Olympia wants public feedback for Capital Mall area plans

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The City of Olympia is asking community members who live, work or own property in the Capital Mall area to provide ideas to help in the city’s plans for the neighborhood.

City staff are currently working on public engagement plans for spring, summer, and fall this year to get input from the public to be used in the city’s 20-year Comprehensive Plan for the neighborhood.

“We anticipate this area will remain a regional destination for shopping and services,” said the City,  “while also realizing significantly more housing development than exists there today.”

Bounded by Cooper Point Road, Black Lake Boulevard and Harrison Avenue, the area referred to as the Capital Mall Triangle is one of three places in the city expected to be a shopping and service destination in the region, according to the city’s Capital Mall Subarea Plan website.

Using a $250,000 grant from the Washington State Department of Commerce to add to the  $1,162,160 project, the city plans to develop the area to make it more conducive to pedestrians and public transit to reduce traffic.

Part of the city’s plans involves developing housing in the neighborhood to provide more mixed-use housing to accommodate various incomes, especially “low-income residents, who are disproportionately people of color and working-class residents facing a shortage of workforce housing”, according to the city website.

The plan will also involve changing the neighborhood’s streets to be more grid-oriented for foot and bike traffic.

With these changes, the city hopes to stimulate business in the community, along with addressing climate change issues, with high-density housing requiring less energy and vehicles going to and navigating around the area reduced.

“With patience, you can anticipate the chance to see future generations able to live, walk, play, shop, dine, and be entertained all within the Capital Mall triangle portion of our community,” the City assured on its website.”

Interested community members can visit the project’s website for more information or email Principal Planner Joyce Phillips. Updates are also available by subscribing to the City’s mailing list under the Planning & Development group.

Comments

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  • Deskandchairs

    Coffee Point Road? Proof reading needed.

    The City's site has it right:

    The west side of the subarea is bordered by Cooper Point Road. It is generally bounded by Black Lake Boulevard and Division Street on the east. Cooper Point Road and Black Lake Boulevard intersect at the southern point of the subarea, giving a triangular shape to the boundary.

    In case you are wondering if anyone is reading...

    Friday, April 1, 2022 Report this

  • waltjorgensen

    I wish to sign on to this statement submitted to the City by Dan Leahy.

    February 6, 2022

    Redevelopment of the City of Olympia’s Triangle Subarea

    A Westside Perspective

    We, the undersigned, are residents of the Westside of Olympia. We intend to be part of the “robust

    analysis and public engagement” that Mayor Selby indicated will be part of the City of Olympia’s

    Subarea planning effort. The City is scheduled to begin this effort in March, 2022.

    We appreciate the efforts of Amy Buckler, the City’s Strategic Project Manager, to clarify the intent of

    the $250,000 grant from Commerce in support of this planning effort and to understand the shape of the

    Triangle subarea itself.

    We agree that the northern boundary of the Subarea needs to be clarified. We also need to understand

    why parcels on the eastside of Division between Garfield and 4th Avenues were included in the Subarea’s boundary.

    We also requesting to review a draft of the RFP that the City intends to use to recruit a consultant for

    this planning effort and, to the extent possible, be part of the selection process. We wish to ensure that

    the term “blighted” is not used to describe portions of our Westside neighborhood. This term has been

    inappropriately used by previous City consultants. We want to ensure the selection of a consultant who

    understands and respects the Westside of Olympia.

    (more do***ent than space would allow)

    Saturday, April 2, 2022 Report this

  • OlyBrian2

    A friend and I did a mapping website about the sub area planning process and the transformations possible. https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/903e7f93710043bea8f5c5bfcf3f691b

    Sunday, April 3, 2022 Report this