MINUTES
TOWN OF NORMAL DOWNTOWN DESIGN REVIEW COMMISSION
CONFERENCE ROOM C CITY HALL
100 E. PHOENIX AVE.
NORMAL, IL
REGULAR MEETING
April 10, 2006 @ 4:00 p.m.
Members Present:
Rick Kentzler, Dennis French, Pam Locsin, Mark Comerford, Dirk DeWerff, Rebecca Landau, Kathy Wilcox
Members Absent:
None.
Others Present:
Lauren Kerestes, Associate Planner; Wayne Aldrich, Downtown
Re-Development;
Debbi Feid, Office Associate; Rob Proctor, Rob Reed, and
Jennette Moline, all of RATIO Architects, Inc.; Mr. Dave Kirk,
Meisrow Stein; Mr. Oren Schaab, The American Legion.
Call to Order:
Ms. Landau called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. and noted a quorum was present.
Minutes:
The Commission approved the minutes of the regular meeting on
February 13, 2006.
Mr. DeWerff moved to approve, Mr. French seconded. The motion
carried 6-0.
Carried Over: CC-06-01-01, 118-122 W. North Street, Site Plan and Elevations for Medici’s restaurant and bakery
Carried Over: CC-06-02-04, Marriot Hotel, Site Plan and Elevations
Both of the above items are carried over to the May meeting.
CC-06-04-06, Multimodal Transportation Center, Site Plan and Elevations
Mr. Aldrich, Downtown Re-development Director, introduced the Multimodal Transportation Center project design team, RATIO Architects, Inc.
Ms. Wilcox came in at 4:03 p.m.
Mr. Reed spoke first about the project. Mr. Reed said that since the Commission had seen initial design renderings of the transportation center, the Federal Transit Administration had decreased funding for this project. As a result, the project design team has taken measures redesign the building to meet the budget and yet maintain the same character and integrity. Most significantly, to meet budget constraints, the transportation center was reduced from four stories to three. Much of the quality of the façade detail and interior plans has remained the same.
Mr. Proctor presented a video of what the proposed transportation center would look like. Some of the key features of the main building include a clock tower, centralized on old the north-south railroad alignment (present-day Constitutional Trail), and angled facades to compliment the roundabout, plaza, and streets. The first floor of the building will house a large civic space, currently referred to as Junction Hall, support and tickets services, waiting areas, a food court and some retail. He also explained that the development incorporated a parking deck component to the west of the main building.
Ms. Moline pointed out some of the waivers as Mr. Proctor presented the video. Ms. Moline talked about some of the design characteristics of the building, particularly the detailed cornices, materials, and clock tower. Mrs. Moline explained that internally the first level of the main building would be a full two stories in height, approximately nineteen feet. This height would coordinate with the height of the first floor of the parking deck in order to accommodate bus circulation through the deck.
Mr. Aldrich commented that the Town Council had reviewed the site plan and expressed concerns about the height of the parking deck towers, the façade view of the deck on Beaufort, and also how much lighting glare may project outward onto the street from the within the deck.
Mr. DeWerff thought that the Beaufort elevation of the parking deck would be more attractive if it incorporated more brick on the upper stories to be consistent with the main building. Mr. Kentzler said that he thought that the Beaufort elevation of the deck should have an appearance more consistent with the intent of the design code and not appear as an exposed parking concrete deck. Mr. Kirk said that the storefront level of the parking deck would consist of brick and glazing that would mirror the façade of the main building. Mr. Proctor said that the methodology behind the design of this deck was that form would follow function. In other words, the deck would look like a deck and not a building, so that people could easily identify it. Mr. Kirk commented that is would be hard to see the upper stories of the deck, given the narrowness of the street. Mr. Comerford felt the brick along the parking deck was not necessary and funds could be used elsewhere on the main transportation center building. He also said that the metal grid used to enhance the Broadway Avenue elevation of the parking deck could be carried over to the Beaufort elevation to give a similar appearance. Mr. French agreed. Mr. Proctor said that there are options the project design team could look into, like possibly alternating the color of the concrete, to help “dress up” the Beaufort elevation of the deck. He said that those enhancements would be guided by budgetary constraints.
Mr. French said that overall he was pleased with the design and that the transportation center would be a great asset to the downtown.
Ms. Kerestes reviewed the waivers in the staff report as follows:
- Window Coverage and Operability. Windows must cover no less than 50% nor more than 75% of the storefront area; windows must cover no less than 30% nor more than 50% on the upper façade. All windows on the second and higher floors must appear operable. The windows do adhere to the required coverage percentages. Although the upper floor windows will not be operable, they will be setback within the façade to avoid the appearance of being flush with the façade.
- Storefront Cornice and Fascia. All buildings must have a storefront cornice occurring between 9 and 14 feet above the sidewalk in order to complement the average height of storefront cornices on existing buildings. The actual first floor height is 19’4”; however, the stone storefront cornice will give the exterior appearance of a much shorter first floor height.
- Anti-Monotony. New construction must avoid excessive monotony in design by having no more than 15 feet of blank wall length without an interruption by at least two of the following: change in plane, change in texture or masonry pattern, windows, trellises with vines, or an equivalent. This waiver would apply to a 17 foot space of blank wall along Beaufort that houses the kitchen and also to a much larger section that houses the elevator shaft at the third floor. It is important to note that this third floor space is set back 23 feet from the Beaufort façade and will not be visible from a pedestrian level.
