ED CIA Water Tower Mural Project .pdf

WATER TOWER SOCIAL DISTRICT

OAK PARK, MI

Water Tower District - Canvas of Transformation

WATER TOWER SOCIAL DISTRICT

OAK PARK, MI

Water Tower District - Canvas of Transformation

THE HISTORY

THROUGH STRATEGIC REVITALIZATION EFFORTS OVER THE PAST SEVEN

YEARS, OAK PARK HAS CONVERTED A ONCE-DORMANT LIGHT

MANUFACTURING AREA INTO THE DYNAMIC WATER TOWER DISTRICT, A

BURGEONING CENTER WHERE MICRO-BUSINESSES, EVENTS, AND CULTURAL

AMENITIES THRIVE, ALL WHILE CELEBRATING THE CHERISHED COMMUNITY

SPIRIT OF THE CITY. THE PATH TO REALIZING THIS VISION INVOLVED

ADDRESSING CONSIDERABLE HURDLES, NOTABLY THE COMPREHENSIVE

REZONING OF THE AREA, THE CREATION OF A NEW SOCIAL DISTRICT ZONE,

AND THE SECURING OF SUBSTANTIAL FINANCIAL RESOURCES FOR THIS

LARGE-SCALE ENDEAVOR.

SINCE 2018, THE AREA HAS ATTRACTED CONSIDERABLE BUSINESS

INVESTMENT, AND ITS SIGNIFICANT POTENTIAL BECAME UNDENIABLE,

LEADING TO THE FORMALIZATION OF COMPREHENSIVE IMPROVEMENT

PLANS IN 2023. THE WATER TOWER DISTRICT HAS SEEN OVER $2 MILLION IN

INVESTMENT FROM ADJACENT BUSINESSES THROUGH THEIR SIGNIFICANT

RENOVATIONS AND BUILDING IMPROVEMENTS.

MIMI

PRE REZONING AND SOCIAL DISTRICT DESIGNATIONPRE REZONING AND SOCIAL DISTRICT DESIGNATION - WATER TOWER DISTRICT- WATER TOWER DISTRICT

Industrial buildings facing the Water Tower

Eleven Mile Road

Tu la re A ve

Ty le r A ve

G ar dn er

A ve

Kingston Street

Kingston Lot view from Tulare Middle Kingston Lot

This area was originally zoned for light industrial until 2018. The area was rezoned for mixed use and began the process of attracting businesses to the area in anticipation of the proposed changes.

Industrial buildings looking east from Tulare

PRE REZONING AND SOCIAL DISTRICT DESIGNATIONPRE REZONING AND SOCIAL DISTRICT DESIGNATION - WATER TOWER DISTRICT- WATER TOWER DISTRICT

Industrial buildings facing the Water Tower

Eleven Mile Road

Tu la re A ve

Ty le r A ve

G ar dn er

A ve

Kingston Street

Kingston Lot view from Tulare Middle Kingston Lot

This area was originally zoned for light industrial until 2018. The area was rezoned for mixed use and began the process of attracting businesses to the area in anticipation of the proposed changes.

Industrial buildings looking east from Tulare

NOW, THIS DISTRICT PROUDLY HOSTS OAK PARK’S OFFICIAL SOCIAL DISTRICT, ONE OF ONLY SIXTEEN IN OAKLAND COUNTY, WITH 6 NEW DIVERSE BUSINESSES. WITH RENOVATIONS PLANNED FOR LATE THIS SUMMER, THE WATER TOWER DISTRICT IS ON TRACK TO BECOME A CENTRAL COMMUNITY HUB, OFFERING AN IDEAL AND ENJOYABLE SETTING FOR THE CITY’S DIVERSE LOCAL EVENTS AND THE SOCIAL DISTRICT

EXPERIENCE FOR RESIDENTS AND CUSTOMERS.

OVER THE PAST 3 YEARS, THIS COMMERICAL AREA HAS EVOLVED INTO A CORNERSTORE VENUE FOR COMMUNITY GATHERINGS, HOSTING NUMEROUS SUCCESSFUL EVENTS ORGANIZED BY OUR OPCIA AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT. WITH THE ADDITION OF THE MURAL AND RENOVATED SURROUNDINGS, THIS ALREADY VITAL SPACE WILL BE ELEVATED, CREATING AN EVEN MORE ENGAGING BACKDROP FOR OUR

GROWING CALENDAR OF COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES.

POST SOCIAL DISTRICT DESIGNATION: WATER TOWER SOCIAL DISTRICT | OAK PARK, MIPOST SOCIAL DISTRICT DESIGNATION: WATER TOWER SOCIAL DISTRICT | OAK PARK, MI

Water Tower District Events

THE CREATION OF A 250-FOOT LONG MURAL IS THE HEART OF THIS IMAGINATIVE PLACEMAKING PROJECT, SET TO TRANSFORM OUR WATER TOWER SOCIAL DISTRICT'S PERSONALITY. PUBLIC ART ACTS AS A CATALYST FOR INTERACTION AND DIALOGUE, WHILE ALSO PROVIDING A PROMINENT VISUAL EXPRESSION OF THE CITY'S UNIQUE IDENTITY. WHILE NOT THE CITY'S FIRST, THIS 250-FOOT MURAL WILL MARK OAK PARK'S LARGEST PUBLIC ART ENDEAVOR, REPRESENTING A UNIQUE AND

POWERFUL CHANCE TO FOSTER ENGAGEMENT AND ENHANCE COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS.

