Posts Tagged ‘Firewheel Town Center’

Rowlett 2020 Phase II Advisory Committee – Meeting 2

Monday night we met in City Hall to review the progress the consultants had made in engineering the second phase of the Rowlett 2020 planning initiative.  Altogether, I think those who are looking to participate in the process are going to be impressed with the content they will have access to to help them make informed decisions to help shape the future of Rowlett.

To learn more about the second phase of this process, you can visit the City’s website here.

21

02 2012

Rowlett 2020 Phase II Advisory Committe – Meeting 1

I’ve been asked to participate as a member of the Rowlett 2020 Phase II Advisory Committee and last night we met to kick off phase 2 of the the Rowlett 2020 development initiative.  The goal of the committee is to vet the information that the consultant is composing to engage the citizenry in phase 2 of the process.  This will include public meetings and engagement sessions designed to illicit feedback from anyone in Rowlett who would like to help affect the future development of Rowlett.  You can review my posts on phase 1 of the process here.

12

01 2012

Rowlett Information Meeting Tonight

The following is a excerpt from a Facebook invitation sent by Councilman Gallops inviting people to engage in the vision for the Water’s Edge development.  The meeting is tonight:

 

Time
Monday, June 27 · 7:00pm – 8:30pm

Location
Rowlett City Hall
4000 Main Street
Rowlett, TX

Created By
Michael Gallops

More Info
The City of Rowlett is contemplating the execution of a land lease at the July 5 City Council Meeting for City-owned property located behind Pecan Grove Park. The City has had a letter of intent signed with the developer since November of 2008 and has now progressed to the point where a land lease is the next step. The City Council publicly discussed this lease during the work session portion of the June 21 Council meeting (see June 21 Work Session at http://rowlett.com/index.aspx?NID=397).
The developer is interested in creating a mixed-use development that could include residential, office space, restaurants, a government center and a marina. This is precisely the kind of development our citizens have expressed to us they would like to see happen in Rowlett and we are looking forward to exploring this opportunity!
If executed, this lease will give the developer control of the property and they will then engage the community through a planning Charette and other meetings designed to gather input on how Rowlett residents would like to see the property developed and then evaluate what the market will support.
At the conclusion of this public input/data gathering process, which is anticipated to take several months, the Council will have to determine whether the proposed project meets with the community’s vision and generates an appropriate return on investment for the City’s leased land. If so, the project will proceed as planned. If not, the lease will terminate.
The City would like to invite you to a meeting about the development so that you might become educated on the process and where we go from here. The goal is to keep you informed so that you might stay involved as we move forward with this exciting new opportunity.

 

27

06 2011

Guerrilla Urbanism – Part 1: Scale at the Water’s Edge

After having participated in the Rowlett Comprehensive Planning Charrette, I’m very excited about the possibilities that our community has open to it.  I’d like to take this opportunity, therefore, to examine the area that is the most likely to experience development first, the Water’s Edge.  If you read my post summarizing the charrette, you’ll remember that the Water’s Edge had formerly been considered for development with a very ambitious master plan in 2009.

This will be the first in a series of posts I’ll make examining this area and what might want to be developed there based on the information I’ve seen and the thoughts I’ve heard from citizens.  First, however, before we consider all the fun stuff, dreaming up what fantastic things might occupy the land,  I’d like to establish a little perspective.

Understanding space is not an easy thing, it takes skill and training, but it is essential to the manage the scope of a successful project. During the charrette a plethora of ideas where thrown out by people for what uses might well be accommodated here.  Clearly not all could be fully realized, but having a grasp on how this land area compares to others nearby should help.  For those Rowlett stakeholders who have an interest in this area, I believe the following analysis will be illuminating. Read the rest of this entry →

17

06 2011

Rowlett Comp Plan Charrette Follow-Up Meeting

Last night I attended the first of four local meetings detailing what happened in the charrette a couple weeks ago, and offering new data based on that event.  Unfortunately it wasn’t terribly well attended, as these things often are not, but I suspect it had something to do with the Mavericks playing in the NBA finals at the same time…just a guess. Read the rest of this entry →

01

06 2011

Rowlett Comprehensive Planning Charrette

As the country emerges from the great recession, my home town of Rowlett, TX is poised to make the most of the upturn and craft it’s future.  My wife and I have lived here since 2000, and this is frankly the first time we see any energy and optimism around the future development of our little burg.

For those who have never experienced it, this half day long charrette is organized by the city and the development team (comprising urban planners, architects, engineers, economist, etc.) to engage the citizenry and illicit feedback that will help shape the future of the plan going forward.  I engaged in the process for the first time as a citizen, and I hope that my professional experience in community and mixed-use/TOD development offered something unique. Read the rest of this entry →

31

05 2011

Rowlett Comprehensive Plan Update Kick-Off

Last week my wife and I attended the first in a series of interactive planning sessions associated with the Realize Rowlett 2020 campaign to redesign the city’s comprehensive plan.  Being more of a kick off meeting, the organization was such that several stations had been set about the community center room, each dealing with a particular aspect of the city like “people places” or “parks” and all had a map of the city with an associated board for listing citizens’ input. Read the rest of this entry →

01

05 2011