- Exterior Lighting: Mounting Fixtures. In order to promote the goals of improved aesthetics, greater energy efficiency, and safety, the mounting of light fixtures is limited to the first floor. This waiver is to allow disc lights (similar to those mounted on the west façade of the Museum above the first floor). The carry over of these fixtures from the Museum to the MMTC is an attempt to create a cohesive design between the buildings surrounding the roundabout.
- Exterior Lighting: Non-Glare, Cut-off, and Tilt Arms. All bulbs and fixtures must be non-glare and cutoff. Fixtures must be positioned in a way that the cutoff effect is maximized. The pendants lights proposed for the arcade do admit some glare and are not cut-off.
- Entryway Lighting. Recessed entryways must be illuminated but may not exceed an average of 5 footcandles at grade. The lighting shown exceeds this requirement.
- Scale of Design. The first floor must be between 12 and 15 feet in height and upper stories between 9 and 12 feet in height. The first, second and third floor heights are above those in the code guidelines.
- Parking Garage. The parking garage component to the west, while an integral part of the building’s function and design, will require a waiver from the entire Design Code. Currently, there are no standards for parking garages in the Code.
The Commission reviewed the waivers and made the following suggestions:
- Pertaining to waiver #2: Storefront Cornice and Fascia, the Commission requests that the storefront cornice be emphasized further by either widening the limestone band or turning the brick vertically to establish a soldier course.
- Pertaining to waiver #5 and #6: Exterior Lighting, the Commission requests that the architects reassess the lighting for the arcade along Beaufort Street and the roundabout. In particular, the DDRC recommends decreasing the number of footcandles at grade and using a light fixture with less glare.
RATIO architects said that they would comply with the requests and come back before the DDRC at a later date with a revised lighting plan and a detailed signage plan.
The Commission did offer the following design suggestions to RATIO pertaining to the deck:
- That the Beaufort Street elevation of the deck be enhanced by carrying over brick from the MMTC, carrying over the metal grids from the Broadway Avenue elevation, alternating colors of concrete and/or applying some kind of decorative feature, and
- That the caps on the deck towers be lowered.
Mr. DeWerff moved to approve the Certificate of Compliance for the new Multimodal Transportation Center with the waivers as listed in staff report, but excluding waiver #5 and #6, and with the condition that the lighting and signage plans be submitted for further review and approval. Mr. French seconded.
Ayes: Mr. French, Mr. DeWerff, Ms. Locsin, Ms. Wilcox, Mr.
Comerford, Mr. Kentlzer
Ms. Landau
Nays: None.
The motion carried 7-0.
MFIG-06-04-01, American Legion, 108 W. North Street, Rear façade cleaning and maintenance.
Mr. Schaab said that the American Legion would like to have the rear façade of the building power washed and tuck pointed. They would like to install new gutters and downspouts on the rear of the second floor.
The second part of the construction would be to The Garlic Press loading dock. The existing loading dock would be demolished, a new loading dock would be built and a new steel door would be installed. A new, longer awning would shelter the dock from the elements. The new awning would match the existing one. New concrete would be poured at the bottom of the dock steps to replace the existing concrete blocks and the existing fire escape stairs would be replaced with wood ones similar to the Micheleo’s building to the west.
Ms. Kerestes said that the project’s Certificate of Compliance had undergone an expedited review, because the replacement work was deemed like with like.
Mr. DeWerff asked if the Town has adequate funding in the budget for maintenance projects. Ms. Kerestes said that the Town has adequate funds for this project.
Mr. Schaab said he received three bids for the projects. The three bids are from: Tarter Construction, Roehm Renovations’ and Western Waterproofing.
Mr. Schaab said he would like to go with the bid from Tarter Construction. Ms. Kerestes said that he could choose any of the three contractors, but that the contractor had to replace the existing fire escape stairs with wood stairs. Even though the Tarter Construction bid was the lowest, Mr. Tarter had not included the wood staircase; therefore, the next lowest bid was used to determine the grant amount.
Mr. Schaab said that the Legion would be responsible for part of the cost and The Garlic Press would be responsible for the other. Ms. Kerestes said that the Town would issue one reimbursement check to the American Legion since they are the property owners. The Legion could then reimburse The Garlic Press.
Mr. French moved to approve this façade grant up to $13,454.00 with the condition that the rear stair be wood and match the stair at Micheleo’s in quality and style. Mr. DeWerff seconded.
Ayes: Mr. French, Mr. Comerford, Mr. Kentzler, Ms. Wilcox,
Ms. Locsin, Mr. DeWerff
Ms. Landau
Nays: None.
The motion carried 7-0.
Ms. Locsin left at 5:45 p.m.
CC-06-03-05, Parkinson Street Parking Lot, Site plan
Ms. Kerestes said that changes had been made to the site plan that would eliminate a parking space and provide the required five feet of greenspace at the southeast corner of the lot; therefore, the parking lot would not need a waiver.
Mr. French moved to approve the Certificate of Compliance for the Parkinson Street Parking Lot, Mr. Comerford seconded.
Ayes: Mr. French, Mr. Comerford, Mr. DeWerff, Mr.Kentzler, Ms. Landau, Ms. Wilcox.
Nays: None.
The motion carried 6-0.
Other Business:
None.
Adjournment:
Mr. Kentzler moved to adjourn the meeting at 5:50 p.m., Ms.
Wilcox seconded.
Respectfully submitted,
Debbi Feid
Office Associate
Lauren Kerestes
Associate Planner