NEW YORK AVENUE CORRIDOR STRATEGY
west corner of the intersection, six parcels makeup the Opportunity Site. The largest of these parcels is extremely underutilized( having an improvement to total property value of less than 40 %). Additionally, the City owns one of the six parcels in the area. The existing retail buildings on the site were constructed in the 1950’ s and 1960’ s, and the configuration of the buildings, the size of the floor plates and ceiling heights make them unattractive to the types of retailers that the community envisions in the area. Several factors make this site a good candidate for redevelopment including the limited number of parcels and owners that would be needed to participate in the redevelopment, the potential for public / private partnerships incorporating the City-owned library site, and the existing direct access from the site to the surrounding neighborhood.
In the visioning process, the Advisory Committee and the community agreed that this site is the“ heart” of East Arlington. It was historically the location of many of the stores, restaurants and activities in East Arlington that provided a sense of pride and belonging to its residents. Because of this tie to the past, the community felt strongly that a civic component, including a redeveloped library and a new recreation center could be an anchor for this site. The existing library and recreation center are extremely important to the residents of East Arlington, providing community gathering space, programs for seniors and after school programs for school-age children. However, the program needs in the area have outgrown the capacity of the existing aging facilities.
The community also expressed a strong desire to locate neighborhood supporting businesses within the corridor, including restaurants, coffee shops, ice cream shops, and others which would re-create the places that will again provide the sense of pride and belonging that is currently lacking. Finally, the community had a strong desire to see significant change through major renovation or redevelopment to the La Jolla apartment complex. The complex has recently exhibited several issues related to crime and code violations, and was believed by residents to portray a negative image for East Arlington.
In the Opportunity Site scenario for this area, Kimberly Drive, which currently has very poor definition due to the surrounding parking lots, would become a pedestrian-oriented retail street providing a strong visual and physical connection to the adjacent neighborhood. On the north side of this street, mixed-use development consisting of ground floor retail with two floors of residential above would provide new energy to this part of the corridor, while also providing locations for many of the neighborhood supporting businesses desired by the community. The two blocks created by this new development would have an internal street to provide access to surface parking.
On the south side of the new retail street( Kimberly Drive), new civic uses are envisioned in the form of a recreation center, library and civic plaza. This area would form a strong anchor for hosting local community gatherings. Along the western edge of this site, live / work units would provide a clean transition to the single family residential uses that exist immediately to the west of the site. The parcels furthest south in this development and across New York Avenue to the east, which are the current sites of the La Jolla Apartments, would be transformed into a new townhome development.
On the southeast corner of the intersection, the existing retail center is envisioned to receive reinvestment in the form of façade improvements, as well as the enhancement of Kimberly Drive with the addition of trees, curbs and sidewalks.
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FINAL REPORT | SEPTEMPER 2013