Designing the Future of the South Ark Neighborhood
Last week, residents were invited to think like city planners and share potential design ideas and use preferences for the 100-acre South Ark Neighborhood Plan area along the South Arkansas River south of Highway 50. This was the latest opportunity for community members to provide input that will ultimately help determine a formal master plan to guide future development of the City-owned property.
Over two days, stakeholders participated in on-site walking tours of the land to help visualize the area and better understand the challenges and opportunities the property provides. Salida City Council and Planning Commission members attended one of the tours as part of a joint work session.
Additionally, there were two design workshops where participants worked collaboratively to create conceptual designs for the area, taking into account the desired uses for the site, including housing, recreation, natural open space, and civic/educational opportunities. The attendees developed nine separate concepts, and the City’s consultant team from Studio Seed combined the feedback to generate three professionally designed ideas.
The three concept boards were shared at an Open House at the SteamPlant on Thursday, March 30, and included visual displays that show potential building density that replicates the view and sightlines from different points on the property based on various building locations and heights. Attendees had the opportunity to review the three concept boards and share feedback on their preferences for layout, circulation for pedestrians and vehicles, and possible amenities within the natural open space area. You can view these concepts and learn more about the project at https://bit.ly/3m8YtM8.
If you were unable to attend the meetings last week, an online survey has been created to allow additional review and feedback on the three concept designs. Visit www.surveymonkey.com/r/southarkalternatives to share your thoughts by Sunday, April 16. Feedback from the survey will be used to create two new concept boards for community review later this spring.
Ultimately, the goal is to identify a top design concept that will be examined further to determine infrastructure costs more accurately, affordability options/feasibility, development options, etc. Then, the final plan will be presented to the Planning Commission and City Council for formal adoption, followed by amendments to the existing planned development tentatively scheduled for later this summer.
