Farmington

Farmington might rebuild Grove Street this summer

By David Wallace
C & G Staff Writer

» Click on image to view full size « Ken DiVito rendering courtesy of Farmington Downtown Development Authority The long-planned reconstruction of Grove Street might take place this summer. It would turn the street into a boulevard consistent with the Grand River streetscape’s styling. The plan would also increase the number of parking spaces. Ken DiVito rendering courtesy of Farmington Downtown Development Authority The long-planned reconstruction of Grove Street might take place this summer. It would turn the street into a boulevard consistent with the Grand River streetscape’s styling. The plan would also increase the number of parking spaces.

FARMINGTON — The city could turn Grove Street into a boulevard affording more parking in the Downtown Farmington Center this summer.

“We’re finishing up plans to reconstruct Grove Street this summer,” said Mayor Tom Buck during his State of the City address Feb. 8.

“That construction will expand the look of the (Grand River) streetscape and bring more parking to our downtown center,” said Buck.

Grove Street runs south from Grand River with Riley Park and the Sundquist Pavilion along the western side, while a strip mall with T.J. Maxx as its anchor store runs along the east side.

That strip mall has its own driveway and parking area parallel to Grove Street, so the streetscape plan called for incorporating it all into a boulevard with parking along both northbound and southbound sides. The net parking gain is about 15 spaces.

When the economic crisis hit the city with declining revenues in 2009, the DDA took over the streetscape funding, but its resources allowed for only the Grand River improvements. Plans for Grove Street were put on hold.

“We really see Grove Street as the culmination, or the finalization, of that particular project,” said Downtown Development Authority Executive Director Annette Knowles. “More importantly, it also addresses some of the concerns of parking areas in the Downtown Farmington Center area.”

Reportedly a potential new owner for the strip mall along Grove Street is in the due diligence phase. Buck, City Manager Vince Pastue and Knowles declined to identify the potential buyer until an agreement is final.

“As owners, they’re younger than some of the owners that we have on other properties in town. I think they’re going to bring ideas that fit a younger population better,” said Buck.

“They seem to have a lot of new ideas and are willing to work with the city on some of the goals, mutual goals, that we have, so if the sale culminates, we’re very excited to have them onboard and look forward to a long working relationship with them,” said Knowles.

“There are a couple of new businesses interested in locating in that shopping center, so we may hear some news in the near term about what those may look like,” said Knowles. “So I think that particular property owner is going to be walking into a good situation.”

The city has talked to the potential new owners about Grove Street.

“We sat down with them; we kind of walked through the plan; and they did seem very excited about how this was going to help dress up the property and create an opportunity for them,” said Buck. “So this will help finish up all the work that we’d planned for Riley Park years ago when that went into place with the streetscape, too.”

The Grove Street project would cost about $1 million.

“We’ve set aside money in our capital improvements program to do the project,” said Pastue. He said that the city programmed the money for fiscal year 2012-2013, but if the new owners seem interested, the city could move up the plan.

“We needed some right-of-way from them. That’s the key to it. That’s a very critical piece of it,” said Pastue.

One other piece of it is the shopping center’s towering, white, two-pole sign. Maybe the norm in the 1960s or ‘70s, such signs long ago went out of fashion and conformance to modern ordinances. For years, various City Council members have criticized the sign, but the sign is also part of the T.J. Maxx lease.

“The potential purchasers of that (property) would like to keep the location of the sign. It is designed into a landscape island there at the corner of Grove and Grand River. They’re certainly willing as part of the process to go to a single pole, maybe paint it black like everything else we have, maybe lower it down, certainly change the sign itself,” Pastue told the City Council Feb 6.

How low the sign would go is an open question.

“They’d probably put in there some little strip or banner about downtown Farmington, that type of thing. It still would be a nonconforming sign in the DDA,” said Pastue. Pastue added that the current sign is so high that a lower sign might improve visibility.

“I think we could make it far more appealing than what currently is in place,” said Pastue.

Buck questioned whether the city should compromise on the sign at the Feb. 6 meeting. Several council members and Pastue seemed to urge for compromise.

“They give us the land for nothing. We put the street in. We’ll work with you on the sign,” said Pastue.

Councilman Greg Cowley suggested that the city pays a price the longer it puts off
the Grove Street plan.

“The additional parking and the aesthetics that that project will bring could have almost already cost us placement of businesses there. So it is imperative that we get this compromise achieved,” said Cowley.

The council often talks about economic development as among its top priorities.

“If we make this change, we would hope that it would create more energy, more activity, more success for those businesses down there,” said Buck, noting the council needs to work on other commercial centers, too.

“They’re looking at improvements already to the center, and again, it’s a resource issue. If they know that Grove Street’s going in, then they can really focus what resources they may have on other improvements that would complement that activity along Grove Street,” said Pastue.

“Like a new façade,” added Cowley.

If construction takes place this summer, Buck expects that the Downtown Development Authority would coordinate communications to keep businesses and residents informed.

“It’s an exciting project. It’s absolutely great,” said Buck.

You can reach C & G Staff Writer David Wallace at dwallace@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1053.