Renewed Hope with Revitalization Project
By Jeff Ferreira-Pro
I’ve lived in Folsom’s
Historic District for 25 years. During that time, lots of changes have
happened in and around the neighborhood. Many of my neighbors seem to share
the feeling that too many of these changes were not improvements. Traffic,
parking, and security concerns have been on people’s minds. The recent
opening of the light rail station seemed to deepen many people’s sense of
dread.
Lately I’ve gotten to
know more of the merchants. They too have been worried. Some (but not all)
have felt that there aren’t as many customers as there used to be. They
don’t all agree on what’s wrong. Some say it’s the traffic. Others blame the
economy, competition from other shopping centers, or just lack of
cooperation within the district itself. Many property owners in the
commercial district are reluctant to spend money on their buildings because
they fear even minor repairs could trigger a reassessment and higher taxes
or force them to make more costly repairs to bring their buildings up to
today’s building code requirements.
Some on the
city staff seem to feel that when they try to help the merchants, the
residents are unhappy…, but pleasing the residents irritates the merchants.
If they do nothing, that angers both groups who complain that the City had
abandoned the district. And then there are those prickly historic
preservationists…who don’t want to change anything (smile).
As I first approached
people about revitalizing the district, many would just roll their eyes,
wish me luck, and walk away. Despite all this, I believe a renewed sense of
hope is emerging from underneath all the anxiety. I’ve been delighted to
have had an opportunity to play a small part in nudging this transformation
forward.
I’m talking about the
Historic District Revitalization project being led by the Folsom Economic
Development Corporation. FedCorp was given a contract by Folsom’s City
Council to find a way to boost the economic status of the district. I was
hired as the full-time project manager.
The project is about
economics, but it really goes much deeper than that. Our approach has been
to think of the Historic District as an amazingly complex interconnected
jigsaw puzzle consisting of the residents, merchants, employees, property
owners, city staff, public officials, history lovers, developers,
bicyclists, commuters, and many others. But in addition to the people, the
district is also defined by its proximity to Lake Natoma, its architecture,
its role as a transportation hub, and, oh yes, its rich and complex history.
Above and beyond that, there’s this elusive idea of a sense of “place” that
sets the district apart.
The project is about
taking advantage of all of these elements to help this place become more
fully appreciated by our own community as well as by visitors from around
the world, many of whom already think of this as a special place. Our
fundamental assumption is that by enhancing that sense of place, an economic
boost will naturally follow.
What we’ve done thus
far is bring together everyone we could find (160+ on our distribution list)
from the various stakeholder groups, and help them find constructive ways to
talk to each other and find common ground. We held four community workshops
and took a field trip to other towns and cities that have made good use of
their community assets.
In the stakeholder
meetings we brainstormed a long list of the district’s strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. We prioritized that list of 245
topics, and examined the top three (tenant mix, parking, and circulation) in
greater depth. We still need to examine streetscapes and historic assets
before we’ll have pieced together all the main elements of our vision.
The next steps are to
refine the community’s ideas into implementable projects. The intent is to
keep the community involved. We’re proposing to continue with community
workshops on a monthly basis. The next meeting is tentatively set for Dec.
12, at 6 p.m. at the Landmark Baptist Church, 609 Figueroa Street.
I firmly believe that,
as it progresses, the revitalization effort will demonstrate the power and
wisdom of this community that shares a common passion for our Historic
District and a united energy for working our rich palette of assets into an
even more wonderful place to live, work, play, and invest than it is today.
For more details about
the Revitalization Project, go to
www.folsomedc.com/revitalization/. If you’d like to get involved with
the project or just be on the mailing list, please let me know. Contact me
at 985-2996 or
ferreirapro@earthlink.net.
Railroad Block Parking Structure Update
At The Folsom Historic
District Association Design Committee, City staff and Councilmember Eric
King have recently held meetings regarding the design of the Railroad Block
parking structure.
In October, Chong
Partners presented a tentative drawing to the Historic District Commission
for comment. Members of the FHDA Design Committee felt the building design
was totally inappropriate for the RR Block site. Since that time and as a
result of these additional meetings, the design has been altered greatly.
