What to do about Hemming Plaza?

[fieldafm]

Would be interesting to perhaps have a design competition for the park.

The city did sponsor a environmental impact design competition of some sort last year... I never saw any RFP's go out on it though.

[thelakelander]

1.) The lunch crowd does need to use the park to bring back some diversity.  Right now, the park is being used by one group of people more groups need to join in.  This requires being something of a pioneer spirit,  but if folks start eating lunch at the park, others will follow.  Initial discomfort gives way to great reward.  This is not for everybody, but it is some positive action that anybody could do and doesn't require government dollars or legislative effort. (This directly addresses perception of crime -- if it is diverse, it appears safe).

The majority of downtown workers are suburbanites and a significant portion of them don't have the time to take lunch over to Hemming.  I doubt that pioneer spirit is there.  I know, within my office, my co-workers could care less (I'm the only one who spends time in DT outside of office hours).  Hemming also doesn't have enough amenities to make someone go out of their way to spend time in it. 

This may be a case of the solution being to cluster the park with more amenities, such as more street vendors, public restrooms, perhaps a tot lot for school groups on field trips to the library and museum, more seating and perhaps creating a permanent dining establishment within the park itself.


Several peer cities stick small cafes within their parks, which serve as anchors to pull people in, while also generating a little revenue for the space's upkeep.

If it can be made to be an attraction within itself, with a number of special events scheduled in it on a regular basis, the problems will take care of themselves, imo.