From the Independent Press – July 15, 2009 (Written by Patricia Meola)

Plan for Summit’s Village Green Taking Shape, Price Estimated at $4.5M

Summit's Village Green

Plans for the future of the Village Green include renovation, upgrades and additions ranging from benches to improved fencing and more plantings, but all of those improvements come at a price — $4,472,000, to be exact. But a spokesman for the community group spearheading the project and overseeing fundraising for it said his group feels up to the task.

Beth Kinney, director of the city’s Department of Community Services, admitted she “had sticker shock when I saw the total,” but noted that the project can be done over time.

At their meeting on July 14, members of the Common Council viewed an illustrated presentation by Brad Garner of Rhodeside & Harwell, a landscape architecture firm that city officials and volunteers have been working with on the proposal. Mr. Garner said, “One overwhelming thing we have heard is that people love the Green and they want it to change…but not very much.”

He said the goal is not to change the overall appearance or function of the site, located just south of the downtown business district, but to improve it and create outdoor spaces where even more residents and visitors will want to spend time.

Mr. Garner said that for planning purposes, the site is considered four separate quadrants. The northwest quad, he said, closest to the city’s post office and adjacent to the train station, would host bike racks, picnic tables, chess tables, benches, improved crosswalks and a concession area with movable takes and chairs, as in New York’s Bryant Park. Across the way, the northeast quarter of the Green would be dedicated as being “passive environmental,” and would also get improved crosswalks, Mr. Garner said.

The southeast portion of the area is its most historic, he noted, and home to Mabie Playground. Under the proposal submitted to city officials, the play area would be consolidated to aid in its maintenance, entrance improvements would be made, bike racks would be installed and the basketball court fencing would be upgraded.

Across Elm Street, the southwest quadrant would remain “open much as it is now,” Mr. Garner said. The war memorial plaza would undergo upgrades, “leaving the memorials as they are,” the bocci courts would be relocated here and improved access to Central Presbyterian Church would be provided.

Throughout the Village Green, the landscape architect said, the goal is low-impact design. Improved LED lighting would be installed. “We have tried to be very maintenance-sensitive in the design,” he said. Hence his suggestion to invest an estimated $250,000 in irrigation improvements, but, he said, “You would have no water bill with the cistern in this plan.” The aim, Mr. Garner noted, is for the renovated park to be sustainable.

Mr. Garner said dividing the project into phases serves a variety of purposes. He said that for the work at the Village Green to be approached plot by plot could help those overseeing fundraising for the plan, because then “a piece would be done, and you could show the progress to people.”

On the topic of fundraising, Bill Callaghan from the Summit Area Development Corporation, which has been working with Ms. Kinney and city officials on the project for more than two years, noted the process really began with a “generous gift” from a long-time Summit family whose members asked that the money be earmarked for the Village Green.

“We are looking into grants,” Mr. Callaghan said, “and we know we have a lot of fundraising ahead of us.” He said the figure of more than $4 million will be “eased somewhat by in-kind support from the city,” and noted he is “reasonably comfortable” that grants are available to aid in the project. He mentioned as one possibility the naming rights that could be made available, and noted those could extend beyond simply benches and pathways. One quadrant of the Green remains unnamed, Mr. Callaghan said, presenting a major donor opportunity.

Mr. Garner spoke of community activities that currently take place at the site, including festivals, summer concerts and other events, and described the Green as “the front door of Summit.”

Ms. Kinney told council this is not a project “to be done in one year, or even in five to 10 years…it can be done over time.”