards development means pedestrians will be out on the edge by the curb, next to traffic.  From a pedestrian standpoint, it’s better to have all the objects like lamps and trees in the area of the sidewalk next to the curb, to provide a physical and psychological barrier between pedestrian walking space and traffic.  (Picture all the trees lined up on the same side as those lamps, and you’ll get the idea.)  Minor?  Perhaps, but I wanted to point it out all the same.

Aug 24, 2010 21

UPDATED: Council Delays Streetcar Vote, May Result in Forfeit of Federal Grant

By: Kevin Buchanan

UPDATE:  Actually, an update/clarification.  It’s my understanding that the council has, indeed, continued the vote, meaning it’ll be put off until another council meeting.  This still doesn’t help our standing with the FTA.

Additionally, I’ve received word from sources close to the situation that Mayor Moncrief and Councilman Jungus Jordan were, in fact, intending to kill the resolution completely.  It looks like it was Councilman Joel Burns who was able to get the continuance instead of the outright defeat.  So, while it’s not exactly in a healthy condition, the resolution’s not dead – thanks to Burns, it’s at least still on life support.  Thank Councilman Burns the next time you see him.

———-

UPDATE 2: Some words from the council members and the mayor prior to the vote.  These are all paraphrased:

Carter Burdette:  Doesn’t want to express any support without the HDR study.  (My opinion:  wants to kill it through endless studies.)  Made some reference to developers and, if I’m not mistaken, Councilman Burns (didn’t say Joel outright, but it was obvious and weird) for “pushing” streetcar system (so, numerous studies in one form or another since the ’70s is “pushing,” now, apparently).

Jungus Jordan:  Says he supports better circulation, but seems to be wanting to just do more buses.  Highlights “natural gas powered” buses – of course.  Wants to withdraw resolution, says we were “premature” in asking for it.

Sal Espino:  Supports streetcar.  Feels we can’t keep building more and more concrete to solve our development and traffic problems.

Danny Scarth:  Says more roads, along with traffic light timing, will solve our traffic problems.  (Because putting more cars on the road always makes traffic better?  Sigh.)  Against resolution.

Zim Zimmerman is against, unsurprisingly.  (Maybe if we could build a Bank of America branch in each streetcar, he’d come around?)

Kathleen Hicks:  Generally positive, goes off on another of her rants about it being only in downtown (it’s not, and she should know that by now) and wanting it in her district (hey Kathleen, South Main is in your district!).

Frank Moss:  We need to move forward with resolution.  Streetcars are development catalysts, and we need to be encouraging for economy.

Joel Burns:  Says NCTCOG has addressed all the concerns the council is feeling.  We need to encourage development in the central city, which creates jobs and funding for things like libraries and pools.  We must send strong message to FTA thanking them for the grant.

Mayor Moncrief:  Blames himself for encouraging streetcar, says Tower 55 is top priority (good grief), after than commuter rail, and after that streetcar.  Moves to table the resolution, says Tower 55 must come first.

Motion is passed, resolution is tabled.

———-

At the City Council meeting this morning at 10:00 AM, a resolution will be put before the council on the subject of the modern streetcar project and other rail projects.  Various planners and officials have repeatedly stressed that we have a “three-legged stool” of rail projects of equal importance – Tower 55, SW2NE commuter rail, and the streetcar.  The resolution reads as follows:

A RESOLUTION REAFFIRMING SUPPORT FOR TOWER 55 AT-GRADE IMPROVEMENTS, SOUTHWEST-TO-NORTHEAST COMMUTER RAIL, AND A MODERN STREETCAR SYSTEM, AND IDENTIFYING NON-COMPETING FUNDING SOURCES FOR SAID PROJECTS

WHEREAS on March 9, 2010, the City Council approved Resolution No. 3867 adopting the City of Fort Worth’s Amended 2010 Federal Legislative Program, which expressed support for funding for Tower 55 at-grade improvements, Southwest-to-Northeast commuter rail, and a modern streetcar system; and

WHEREAS the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has awarded $24.99 million in Urban Circulator grant funds for a modern streetcar starter project in Fort Worth; and

WHEREAS the FTA is seeking clarification on the City’s commitment to the modern streetcar project and its ability to provide the local match; and

WHEREAS the Mayor’s Rail Funding Strategies Committee has identified non-competing funding sources for the three important rail projects (Exhibit A); and

WHEREAS the Mayor’s Rail Funding Strategies Committee has recommended the allocation of $1 million for Tower 55 at-grade improvements; and

