Architects, preservationists concerned over Peavey Plaza's future

Posted at 12:21 PM on October 18, 2011 by Marianne Combs (4 Comments)
Filed under: Architecture

What started out as a seemingly very open discussion about the future of Minneapolis' historic Peavey Plaza is now being accused of just the opposite.

Peavey Plaza was named a "marvel of modernism" by the Cultural Landscape Foundation in 2008. Now architects and preservationists are concerned a redesign will eliminate key features.

A group of landscape architects and preservationists are now expressing their dismay at how those involved - namely the city administration and the Minnesota Orchestra - have denied key people access to the redesign process. That includes two-thirds of its own redesign team, Charles Birnbaum and the original architect of the plaza, M. Paul Friedberg.

The coalition released a statement today listing its concerns - here are a couple of key excerpts:

...Sadly, the City and the Minnesota Orchestral Association have subverted the process of planning its revitalization. What was initially portrayed at the project's onset as an open process, and included a public interview of the four finalist consulting teams at the Minneapolis Convention Center chaired by Mayor RT Rybak, is now a closed‐door process and guided by factors uninfluenced by public input.

...On October 12, 2011, CEC members were given a preview of the single option
developed for revitalizing Peavey, an option that removes the signature and defining elements. Setting aside the merits of the proposed re‐design, which some of our signatories have previewed, we are concerned that the design decision‐making process has not been transparent. The public was assured that several design schemes would be developed, and yet only one is being presented to citizens; meanwhile, the Minneapolis City Council is scheduled to take action to approve the redesign next week.

The project has $2 million in state funding, so the public should be given a greater role in determining the Plaza's future. CEC members were told that rehabilitating the existing plaza would be more than twice as expensive as the proposed new design, and that prospective funders (yet unidentified) are unwilling to support a rehabilitation scheme. However, thorough cost analyses have not been presented for either scheme. How did we get to this point?

We call on the Mayor, the City Council, and the Plaza's principal neighbor, the Minnesota Orchestra, to honor the right of citizens to effectively participate in the design decision‐making process. To do otherwise would diminish Peavey Plaza's once and future role as the heart of downtown Minneapolis.

I've got a call in to the City of Minneapolis for a response the allegations made above, and will post it as soon as I get it.

Update (1:56pm): Krista Bergert at the City of Minneapolis says they've only just received the statement themselves, and there's no one currently available to respond.

As for the Minnesota Orchestra, PR Director Gwen Pappas says "We're supporting the city. We've seen the design, and we like the design."

A public open house is planned for Wednesday, October 19, from 4:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. in the MN Orchestra Hall lobby to review the design being recommended by the city and the orchestra.

City of Minneapolis responds to Peavey Plaza concerns

Posted at 4:12 PM on October 18, 2011 by Marianne Combs
Filed under: Architecture

Earlier today local architects and preservationists voiced their concerns over how the Peavey Plaza in Minneapolis is being redesigned.

This afternoon I heard back from Krista Bergert with the City of Minneapolis. Bergert pulledl together these bullet points on the process surrounding the redesign of the downtown Minneapolis plaza:

CEC (Community Engagement Committee) members were shown design images in June. We did not give them copies of the images because they were still evolving. For that reason, we preferred that they not talk about the designs they've seen. They were not told they could not discuss the process.

Friedberg and Birnbaum are subconsultants to Oslund, not the City. My understanding is that Oslund did consult with them, but at a point, Friedberg and Birnbaum said they were not in favor of pursuing a new option for Peavey Plaza. Because of their viewpoint, they were not consulted beyond that.

The City and Orchestra have held two open houses to date to ask for public comments on the design of the plaza, and we received many. In June the CEC was shown four design schemes, a preservation scheme, a hybrid option and two new schemes. We received comments on all the schemes. Subsequent to that meeting, the Review Committee limited the options to preservation or new design. On August 23, the Review Committee voted to go with a new design option.

We never told the CEC that a preservation option would be twice as expensive. In fact, we said that it would cost $11-12 million while the new scheme would be $8-10 million.

Landscape architect will be responsible for the preparation of cost estimates for alternative concepts. The MOA and City will work together to determine the best alternative based on the limited funds available for the project.

Again, a public open house is planned for Wednesday, October 19, from 4:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. in the MN Orchestra Hall lobby to review the design being recommended by the city and the orchestra.