Designers and community representatives concluded the second of two Waterfront Holland design charrettes – this time offering potential directions for specific sites along the Holland waterfront.
With the first charrette analyzing the broader waterfront, the second charrette looked specifically at the future of the James DeYoung power plant property, the VerPlank property, Window-on-the-Waterfront and the surrounding areas.
Following the completion of the second charrette, the Waterfront Holland team presented findings during a summary presentation on May 23.
Although the results are not prescriptive of a final decision, the concepts discussed show opportunities to transform the city through various transformations of our waterfront.
Some key takeaways from the event include:
- History as a lens to understand, shape, and celebrate the waterfront.
- Creation of three distinct districts — “Anchor District”, “Marina District”, and “Uptown District”.
- Public/Private “Handshake” at “Anchor District”
- Marina(s) for ALL (Users, Activities, Vessels)
- New Neighborhood core at the “Uptown District”
- Strengthening the green at Window-on-the-Waterfront (Shaping + Programming)
- Enhancing connectivity to and synergy with Holland Charter Township at the “Marina District”
- “Stepping stones” to the districts from the Central City
- New opportunities for:
- Addressing housing needs
- Re-thinking scale and density (“Anchor District” and “Uptown District”)
- Public-private partnerships
- Need for:
- Environmental sensitivity
- Public Investment (Infrastructure + Regulatory)
- Workable first moves and incremental steps
Waterfront Holland will continue to update the public on future findings and results as they unfold. For a complete summary of all the key takeaways and goals from this round and sketches of individual concepts, visit the Charrette Results page.
Heading into the summer, the Waterfront Holland team will continue to review and refine the outcomes of the charrettes and may perform some market testing and financial analyses before reviewing approved visioning outcomes in the fall.