WHEREAS City of Fort Worth staff has determined that existing tax increment finance (TIF) districts will generate sufficient revenue to provide local matching funds for the FTA grant in a manner that will result in no competition for federal, state, or local funding among the City’s high-priority rail projects; and

WHEREAS the Fort Worth Transportation Authority has committed up to $2 million per year for the annual operating costs of a modern streetcar starter project and is capable of operating a modern streetcar system; and

WHEREAS the City Council will receive a business plan for a modern streetcar starter project in November 2010 from HDR Engineering, Inc. and the Modern Streetcar Task Force, as communicated to FTA in May 2010;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH THAT:

The City of Fort Worth reaffirms its support for Tower 55 at-grade improvements, Southwest-to-Northeast commuter rail, and a modern streetcar system; and

The City of Fort Worth intends to consider certain non-competing funding sources for these rail projects, as set forth in Exhibit A; and

The City of Fort Worth pledges $1 million in certificates of obligation for Tower 55 at-grade improvements in connection with the Texas Department of Transportation application for federal TIGER II Discretionary Grant funds; and

Upon receipt of an acceptable business plan in November 2010, the City of Fort Worth will seek to secure TIF funds as local match for the FTA Urban Circulator grant for a modern streetcar starter project that provides Downtown circulation and connectivity between the Intermodal Transportation Center, employment centers and nearby mixed-use urban neighborhoods.

In essence, saying that Tower 55, SW2NE, and the streetcar are all very important projects, and with non-competing funding sources for all projects identified and pending the arrival of a workable business plan from HDR for the modern streetcar, the city will then seek to get funds from the various TIF districts involved to move ahead with the modern streetcar project.  This resolution is important, because due to the city’s waffling on the project since the Federal Transit Administration awarded Fort Worth a grant for $25 million for the streetcar, the FTA has been wanting clarification of the city’s stance towards the project.  FTA wants real projects that expect to turn dirt.

Without this resolution, it’s quite likely the FTA may wind up pulling the $25 million grant from Fort Worth, harming not only the streetcar project but our interactions with federal transportation officials for other projects as well.

My take is that the council itself is likely to be split 4-4, with Joel Burns, Kathleen Hicks, Sal Espino, and Frank Moss voting for the resolution, and Jungus Jordan, Zim Zimmerman, Carter Burdette, and Danny Scarth voting against it, making Mayor Moncrief’s vote crucial one way or another.  Moncrief has been waffling, and this morning it appears likely that he will vote against the resolution as well, harming the streetcar project he has been a supporter of thus far as well as putting other transportation projects seeking federal dollars into harm’s way.  See update above.

The resolution isn’t tying Fort Worth’s hands – it’s something to keep the FTA happy so that we can get our study finished with HDR and then, pending a workable business plan from HDR, then decide to move forward on the streetcar project with access to the important $25 million grant.  To vote against this resolution, despite the fact that the streetcar doesn’t compete with Tower 55 or SW2NE Rail, strikes me as extremely short-sighted of the city government.  In my opinion, there have been some very real efforts from a small group of powerful folks to confuse the streetcar funding issue and kill the project at any cost, and this strikes me as the latest effort in that game.

Streetcar supporters are urged to head to the 10:00 AM council meeting and fill out speaker cards to voice their support for the resolution and the project.  It also wouldn’t hurt to contact Mayor Moncrief:

Mayor – Mike Moncrief – 817-392-6118 –mike.moncrief@fortworthgov.org

Or, for that matter, the council:

Mayor Pro Tem – District 4 – Danny Scarth – 817-392-6187 –District4@fortworthgov.org
District 2 – Sal Espino –  817-392-8802 –District2@fortworthgov.org
District 3 – Zim Zimmerman – 817-392-8803 -District3@fortworthgov.org
District 5 – Frank Moss – 817-392-8805 –District5@fortworthgov.org
District 6 – Jungus Jordan – 817-392-8806 –District6@fortworthgov.org
District 7 – Carter Burdette – 817-392-8807 –District7@fortworthgov.org
District 8 – Kathleen Hicks – 817-392-8808 –District8@fortworthgov.org
District 9 – Joel Burns – 817-392-8809 – District9@fortworthgov.org

Aug 23, 2010 1

ICM Architecture

By: Kevin Buchanan

ICM Architecture (icons of Fort Worth) – a set on Flickr.  Haunting abstract photos of the Modern, Kimbell, Carter, and Science & History museums, plus the Marty Leonard Chapel, taken by Burningphotography on Flickr using the Intentional Camera Movement technique.