The all-brick building now includes awnings and softer look. Trees have been
added along the Leidesdorff side and additional architectural features have
been added. There are retail spaces along the east side. The building,
which is modeled after the large warehouse-like buildings that once occupied
the RR Block, contains 330 parking spaces, on three and a half levels and
stands 35 feet tall.
The majority of the
Design Committee members would still like to see more retail or possibly
residential incorporated into the structure. It is felt that this would help
to offset some of the cost and then more of the parking could go
underground. Chong Partners has agreed to add some retail space to the side
of the structure facing the plaza and return to the group with revised
drawings. It is the City’s desire that construction begin next year.
Recent Historic District Commission Actions
In October, the
Historic District Commission welcomed new Commissioner Jennifer Lane. She
replaced Jeff Ferreira-Pro as the Historic District resident representative.
It was necessary for Jeff to resign from the Commission because of his new
position as Historic District Revitalization Project Manager. Jeff served
many years on the Commission and was Chairman when he resigned. Under his
leadership, many positive changes to properties in the district were seen.
HPL is looking forward to him accomplishing even more in his new position.
On Nov. 16th,
the Commission approved the new mixed use building that will be located on
the corner of Scott & Sutter. Many of you will recall that Doug Scalzi
attended an HPL general membership meeting to get our comments on this
project. This beautiful addition to the Sutter Street area will provide
office and retail space as well as two levels of parking underneath the
building.
Also at that meeting,
the Commission approved the application from Sue & Jerry Mehring to have the
Bradley House listed on the Folsom Cultural Resources List. Hopefully this
will encourage others to do the research necessary to have their properties
listed. There will now be a complete history of this early Folsom home on
file at the City and at the Folsom History Museum.
HPL Asks City for Action on Orangevale Ave. Bridge
On November 5th,
Heritage Preservation League of Folsom President Patrick Maxfield delivered
a letter to City Manager Martha Lofgren requesting two actions.
First that the City
conduct a trial “one lane operation” of the bridge. It is HPL’s position
that if a one lane operation is found feasible, it will not be necessary to
expend City monies to build a new bridge next to the current one.
Second that the City
remove the 10-ton load limit sign so that City fire emergency vehicles will
be able to use the current bridge.
Attached to the letter
was the 5/2003 Caltrans Bridge Inspection Report that states the load limit
sign is not necessary.
Special Projects Committee to meet Jan. 21
The next meeting of the
Special Projects Committee will be on Jan. 21st at 9 a.m. at the Folsom
History Museum, 823 Sutter St.
To date, six completed
Cultural Resources Inventory Registration Forms have been submitted to the
City with several others in the process of being completed.
We still have a long
way to go. This is a project that you can work on as you have time. If you
would like to do research on a historic site in our city, please attend the
next meeting. contact Candy Miller at
folsomcandy@sbcglobal.net or
by calling 988-7699.
Mark Your Calendar for Feb. 17 Celebration!
On February 17, 2006,
the City of Folsom will be holding a Commemorative Celebration at the
Community Center to mark the 150th anniversary of the arrival of
the first train to Folsom. This not-to-be-missed event will feature1850s era
food, dancing and entertainment. Period attire is encouraged.
In 1856 when the first
train actually arrived, there was a “Gala Fete” held at the Meridith Hotel
that lasted until 5 a.m. the next day! The event was even covered by San
Francisco newspapers. This 2006 “ball” will be a more modest event: from 6
to 11 p.m. Look for ticket information in January. This will be the first of
two events being planned to celebrate “150 Years of Folsom History.” The
second event is being planned for Saturday, April 1st, and will
include activities throughout the Historic District for the entire family.
The next HPL Newsletter will contain additional information on both events.
Transcribers
Needed For 78 Oral History Tapes
Ellen Hester, Manager
of the Folsom History Museum’s Research Department has asked HPL for some
help with a project to transcribe 78 oral history tapes. Each tape is
estimated to take 10 hours to transcribe. These tapes are listed by who made
them and the topic, so you are able to pick what you would like to “listen”
to. If you would like to volunteer to help with this project, please
contact Ellen at the museum at 985-2707.
