Church members to see garage plans
Posted on Saturday, August 23, 2008
COURTESY This is just one of the conceptual drawings from the Fayetteville engineering firm McGoodwin Williams & Yates depicting the proposed parking garage to be located on St. Paul’s Episcopal Church land to help meet Washington County government parking needs.
St. Paul's Episcopal Church parishioners are set to review conceptual drawings of a proposed parking garage on the church's property to help meet county parking needs.
"Neither body has agreed to anything. If we come to a place of agreement, then we would write up a contract that would protect both parties' interests," said the Rev. Lowell Grisham.
"I don't assume anything in this deal," Washington County Judge Jerry Hunton said.
"I don't know if the church is going to work with us on this or not."
The conceptual drawings show retail shops on the east side of the structure, and a sky walk over College Avenue to the Washington County Courthouse.
Hunton said the sky walk would help move people from one side of College Avenue to the other because the intersection at Dickson Street and College Avenue is "one of the most dangerous intersections in town. "
He described the latest conceptual drawings as a "starting point."
A meeting that included church Vestr y representatives, Hunton, County Attorney George Butler, and architect John Siversen of McGoodwin Williams & Yates engineering firm was conducted Monday to discuss the drawings.
The entire church Vestry met Tuesday and agreed to show the conceptual drawings to members of the parish.
An informational session for the parish is set for 10 a.m. Sunday in the church Parish Hall during the Christian Education hour. The session will include a question and answer session for parishioners. Another meeting is set for 5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 7 to glean parishioner input. It is also scheduled to be conducted in the church's Parish Hall.
Hunton said he will not attend the parish meetings.
"That's their business and I really don't want to be intrusive at all," he said.
"I just don't want anybody thinking that I'm assuming anything."
He said the architects will be able to discuss the concept with parishioners.,
"They're the professionals," he said. "It shouldn't be a political issue. It should be a practical issue. "So far, Hunton said, he has been "real pleased"with the latest design. This conceptual drawings show that boundaries of the proposed parking garage would be College Avenue on the east, the alley next to the church on the west and the current parking lot boundaries on the north and south.
Church concerns An ongoing concern of church officials has been meeting design expectations of the city of Fayetteville's long-term Downtown Master Plan. There have been discussions about the proposal with Jeremy Pate, director of City Planning, to look at ideas with respect to the master plan, said Brad B. Hammond, P. E., president of McGoodwin Williams & Yates.
Hunton said County Administrator John Gibson showed Fayetteville Mayor Dan Coody the drawings on Thursday.
"I think the conversations are being had," Hunton said. "It's just a matter of bringing all of this together in a closer loop and getting the final approvals and stuff if we get approval from the church."
Another concern of the church is the kind of signage that should be used because the parking garage would block visibility of the church from College Avenue.
"We would want significant signage so the people would know that St. Paul's is here," Grisham said.
Grisham said the architect is really "interested in engaging the community in conversation about the aesthetics of the garage. Grisham said that this is similar to what was done with the parking garage at the new Fayetteville Public Library.
"People came up with great ideas to help make that look so much better," Grisham said.
Among concepts in the conceptual drawings for parking garage on St. Paul's land are climbing plants on support trellises on the south and north walls of the garage over backgrounds that would be murals or other design features.
"Our hope, if we agree to build it, if it meets our needs, is that our congregation will come up with some great ideas," Grisham said," especially for the west side, that would face St. Paul's."
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