AS A VISUAL ANCHOR AND THE FINAL TOUCH OF A

$2 MILLION DISTRICT TRANSFORMATION (DETAILS ON

FOLLOWING SLIDES), THE MURAL WILL HELP CREATE

INVITING GATHERING SPACES WITHIN THE SOCIAL

DISTRICT. THESE SPACES WILL FEATURE NEW

PAVEMENT, SPECIALIZED LIGHTING, LANDSCAPING,

FIRE PITS, SEATING, LARGE-SCALE OUTDOOR GAMES,

AND PUBLIC ART. BY TRANSFORMING AN

UNDERUTILIZED AREA INTO A VIBRANT PUBLIC SPACE

THAT SERVES MULTIPLE FUNCTIONS - FROM

PRACTICAL PARKING TO COMMUNITY GATHERING

SPACE TO PUBLIC ART VENUE - WE'RE

DEMONSTRATING HOW CREATIVE PLACEMAKING CAN

MAXIMIZE THE POTENTIAL OF URBAN

INFRASTRUCTURE.

FUTURE IMPROVEMENTS: WATER TOWER SOCIAL DISTRICT PUBLIC SPACES | OAK PARK, MIFUTURE IMPROVEMENTS: WATER TOWER SOCIAL DISTRICT PUBLIC SPACES | OAK PARK, MI

Proposed Amenities 1.Multi-functional public space 2.Movable chairs & tables 3.Corn-hole gaming area 4.Bike racks and bike repair station 5.String lighting 6.Planter with built-in bench 7.Bollard | Street lighting 8.Mural on the south wall 9.Benches with landscape buffer

10.10-foot paved path - see next page

Seating Area

Public Space and Seating Areas at Tyler Avenue Proposed Amenities

1.Fire-pit seating area 2.Seating area with twig benches 3.Landscape area 4.Decorative crosswalk 5.10-foot paved path 6.Bioswales 7.Electrical vehicle charging station; level 3

FUTURE IMPROVEMENTS: WATER TOWER SOCIAL DISTRICT PUBLIC SPACES | OAK PARK, MIFUTURE IMPROVEMENTS: WATER TOWER SOCIAL DISTRICT PUBLIC SPACES | OAK PARK, MI

OUR PROJECT BREAKS NEW GROUND IN THREE KEY WAYS:

1.SHIFTING THE WATER TOWER DISTRICT'S FOCUS FROM VEHICLE STORAGE TO FLEXIBLE COMMUNITY

SPACES, THIS LARGE-SCALE MURAL ADDS A CRUCIAL ARTISTIC DIMENSION. IT TRANSFORMS PREVIOUSLY UTILITARIAN AREAS INTO WELCOMING GATHERING SPOTS THAT ENCOURAGE RESIDENTS TO WALK UP AND ENJOY THE AMENITIES, FOSTERING A MORE PEDESTRIAN-FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENT AND REDUCING THE NEED

FOR DRIVING.

2.THE SOCIAL DISTRICT DESIGNATION ADDS A UNIQUE DIMENSION, ALLOWING VISITORS TO ENJOY ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES WHILE EXPLORING THE AREA. THIS EUROPEAN-INSPIRED APPROACH, COMBINED WITH PUBLIC ART, CREATES AN INVITING ATMOSPHERE THAT DRIVES FOOT TRAFFIC AND SUPPORTS OUR LOCAL

BUSINESSES.

3.STRATEGIC DESIGN ELEMENTS LIKE MURAL ART, FLOWER AND LANDSCAPING, PLUS WALL CUTOUTS WILL BRIDGE THE GAP BETWEEN COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL AREAS. THESE THOUGHTFUL TOUCHES HELP INTEGRATE THE SOCIAL DISTRICT INTO THE NEIGHBORHOOD, MAKING IT FEEL LIKE A NATURAL EXTENSION

OF OUR COMMUNITY RATHER THAN A SEPARATE COMMERCIAL ZONE.

CURRRENT KINGSTON BACKWALL CONDITIONS -CURRRENT KINGSTON BACKWALL CONDITIONS - WATER TOWER SOCIAL DISTRICTWATER TOWER SOCIAL DISTRICT | OAK PARK| OAK PARK

CURRRENT KINGSTON LOTCURRRENT KINGSTON LOT

BACKWALL CONDITIONSBACKWALL CONDITIONS

Water Tower District - Canvas of Transformation

AART MURALRT MURAL

LOCATIONLOCATION

MURAL INSPIRATION -MURAL INSPIRATION - WATER TOWER SOCIAL DISTRICT PUBLIC SPACES | OAK PARKWATER TOWER SOCIAL DISTRICT PUBLIC SPACES | OAK PARK

THE MURAL PROJECT AND RENOVATION OF THE SOCIAL DISTRICT

EXEMPLIFY COMMUNITY COLLABORATION, UNITING THE EFFORTS

OF THE CITY OF OAK PARK, THE OPCIA, OAK PARK ART, CULTURAL

AND DIVERSITY COMMITTEE, MAIN STREET OAKLAND COUNTY,

OAKLAND COUNTY, NEIGHBORING RESIDENTS, AND TWELVE

WATER TOWER SOCIAL DISTRICT BUSINESSES. FROM

CONCEPTUAL DESIGN THROUGH THE FINAL IMPLEMENTATION,

THIS PARTNERSHIP HAS ENSURED THAT EVERY STAKEHOLDER'S

NEEDS HAVE BEEN MET WHILE CREATING A COHESIVE VISION

THAT SERVES OUR ENTIRE COMMUNITY.