To encourage redevelopment in a working neighborhood within walking distance to downtown, SERA – working with HDR – designed a shared streetscape plan for five city blocks along Alpine Avenue in McMinnville, Oregon. Funded through the voter-approved McMinnville Transportation Improvement Bond Project, the project knits the Granary District into the larger urban fabric of McMinnville.
With an emphasis on balanced design for both people and vehicles, the project includes a curb-free street environment designed to slow vehicle speeds, prioritize pedestrians and accommodate truck access to the existing businesses. Plaza spaces incorporate custom-designed benches, picnic tables and planter boxes (moveable and fixed), amidst new landscape areas. The streetscape also features the city’s first application of stormwater gardens. The design allows the street to be easily transformed into a pedestrian-only plaza for special events and festivals.
As part of this redevelopment plan, SERA worked closely with the public through stakeholder workshops, a public open house and individual door-to-door interviews with property owners and businesses. To explain how this unique street design would look and operate, SERA developed an immersive virtual reality animation and constructed a physical model.
The realization of the streetscape is inspiring private brownfield urban infill redevelopment on adjacent underutilized or vacant parcels in the Northeast Gateway District of McMinnville.
