If it Can Happen in Times Square...

Post by Nanaimo Commons.

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The 20 Minute Neighbourhood

The "20 Minute Neighbourhood" made up of #walkable shops, parks, school etc. A simple, powerful #Melbourne vision. pic.twitter.com/totdhaJlwc

— Brent Toderian (@BrentToderian) February 28, 2014

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From The Sidewalk Ballet, Jan. 2013 —City of Nanaimo to Purchase 26.7 Acre Downtown Waterfront Rail Yards

Pending an environmental review, the City of Nanaimo has announced an agreement with Canadian Pacific to purchase its rail yards. The area was excluded from the 2008 Downtown Urban Design Plan and Guidelines and piecemeal redevelopment of Port Place immediately to the north has proceeded without a master plan for this area.

Redevelopment of these brownfields holds great potential of course but considering a track record here of opportunities lost over the last 10 years I fear the worst. Council will be asked to approve a budget for a "master plan [which] will include not just the land we’re buying but all of the CP lands and the waterfront lands,” says the City's GM Development Ted Swabey. The area should be the subject of a Design Competition geared to attracting top Planning and Architectural talent and badly needed fresh ideas.

There is an agreement in place with the Regional District to collaborate with them on a transit hub. The Snuneymuxw First Nation's reserve lands are to the immediate south and they hold both treaty rights and land purchase options which will directly effect the redevelopment of the site. The Island Corridor Foundation who own the rail line and stations on south and central Vancouver Island are among others who hold land rights and rights of way.

Scariest prospect of all a popular idea for a 5,000 seat multiplex. There simply does not seem to be either the Planning talent or the political will here to, if this goes ahead, create anything other than a piece of brutal architecture floating in acres of surface parking doing  damage to existing downtown neighbourhoods. Much lip service has been offered here about making "place not space" with appropriated urbanspeak aside, nothing meaningful to show for it.

Here's City Councillor Fred Pattje re the Port Place plans proceeding without a master plan for the southern waterfront:

“This is not proper urban planning in my view,” he said. “The Nanaimo Port Authority wants to do something significant with the assembly wharf and the Snuneymuxw have an interest in the Wilcox property. This whole area is Nanaimo’s last urban frontier and there’s no connection in the planning for any of it, so eventually we’ll end up with something really unpleasant."

City of Nanaimo news release

Nanaimo News Bulletin report Dec 14, 2012 City purchases waterfront rail yard downtown

Staff Report to Council Dec 17 2012

The Sidewalk Ballet: City of Nanaimo to Purchase 26.7 Acre Downtown Waterfront Rail Yards

Immediate positive results / zero cost: 30k/hr speed zones in all residential neighbourhoods @VIAwesome @G_Anderson1 @cbruntlett

— NanaimoCommons (@NanaimoCommons) March 5, 2014

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South Downtown Waterfront Initiative Presentation — Former Vancouver Co-Director of Planning Larry Beasley —Exploring Waterfront Development

On Tuesday, November 12, internationally renowned urban planner Dr. Larry Beasley gave an engaging presentation to a packed Shaw Auditorium in Nanaimo to kick-off a week of community and stakeholder engagement, including a 22-hour Design Charrette – all part of the South Downtown Waterfront Initiative.

New York City Bryant Park Corporation

The South Downtown Waterfront Initiative guidelines recommend an arms-length development corporation and a charter to guide its activities. There are numerous examples of this approach, some mentioned in the document. Here's an example of a development corporation in New York City which revitalized Bryant Park.  Bryant Park Corporation (BPC) is a not-for-profit, private management company and a cooperating business improvement district of neighboring property owners.  Bryant Park | Company Overview