"Strategic Building Re-use Study"

The Downtown Dayton Partnership released it's downtown building re-use study last week. 10 designs for for various buildings and sites, mostly focused on east of Main Street.

The Partnership's website has the details, with full coverage of the graphics and narratives and pix of buildings. Link here and be inspired (or depressed, when one realizes the good design talent here that is going to waste)

Probably the least do-able (due to lack of program and money) is Rogero-Buckmans Transportation Center re-do. This is "Ballpark Village" as a mini-Times Square, building out the transportation center to fill out the intersection, and replacing Arbys with what used to be there...a mid rise loft building.

This is an excellent design. It creates an urban corner, and is the missing link or node connecting downtown with the Oregon District. And the design even incorporates a train station and streetcar loop to address the buzz about rail-based infrastructure.

And note that it closes St Clair Street, which makes the Patterson/5th intersection less of a vast expanse of pavement. Apparently this street closure is being seriously considered.



Another thing that is being seriously considered is a mid block walkway connecting with Riverscape. The connection would be with "Merchants Row" , AKA 3rd between St Clair and Jefferson. I'ts shown in this proposal:

An unusual aspect of this is that it proposes to cut through the "David Building" on the north side of Third (which used to be open as a market back in the 1920s/30s and as a bank drive through in the recent past).

Yer humble host was curious about this so took some snaps. Here we are in the big parking lot looking north, seeing how this walkway makes use of open space between buildings (and snags Carousel Beauty Colleges' parking lot).
Turning around and looking south at the David Building, one sees how this walkway would take out one of Dayton's more popular gay bars, blowing out the bar to pass under the building to Third. Isn't that special.

Apparently the city is enthusiastic about this plan too, and is seriously considering building this walkway. Which would also take out a part of this parking lot, which serves this and three other gay bars either facing it or backing up to it.

Urban renewal as homo removal? Or just a coincidence?