The central premise of the Marina Redevelopment (land side) has always been that 223rd Ave should be brought down to the Marina Floor in some way. The current plan is to have a set of windy Steps that switch back and forth in front of the South Shores Condo. OK, that part -could- be great.
But for reasons passing (my) understand that is not where we are starting.
At our November 18 City Council Meeting, we will choose a developer to do ‘something’ with this parcel on Dock Ave. Here is pg 187 from that packet (extracted from the MarinaSteps web site, but the entire RFQ is in the packet.)
Which is basically at the foot of 223rd in that empty area to the south of Cliff House and to the north of the where the Steps will go.
We’re voting on a developer, not a plan
We’re not voting on a ‘plan’ we’re voting on a company.The way this works is that we specify some constraints (the proposal says we do not want any more residential, but we’d kinda/sorta like a ’boutique hotel’. Once we choose the developer it is their call from that point. I cannot emphasise that enough. We choose the developer, give them our desires, but then we give up control.
My challenges in not screaming begin with:
- The Council got this information at 4PM last Friday. We’re making this decision with literally 5.5 days of prep.
- Please look at our agenda. https://www.desmoineswa.gov/common/pages/DisplayFile.aspx…. We reached out to 2,500 firms. What you see in that packet is everything the Council has to go on in making this choice.
- Now, we’re (cough) ‘selecting’ from three possible suitors which were whittled down by our senior staff over a two week period.
- Look at pg 187 of the packet. There is an averaged scoring system. The preferred option is 91. The other two are 43 and 39. So the winner is an A- and the other two are ABJECT FAILURE. Outreach to 2,500 firms. Three responses that are worth presenting to Council but only one passing grade? Go back and re-take the test.
- Remember: we are selling off a piece of the most valuable piece of real estate in the entire City. We will -never- control that property again. And -whatever- we put there will become one of the most VISIBLE things people see when they visit DM. Forever. And if we vote as the City prefers, that Independence Hotel is kinda/sorta what it will be.
The epic view
Back up for a sec. Here’s the thing. I just suck. I’ve lived here 27 years now and in allllllllllllllllll that time, it never occurred to me to take a single (I -struggle with how people find profanity annoying here ) picture of the Masonic Home from the water—the image I absolutely -live- for. And Google sucks too by the way because I can’t find any other shot like that on the entire WWW.
So… I need you to use your IMAGINATION!
It’s 6AM, you’re on a boat at the centre line of Puget Sound heading in from Point Robinson. That means you’re looking at a) the sun b) Mighty Mt. Rainier c) the Masonic Home.
That is your view heading southeast into the Des Moines Marina. That, my friend, is epic. That should be the standard for any development.
The skyline
In fact, that is our skyline. All great cities have a great skyline. Seriously. As you view any great city from the water it looks memorable. Think about Seattle. Or New York. Or, hell, even rusted out Detroit:
And that is what we want the Marina to be for the next 50 years. Any person who is on the water, heading into the Marina should see something totally magnificent as they head into the Des Moines Marina on that fancy schmancy ‘ferry’. Not a serviceably nice hotel. TOTALLY EPIC.
Remember my Google Search? There are almost no images of the Des Moines Marina from the water. Here is one that must be from before 2011 when the renovations were done.
I find that a bit odd. We’re the ‘Waterland City’ but obviously, we don’t think of it like that. If we really want to be a ‘destination’, we must demand a stunning view from the water.
Now, you think I’m overdoing it? As I’ve stated before, if you haven’t done so recently, go by Parkside Elementary School at 247th and 21st. Built by TCF in the 2010. It is beautiful, practical architecture. And that’s ‘just’ a public school! (Hell, I’d like to know if TCF made a proposal!)
There is simply no reason to accept anything less than classic for any development on the Marina. So we should be patient.
The train has left the station?
My colleagues and their supporters (like the Des Moines Marina Association) will acknowledge various ‘challenges’ with every aspect of the Marina Redevelopment. But whenever one asks about anything the reply tends to be ‘the train has already left the station.’ As if there is some law of physics that prevents us from stopping that ‘train’ at any time to make adjustments as necessary. Another metaphor that comes to mind is that notion of the shark: it must keep moving or it will die. That is simply untrue.
I understand the desire to “get ‘er done” after all these years of frustration. But this is not the best we can do. We are literally selecting from one legitimate choice on five days notice and with no opportunity to interview the developer and follow up before choosing. That alone is irresponsible. We should be patient, put out another RFQ and wait for the right choice. There is absolutely no reason to rush this.
Please take action
Please attend this meeting via Zoom. Please make public comment. https://www.desmoineswa.gov/cms/One.aspx… Please write the City Council at citycouncil@desmoineswa.gov.
However you do it, please tell the Council to reject all three current proposals . That will tell the City to offer a new RFQ , be patient and obtain the right proposal. We only get one chance. And there’s no reason to settle for anything less than epic.
PS: Speaking of which, it’s always a good day to show off the wonderfulness of the Masonic Home: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2MXFaLFkSM
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