Aug 23, 2010 2

Dunn-Haven Building Redevelopment Progress – New Blanchard Schaefer Headquarters

By: Kevin Buchanan

The former Dunn-Haven Apartments building at Adams & Magnolia’s already come a long way.  There’s a lot of interior work underway that’s, obviously, a little difficult to see from many outside vantage points, but what’s not hard to see is the exterior renovation work.  In particular, the building’s now got a ton of new windows.  It’s always amazing to see how new windows can make such a huge difference in the appearance of a building.

The Dunn-Haven building is one of the older structures on Magnolia, having been built in 1914.  It shows elements of various styles, including the Prairie School. It is of a configuration not common in this area, with its three stories and full porches at each level. A similar structure can be found in the nearby Fairmount neighborhood south of Magnolia, the currently vacant Bomar Apartments at 1507 Alston, built in 1907.

The building is being redeveloped into the headquarters of advertising & public relations firm Blanchard Schaefer, who are relocating their business from Arlington to be in a walkable & bikeable neighborhood with a strong community and creative feel.

Aug 19, 2010 4

ArtAffects Gallery – New Art Gallery on Magnolia

By: Kevin Buchanan

Located in the same building as Cat City Grill, ArtAffects Gallery opened earlier this month in the ground floor of 1208 W. Magnolia in the Near Southside.  A small two-room gallery space, ArtAffects showcases emerging regional artists working in contemporary and abstract styles.

You can’t help but notice the space as you walk or bike the street – the lights stay on until midnight, and with the works being right up on the sidewalk, the impact of the art gets transmitted right out into the public realm.  Currently, ArtAffects is featuring the work of Starr Perry, whose bold and bright artwork has found her clients ranging from Westin and NYLO hotels to Trammell Crow and London’s Heathrow Airport.

ArtAffects is run by central city resident Katie Dillow, who intends for the gallery to become an active part of the Near Southside community and the city’s art scene as a whole, both by participation in events like Arts Goggle and by working with local businesses who want to enhance their own spaces with local art (an example being a recent event at Grace in downtown).

After years of Magnolia storefronts being mainly occupied by restaurants and offices, it’s great to see some variety starting to emerge.  ArtAffects is a cool establishment that splashes art right onto the sidewalks and bike lanes of Magnolia Avenue, and I can’t wait to see it grow and evolve over time.

Check out ArtAffect’s web site for more.  Here are some other photos of the gallery in the evening:

Aug 18, 2010 Comments Off

BizPress on Trinity Bicycles

By: Kevin Buchanan

Bike shop caters to commuter-cyclist – Fort Worth Business Press.  Nice story about the Near Southside’s Trinity Bicycles.  Kudos to the Business Press for A) using “Near Southside” rather than “Hospital District” (the Star-Telegram still has trouble with that one) and B) for the mention of our bike parking project.

Aug 17, 2010 1

Finn MacCool’s Expands

By: Kevin Buchanan

Finn MacCool’s Expands | Fort Worth Weekly – Kudos to the fine folks at 8th & Allen in the Near Southside.

Aug 17, 2010 1

City Bike Review: Kona Africabike

By: Kevin Buchanan

Time for another city bike review.  Last time, I took a look at the upscale Civia Loring.  This time, I’m looking at a city bike that occupies the other end of the price spectrum – the Kona Africabike.

The Africabike is the city bicycle stripped to its essence.  It features a steel frame in one size (18″) with adjustable seat and handlebar heights, fat, rugged tires, three-speed Shimano Nexus internally geared rear hub, coaster brakes and front wheel brake, full fenders and mud guards, a bell, a chain guard, a front basket, and a rear rack that’s integrated with the frame.  And that’s about it.

It’s an extremely simple and straightforward bike, which I think is a lot of its appeal.  This is the pure essence of a classic European-style city bike, at a surprisingly low price.

The Africabike may only come in one frame size, but it’s adjustable enough to cover a decent range of rider sizes.  Even folks over six feet tall can be comfortable.  In Euro city bike tradition, the riding position is essentially bolt upright.  It’s pretty much the same experience you’d get from a Dutch or German city bike.  The frame is a step-through design allowing anybody in any sort of clothing comfortable access on or off the saddle.  The design is classically European.  It’s quite comfortable, and allows for a relaxed running-around-the-neighborhood ride.  The three-speed internal hub gives enough range to deal with the sort of hills one encounters around the urban core, and overall the ride is really nice.  It’s smooth and really fun to ride.

