Panel approves Gilbert downtown district design

The Gilbert Redevelopment Commission approved a new site design for Heritage Marketplace Thursday night, even as some members said it was a departure from the urban density the committee has pushed for the historic downtown.

"I will no longer be a champion, as much as I have in the past, for true urban development, because we're making a statement if we approve this tonight," commission chairman Gene Valentine said before siding with the 4-1 majority which approved the site plan.

Heritage Marketplace's stores and offices are slated to rise on the northwest corner of Gilbert Road and Vaughn Avenue, replacing a trailer park that was bought out by the town a few years ago. The Nelson Development and Sonoran Capital investment firms are working with town officials to redevelop the site with up to six buildings housing retail and office uses.

A revised site plan, already approved by the Design Review board went before the commission last month, where it stalled with a 2-2 tie because one member was absent. The plan was resubmitted this month with two buildings moved closer to Gilbert Road to create a more "urban" image.

Commission member Mary Ellen Fresquez said earlier Thursday she was disappointed in last month's site plan because the arrangement of the buildings within the parking lots and around the parking garage made it look too "suburban," not matching the urban, pedestrian-friendly character they're aiming for.

"In a true downtown, what you typically see is business after business after business, and the parking lot is usually behind them," she said.

Plans call for six buildings, one to three stories tall, to be arranged around a four-story parking garage. The garage had an east-west orientation in the original scenario, which meant a longer wall was visible from Gilbert Road.

The revisions switched the garage to a north-south orientation which moved the wall away from Gilbert Road, but as a result buildings along Vaughn were moved as far as 25 feet away from each other with additional parking in between.

At the meeting Fresquez cast the only vote against the revised site plan and pointed out at the meeting that "economically viable" projects are one of the lesser goals of the town's design plans for the district.

Commissioner Ted Taylor countered as a businessman he would have to give due consideration to economic aspects. "The idea that we can have a problem with parking in the downtown and just ignore it or not deal with it is the same as committing economic suicide," he said.

Town Councilman Don Skousen filed an appeal of the commission's earlier 2-2 vote because it left developers still committed to the project despite current economic conditions hanging. "I want that huge thing to get moving, because these people are evidently ready to go," he said Thursday.

A revised development agreement reflecting new restrictions banks are putting on the developers of Heritage Marketplace will be presented to the Town Council next month, according to a staff report.