Top Story
Observations and Opportunities: Architecture and Design
Chris Dwyer, Cushing Terrell Project Architect & ULI Idaho Design + Placemaking Product Council Chair, shares insight on post COVID design.
Observations and Opportunities: Meridian
June 17, 2020
Like Boise, perhaps even more so, Meridian has been experiencing significant growth over the past several years. The city has recently focused attention on its historic downtown with several projects that will revitalize the rail corridor and bring a sense of place to the city’s core. We talked this week with Meridian Development Corporation (MDC) Administrator and ULI member Ashley Squyres about how the pandemic has impacted these projects and the agency’s operations.
Ashley Squyres
Owner, AF Public Solutions, LLC | Administrator, Meridian Development Corporation
How has COVID-19 affected your plans for 2020 and future forecasted projects?
While COVID-19 created the reimagining of how to move projects forward, I am proud of our board and our partners as to how all have responded. For MDC, we have several projects occurring in Old Town that had critical timeframes due to newly adopted legislation impacting urban renewal agencies effective July 01. The Meridian City Council approved the creation of the new Union District in the heart of Meridian’s Downtown “Old Town” last week.
Galena Development is diligently wrapping up the purchase process of the blighted, three blocks of Union Pacific property between Main Street and East Third Street and secured their height exception for the first phase of the Union 93 project this spring. The city, MDC, and Galena continue to work through concept designs for the Civic Block project which will include the city’s new community center. We hope to have a final concept to announce by Fall. Our Main2Meridian/Old Town Lofts project continues to move forward. The delays in the past two months can mostly be attributed to finding unstable soils near the old city hall building and the need for testing and remediation.
Anyone who has worked on downtown projects knows to be prepared for a surprise or two as downtown development is not for the faint of heart. The Main2Meridian/Old Town Lofts project continues to move forward, and the first building should be going vertical this week!
What opportunities have you identified, if any, as a result of COVID-19?
I would say opportunities and ways to collaborate with our partners – the city, the chamber, and the downtown business association. I would daresay communication has been better than ever with our agency partners and I feel everyone has adapted quickly to embracing the available technology. I think I can speak for myself and my colleagues at the city when I say we have all been quite busy and focused.
Cameron Arial, Meridian City Director of Community Development shared that the city’s ability to provide all of their Community Development services online and remote and continue to do public hearings with the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council has been an incredible innovation. Fortunately, much of this technology was implemented prior to COVID and just required the city migrating to these platforms.
How has COVID-19 affected your day to day business?
I think it would be fair to say that the work and the efforts of the Meridian Development Corporation (MDC) has not been greatly impacted from a business or agency standpoint. This is mostly because of how MDC is structured with a contracted Administrator (me) who has generally worked from a home office unless participating in in-person meetings. Meetings with my board leadership, various committees, the city, the downtown business association, and the board have become virtual in nature and thus far, it has worked very well.
Are there any new policies your organization has implemented to keep the public and employees safe as we reopen?
For MDC, our public interaction is mostly limited to our committee and board meetings. Currently, all meetings remain virtual. As we gain a comfort level to meet in-person, we will take every opportunity to ensure meetings are safe, seating is socially distanced, and perhaps a hybrid model of both in-person and online participation is provided. We are continuing to evaluate week by week.