Legal & Courts  February 4, 2005

F.C. set to take Oak Street Plaza in new direction

FORT COLLINS — Maybe Bruce Hendee can’t tell you how to get to Sesame Street.

But Hendee’s designs for the redevelopment of the Oak Street Plaza invoke the flavor of that famous television address.

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The city of Fort Collins and Downtown Development Authority plan to overhaul the pedestrian plaza, which is officially a city park, early in 2006. The two agencies hired Hendee, owner of BHA Design Inc., to dream up concepts for the plaza.

Hendee’s self-described “artistic whimsy” is a playful collection of flower planters, street signs and kiosks that he said was inspired by the Sesame Street program and Dr. Seuss books.

“We are looking at providing a much more animated street scene,” Hendee explained. “We’re trying to look at creating something that is pretty festive looking.”

Examples of Hendee’s concepts, which city and DDA officials have embraced, include slender planters shaped like the Muppets character Beaker, or street signs supports that zigzag.

The city official heading up the Oak Street project said the goal is create a setting that catches the attention of pedestrians.

“So when they walk through the plaza they’re almost startled by something that didn’t quite fit,´ said Kathleen Benedict, a senior park planner for the city. “Maybe it’s a street sign that’s not straight up and down. It’s the normal type thing you expect to see anywhere, but done in a little bit different way.”

The end goal is to make the plaza stand out as a new, distinct place — a gathering spot — that hopefully has national renown, so people will say ‘Come to Oak Street Plaza if you’re going to Fort Collins.’”

Oak Street Plaza was created in 1978, when the city cut off the street between College Avenue and Mason Street. A fountain was placed in the middle of the plaza, which approximately 12,000 square feet, along with trees and benches.

Oak Street Plaza has been used for occasional musical performances, but has played second fiddle as a gathering spot since the redevelopment of Old Town Square in 1984. One of the chief goals of the Downtown Development Authority is to increase the number of distinctive downtown attractions, which can draw more people to the central business district.

In addition to Oak Street Plaza, the DDA has unveiled plans to dress up the many downtown alleyways.

“Ultimately we’d like to have a whole bunch of subdistricts downtown that have their own distinctive character,´ said Chip Steiner, executive director of the DDA. “Each of the subdistricts would be part of a larger whole.”

As planned, the city will put the Oak Street project out to bid early in 2006, with hopes for completion by that summer. Because of its relatively small size, Oak Street Plaza offers a unique opportunity to hold events that require admission “because of the ability to close it off,” Benedict said.

One of Oak Street’s immediate neighbors is First Community Bank, 151 S. College Ave. The bank hopes to use the redeveloped plaza in the future to host events that are too big for its office space.

“We have a door that opens into the plaza,´ said Greg Metzo, senior vice president for First Community. “If we can barricade (the plaza), that makes for a lot of elbow room.”

The existing plaza may not be the end of changes to Oak Street. City and DDA officials are interested in extending the design theme to the west, possibly two more blocks to the intersection of Howes Street and Canyon Avenue, Steiner said.

For his part, Hendee said his decision to draw on Sesame Street and Dr. Seuss wasn’t meant to create a child-oriented plaza.

“I really just wanted to get out of the traditional mindset,” he said. “As a designer, you always work with staff that’s available in our industry. I decided to step outside of our industry.”

FORT COLLINS — Maybe Bruce Hendee can’t tell you how to get to Sesame Street.

But Hendee’s designs for the redevelopment of the Oak Street Plaza invoke the flavor of that famous television address.

The city of Fort Collins and Downtown Development Authority plan to overhaul the pedestrian plaza, which is officially a city park, early in 2006. The two agencies hired Hendee, owner of BHA Design Inc., to dream up concepts for the plaza.

Hendee’s self-described “artistic whimsy” is a playful collection of flower planters, street signs and kiosks that he said was inspired by the Sesame Street program…

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