It’s also supremely practical.  Besides the essentials like fenders, a kickstand, a chainguard, a bell, and the like, the Africabike comes will full front and rear cargo carrying ability.  The front basket is deep and made of wire mesh, preventing small objects from falling out.  The rear rack is an integral part of the frame, and is tremendously strong – a person can pretty easily ride on it without fear.  The front and rear basket/rack setup gives great flexibility when going shopping or transporting items.  Add a set of panniers, a laptop bag, or just some simple netting or bungee cords to the rack and you’re all set.

The Africabike doesn’t have the meticulous bamboo detailing or other fancy touches of something like the Civia Loring, but it cuts an elegant and very Dutch sort of silhouette.  The all-black Model T sort of paint job really serves the bike well, and the Model T comparison comes into sharp focus once you come to price.

Kona designed and built the Africabike as extremely practical urban transportation in the grand tradition of the European city bike builders, and wanted the bike to be very affordable.  A lot of the decisions made with the Africabike, like the single-but-versatile frame size, are a result of this desire to keep the price down.  The result is that this is likely one of the least expensive authentically European-style well-made city bikes you can buy new in the United States.  Everything you see pictured here – the Africabike with three-speed hub, chainguard, fenders, front basket, rear rack, etc. – will cost you $399.  That is really, really awesome.  About the only things the Africabike needs to be a full transportation solution are front and rear lights, and for this price, it’s no biggie to buy some LED lights and clip them on.

And then, there’s the thing about the name.  It’s called the “Africabike” for a good reason:  for every two Africabikes sold, Kona donates one to a needy village in Africa.  How cool is that?

The Africabike (and other models of the Kona range, like the long-tail Ute cargo bike I reviewed before) can be found at Trinity Bicycles on South Main in the Near Southside, who graciously provided us with this example to review.  Also check out Kona’s Africabike web site.

Here’s our gallery of Africabike photos – click the thumbnails for a larger view:

Aug 16, 2010 Comments Off

The Luxury of Small

By: Kevin Buchanan

Wonderful piece by Steve Mouzon on the advantages of not spending your money on sheer square footage.

Aug 16, 2010 Comments Off

NYT: Free Parking Comes at a Price

By: Kevin Buchanan

“Who pays for free parking?  Everyone but the motorist.”

Aug 13, 2010 Comments Off

Yoga for Cyclists This Sunday

By: Kevin Buchanan

Yoga for Cyclists resumes this Sunday! New time, same place. |.  Yoga for Cyclists returns to Trinity Bicycles on South Main in the Near Southside this Sunday at 3:00 PM.

Aug 13, 2010 14

Last Call for the Ridglea?

By: Kevin Buchanan

Things are looking grim for the Ridglea Theater.  It’s my understanding that Bank of America has been meeting with the building’s owners, Fix Funding, as well as Councilman Zimmerman, about moving forward with purchasing the structure.  BoA may even already have the building under contract.  Councilman Zimmerman does not seem to be responsive to efforts to save the building.  He apparently believes Bank of America’s plan to demolish everything but the facade of the theater to build a drive-through bank branch to be a positive proposal.  Given the opposition from Historic Fort Worth and large numbers of Fort Worth residents who may not even care for the metal acts that frequent the Ridglea today but who wish to see the building saved and not replaced with a generic drive-through bank hiding behind the shell of the facade, this attitude from the district’s elected official is deeply disappointing.

I feel that the best hope now is to tell Bank of America of your opposition to the proposal.  In other words, a large national corporation must act based on the community’s wishes where its own elected official will not.  Here is the contact information of the BoA reps involved:

Diane Wagner:  312.828.2932, diane.wagner@bankofamerica.com
Mike Pavel: email via mandy.kizer@bankofamerica.com

And of course, you can still e-mail Zim via the following link:

Zim Zimmerman – 817-392-8803 - District3@fortworthgov.org

Personally, I feel that demolishing a historic theater and performance venue, along with its associated mixed-use historic building, just to replace them with a generic drive-through bank branch making a half-hearted attempt to “fit in” by hiding behind a tiny sliver of the original structure is no progress at all (especially given Ridglea’s status as a designated Urban Village, an area the city wants to see grow denser and more walkable with more mixed uses).  Replacing something as iconic and unique in Fort Worth’s history as the Ridglea with another generic pod of cookie-cutter suburbia, yet another bank branch on a formerly important street that is increasingly home to bland and generic junk, is a terrible mistake.  I’ve seen buildings in far worse condition be saved .  Once it’s gone, it’s gone forever – I hope we won’t make this mistake.  If you agree, please let the powers that be know.

