Mall makeover to come sooner

Charlottesville is expediting and consolidating the construction timeline for the Downtown Mall renovations in hopes of avoiding a prolonged overhaul that disrupts businesses and inconveniences shoppers.

At its June 16 meeting, city councilors are expected to add $4.5 million for the project into the budget year that begins July 1, enabling construction to begin and finish in the first half of next year.

Originally the restoration — slated to include the rebricking of the mall, upgrading of utilities, addition of fountains and art installments, and replacement of lights and furniture — was to be extended over the next few years, with funding allotted throughout that span. Now most of the $7.5 million cost will be included in the city’s 2009 bond package.

Downtown business owners convinced the city that it would be best to handle the renovations in the same way one would go about removing a bandage: get all the pain over with in one short burst.

The city now has an ambitious timeline of starting construction in January and finishing by the end of spring.

“Once the warm weather comes around and the mall turns back into the lively social gathering place, we need to get out of there,” said Joe Schinstock, the project manager for MMM Design Group.

Business owners and councilors lauded the accelerated construction pace and said it would minimize the impact on the community..

“I’d much rather see it done in a short period of time than spread out over years,” said Morgan MacKenzie-Perkins, co-owner of Sage Moon Gallery. “If you extend it, then we are always under construction, and that has a very negative connotation for people who want to shop.”

Owners have expressed concern about the ramifications of the mall renovations and how they would affect business. Those fears were heightened after the rebricking of Third Street Northeast earlier this year took six months longer than projected.

The city retorts that it learned valuable lessons from the previous delays and that it has been working with the business owners to ensure there is ample access to their businesses during the renovations. A business owner on each block has been appointed to serve as a liaison to the city and project managers.

“We believe we have a working plan that will allow for adequate, if not very good, access to the businesses during the entire span of the project,” said Bob Stroh, co-chairman of the Downtown Business Association.

The phasing of the renovation is still a work in progress, but the rebricking is likely to begin at Central Place and then spread outward.

For years, patrons and business owners have expressed concern about the condition of the brick pathway. In many spots the bricks are uneven or there are chasms between conjoining bricks, leading to a slew of lost heels, injuries and embarrassing tripping episodes.

A debate is raging in architecture circles over the best way to replace the bricks, which were laid between 1976 and 1979.

The city does not want to keep using 4-inch-by-12-inch bricks because it would be overly expensive to transport them from Nebraska — the location of the closest manufacturer — and because they can tip under great weight. Instead, officials are looking at 5-inch-by-10-inch bricks.

But the city’s architectural board is not thrilled with that idea. It declined last month to endorse the new brick size and asked the planners to come back with more information.

“I think that concern is rising in the design community in town about the degree to which the renovation of the mall could change its character,” said Fred Wolf, a member of the architectural board.

Councilors have echoed that sentiment. They have instructed city staff to stick close to the original design by Lawrence Halprin.

“The mall we have is very clean and an elegantly designed space,” said Councilor Satyendra Huja, who was the city’s head planner when the mall was bricked over in the 1970s. “It is not wise to mess with something that is working well.”

Therefore, councilors have told planners they do not want two new large fountains on the mall, which would cost several hundred thousand dollars each. The three existing fountains will be upgraded and two smaller fountains will still be built.

Additionally, the plans call for space for a public display of art; a children’s playground on the east end; and a “sister city” plaza on the west end.

The $7.5 million project will not include the bricking of any side streets, something Mayor Dave Norris would like to see down the road.

“I think [bricking the side streets] enhances the pedestrian character of the downtown and extends the mall farther north and south,” he said.