4th Avenue Cultural Corridor, Design Implementation and Funding Plan, City of Edmonds, Washington

SvR Design Company

From executive summary: "Included in the City of Edmonds’ 2006 Streetscape Plan and 2008 Comprehensive Parks Plan and Community Cultural Plan, the 4th Avenue Corridor has been identified by the City as a key part of Edmonds’ infrastructure for livability. The designation is also reflected in new downtown zones approved by the City in 2007. More garden than street, the vision for the Cultural Corridor not only creates a public realm that is scaled to and built for the pedestrian, but also establishes a powerful complement to the existing architecturally-significant buildings and creates a cultural tourism attraction. Working with the Community Advisory Group (CAG) and the public through an extensive outreach process, the staff and consultants developed a plan that draws upon Edmonds’ endemic strengths and compelling history. The guiding theme of the 15% Design Plan presented here is The Water Garden, which synthesizes influences such as the proximity to the Puget Sound, a deep affection for the natural environment, a culture of artistic expression and an abiding stewardship of the City’s architectural charms. Within the Water Garden, a series of “rooms” are identified along the corridor that reflect and inform the adjacent land uses. The Cultural Corridor is anchored by two of Edmonds’ greatest assets, the Downtown Core and the Edmonds Center for the Arts. These two elements are attractions which draw people into and through the Corridor. These spaces also form the anchor rooms within the Water Garden, which are termed the Market Garden and Cultural Garden respectively. Between these spaces is the Allée, and, at the convergence of 4th Avenue, Sprague and Edmonds, a new park space is created called the Belvedere... The plan that follows also suggests a series of strategies that help to guide the future development along the Cultural Corridor in ways that are compatible with the current scale, massing and texture of the corridor. The process to produce the Plan presented here was a collaborative effort between the City of Edmonds staff, the community and the design team. The community’s input and critical feedback were invaluable assets in making both the process and the product a success, and the CAG would not have been able to unanimously support moving this Plan forward without the general public participating and providing significant buy-in... With both a vision and the public’s support, the Cultural Corridor Plan is not simply about rehabilitating the existing infrastructure for the City. Rather it is a project that builds a sense of place, something that is not replicable or transferable but that will continue to set Edmonds apart in the coming decades. It’s about promoting and sustaining the economic vitality of the city through cultural tourism, about preserving its character while offering opportunities for growth, about placing a community’s values—neighborliness, beauty, historic preservation, environmental responsibility—in the public realm for all to appreciate." Funding for this item was provided in part through a 2007 Preserve America grant to the City of Edmonds (grant number 53-07-PA-3075) for the 4th Avenue Cultural Corridor Project. The grant was administered by the State, Tribal, and Local Plans and Grants Division, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Preserve America is a federal initiative that encourages and supports community efforts to preserve and enjoy our priceless cultural and natural heritage. The goals of the program include a greater shared knowledge about the nation's past, strengthened regional identities and local pride, increased local participation in preserving the country's cultural and natural heritage assets, and support for the economic vitality of our communities.

4th Avenue Cultural Corridor, Design Implementation and Funding Plan, City of Edmonds, Washington

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