Downtown plan moves forward

By Jennifer Colton - Argus Observer
Thursday, June 21, 2007 11:12 AM PDT

Ontario - Drawing citizens into downtown Ontario became a main focus of the downtown development workshop Tuesday night at Four Rivers Cultural Center.

More than 30 community members attended the workshop, led by George Crandall and Don Arambula, principals of the Portland-based urban design and planning firm Crandall Arambula PC.

The meeting completed another step in the city’s downtown revitalization project, which started in 2005 with a preliminary study.

“Back in 2005, the Oregon Downtown Association did a quick look at your town and made some preliminary recommendations,” Arambula said. “The first thing they recommended was a plaza, then street improvement and improvements to the retail environment.”

Crandall Arambula then completed a second, more in-depth study in 2006 with funding from the Oregon Transportation and Growth Management Program, suggesting bike paths and pedestrian lanes, mixed-use areas and increased parking.

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“If I had to summarize and editorialize this, I’d say it’s about economic development and quality of life,” Crandall said. “You can’t have one without the other.”

The top focus of the second study again centered on the creation of a plaza area.

Tuesday’s workshop served to gather public input on transforming the area around the Ontario Train Depot into a multipurpose area called Depot Square.

“We’re looking for that postcard place that people will recognize as the center of the community,” Crandall said. “We’re really hoping to create that sense of identity that you don’t have today.”

Creating a square will also increase retail opportunities for downtown, Crandall said.

Currently the downtown offers about 91,000 square feet of retail space, and in order to maximize the revitalization, the area should offer at least 150,000 square feet, he said. The Depot Square design offers additional retail development space, he added.

Crandall and Arambula asked for feedback on activities, seasonal issues, lighting, materials, landscaping, edging and traffic circulation.

Community suggestions varied from a skating rink to an amphitheater, a farmers market to a water play area for children.

Crandall and Arambula will now revise and refine the development plan to include detailed designs for the Depot Square project and a concept drawing.

“We may or may not see you again,” Crandall said, mentioning that a second workshop is a possibility. “We will provide a format so you can give feedback.”

For more information or copies of the presentation, contact Ontario Planning and Zoning Administrator Grant Young at (541) 881-3224.