Now that it has accepted a bid for a basic downtown design, the City of Garibaldi hopes to offer current and prospective business owners a glimpse of what the commercial core could look like.
Last month, the city council awarded $25,500 to Sodestrom Architects, of Portland, to draft a pre-engineering design for the downtown business district. "One of their principals actually has a home here," said Kevin Greenwood, city administrator. "They also did the pre-engineering design for Old Mill Marina’s master plan."
Architects will focus largely on Garibaldi’s downtown streetscapes, noted Greenwood. The design will include allowances for additional crosswalks, under-grounding utility lines and the creation of gateway signs, he added.
As a template, the design could have the desired effect of "spurring some economic development downtown," said Greenwood. "It’s really exciting because, from their design work, the community will be able to get a good look at what downtown is going to look like. The design is really going to be a tool for getting grants down the road."
It’s all part of the Garibaldi Urban Renewal Plan, adopted last summer, at which time the Garibaldi Urban Renewal Agency was formed. The plan calls for improvements to utility systems in order to allow new development within URD boundaries, with a special focus on initiating development of the Old Mill Marina site.
Other aspects of the plan include improvements to city curbs and sidewalks; assistance for rehabilitation and new development to attract new investment to the area and improve the blighted appearance of some buildings in the area, as well as improvements to Port of Tillamook Bay railroad crossings and US 101 intersections for vehicular and pedestrian safety.
Funding for the recently commissioned design came from a $10,000 United States Department of Agriculture Rural Business Enterprise grant, an $11,625 loan from the city to GURA, and $3,875 from the Port of Garibaldi.