And check out the Save the Ridglea Theater group while you’re at it.

Update:  Got forwarded a letter sent to Bank of America and Councilman Zimmerman from Steve Smith, partner at local marketing firm Starr Tincup, that quite eloquently states its case:

Dear Diane, Mike and Council Member Zimmerman:

As a Fort Worth business owner, I am deeply concerned by reports I see about Bank of America’s plans for the Ridglea Theater. My company works with clients all over the world, and when we bring them to Fort Worth, they are always surprised to discover that we are so much more than our Cowtown image. On the contrary, Fort Worth has become a cosmopolitan city – in large part because we are rich in cultural and architectural diversity. We embrace our past as we move into the future. However, transforming the Ridglea Theater into a bank is a step in the wrong direction. Destroying the Ridglea Theater costs Fort Worth a little piece of its soul.

I know that this may sound a little hippy-dippy to you, but my company is a $12 million business that can operate anywhere in the world. We choose to be in Fort Worth because it’s a great place to live and can attract the talent we need to compete on a global scale. The writers, coders, designers and creative types that I need are a lot more compelled to live in a city where the Ridglea Theater can thrive as a music venue or art-house movie theater, not be razed to build another bank. Destroying the Ridglea actually has an impact on my business.

I urge you to please consider other options before making this tragic mistake.

Thank you for your consideration,

Steve

–
Steve Smith
Starr Tincup
817.204.0279 || starrtincup.com

Aug 12, 2010 4

The Canopy at 8.0

By: Kevin Buchanan

A quick note:  there’s the new translucent canopy structure Sundance Square installed over the patio at 8.0 in Downtown.  Not too bad looking, though I hear it causes something of a greenhouse effect.  It’ll allow concerts in the rain while still letting the trees get sunlight.

Aug 12, 2010 Comments Off

Cafe Replaces Parking Space in NYC

By: Kevin Buchanan

Streetsblog New York City » DOT Unveils New “Pop Up Café” in Financial District.  Dig the photo of NYC DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan hanging out with David Byrne.

Aug 12, 2010 2

Blue Sushi Sake Grill Progress

By: Kevin Buchanan

Looks as though Blue Sushi Sake Grill is rolling right along in its future home – the ground floor of the Museum Place Flatiron, where 7th, University, Camp Bowie, and Bailey come together, across the street from Eddie V’s.

Blue is, oddly, an import from Omaha, Nebraska.  There are three locations in Omaha, with the Museum Place location being its first venture out of that area.  So, if anybody out there has been through Omaha and dined at Blue, what did you think?

Aug 11, 2010 8

Citizen Theater Location Update

By: Kevin Buchanan

Our friends over at the Citizen Theater have posted an update on their search for a location for the planned twin-screen art house movie theater in the Near Southside:

We have some exciting news. We’ve thought a lot about where we want The Citizen to be. Prevoiusly we were trying to renovate an older buidling but through this process we’ve realized that we really want to be close to Spiral and be part of the neighborhood that has already been so good to us. Our new plan is to purchase an empty lot right on Maganolia Ave, really close to Spiral. This will put us right in the middle of everything. Best of all we will be able to design the building exactly how we want and up to LEED standards. It’s very exciting.

The Citizen is also seeking investors from the community – head over to the Citizen web site to contact Amy about becoming one.

Aug 11, 2010 11

Foch Office Development

By: Kevin Buchanan

The redevelopment of the Quonset hut and adjacent warehouse structure on Foch near the West 7th development is well underway – here’s a recent photo of the project.  There have been quite a few questions on this project, and what I know now is that it’s an office space project, and the architect for the redevelopment is Cunningham Architects.

Here’s the warehouse structure next door being heavily renovated.

The development looks intriguing – clean and modern.  With one exception…

It looks like no sidewalks on the side street!  There have been a few redevelopments in the West 7th surroundings that have left out sidewalks, either completely or partially (Capital Bar, last we noticed, had no sidewalks in front).  That’s unacceptable in a redeveloping Urban Village setting – I’d hope more of these projects would take their pedestrian-oriented location into consideration and put in sidewalks on all sides.  As it stands now, outside of Cypress Equities property the sidewalk situation in this area – even on newly renovated properties – is disappointingly spotty.

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