Courthouse District Draft Concept Plan

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apter~ Landscape and Water Elements Overall Concept Special consideration of landscape and water rein- forces the urban design goals for the Courthouse District. This element focuses on four ideas: an urban neighborhood close to the river, a landscaped civic street leading from the Park Blocks to the river, the historic millrace alignment encircling the new district, and a new millrace bringing activity into the center. The design parameters for the riverfront are not articulated at this time; significant community discus- sion, planning and design effort is required before the riverfront concept is fully developed. For 8th Avenue, special plantings are envisioned to provide a visual and physical link from the Park Blocks to the river. This could include native shade trees or native plant massings to provide continuity along 8th and pedestrian amenities, as well as seasonal shade. The historic alignment of the millrace creates an arc around the new District, comprised of both daylighted and piped sections of the millrace. The urban design concept illustrates this arc as a specially planted area, marking the threshold into the district and making the Millrace location visible. Bringing the piped Millrace back to the surface and has been along-held dream for many in this commu- nity. Creating a plan for reopening the millrace was listed as a key next step in the Downtown Vision and has been discussed for the Courthouse District since the beginning of the project. The urban design Concept Plan includes a Millrace but remains flexible to address both environmental issues and implica- tions for desired development in this district. Page 17 A more natural, habitat enhancing corridor has also been discussed as part of the design for the new Millrace. (Photo by John Lawless)