Laying the Foundation for a Ballpark Neighborhood

I thought Nicolai Ouroussoff’s piece, “Skyline for Sale,” was both timely and pertinent to the County and the impending design and construction of the new Twin’s stadium and surrounding development. The article raises some very important issues within the context of city building that I want to bring to your attention, in hopes that they will be considered during this critical planning and design phase.

As is often the case with such large projects as a baseball stadium, enormous attention is paid to the political and financial aspects of getting the project built, while the burden of design decisions are relinquished to the architect and developers, with the final product often mediocre. Accompanying this is the government’s marginal role in the design of urban planning projects, which can directly affect the quantity and quality of public space, resulting in a minimal, quasi-public realm.

In an effort to create the best possible architectural and urban design plans for the new stadium and surrounding development, I hope there will be a healthy public process allowing citizens to express their hopes and dreams for such an important development. Accompanying this, it would be ideal if the city and county had the equivalent of an owners’ representative. The representative, well versed in architecture and urban design, would work on an on-going basis as a liaison between the government and the architects and planners to ensure the needs of the city and county are represented in the physical design, as well as prodding the architects and developers to create a design worthy of landmark status. We do not want another Metrodome or Block E.