Dear Neighbor,
I am excited to be reporting good news during these trying times. I hope you might find this message refreshing.
Ever since I entered office, I have been laser focused on improving the development plans for the Cambrian Park Plaza. I have been listening to neighbors, meeting with key, internal city stakeholders, and negotiating with the developer of the Cambrian Park Plaza, Weingarten Realty.
After more than one and a half years in office, dozens of meetings later, and a deep economic recession induced by a world wide pandemic, I am pleased to report that Weingarten Realty has largely listened to our requests for significant improvements to their proposed development for the Cambrian Park Plaza. They plan to submit the next iteration of their project in the near future.
Once their new project is submitted, I will provide you a follow-up message that goes into greater detail of the project and how they have addressed the community’s and my concerns.
You can read more about my concerns in a letter that I sent to Weingarten Realty back in May of 2019. The requests that I made can be summarized in the following 7 points:
- Create a more walkable, bike-friendly Cambrian Park Plaza
- Propose a future development that reincorporates the Plaza’s history (i.e. historical carousel, native flowers, construction material, pictures/murals, etc.) into the new development
- Provide examples of public art that can be incorporated into the project
- Make the intersection of Camden and Union Ave the project’s most visible and prominent location: A) Make this intersection the primary pedestrian entry point with a central promenade; B) This site design particularly on this corridor should be spectacular; and C) Create a sight line from the intersection of Camden and Union through Wyrick Avenue
5. Upgrade the separate mixed use developments so that they are better integrated with one another
6. Form a project with ground floor commercial uses and residential units above
7. Give the project a more expanded and impressive park
Thank you to everyone involved in improving this project, particularly I would like to thank the Cambrian Community. Your thoughts and your voice has helped shape this project. After the project is submitted, our office in partnership with various city departments, will roll out a robust community engagement effort.
I look forward to sharing the plans with you in the near-future.
Sincerely,
Pam
