Council To Review Broadway Plaza Master Plan Tonight

At a special meeting this evening, the City Council will discuss expansion plans for Broadway Plaza.

The plans mention a development option of "up to 200 residential units," according to a staff report, in addition to.

The council meets at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the third floor conference room at City Hall, 1666 N. Main St. with a narrow agenda: a discussion of issues related to rules and procedures in the conduct of City Council meetings, and the discussion about the long-range master plan for Broadway Plaza with representatives of Macerich, owner of the pedestrian plaza.

Macerich will present "the Plan's various components and alternatives based on feedback from recent, applicant-sponsored community meetings," according to a report by the city's Community Development Department.

The expansion is laid out in "a framework that would allow for various development options (up to 300,000 square feet of additional commercial floor area in combination with up to 200 residential units) all within a prescribed envelope, the components of which would be constructed in stages," the report states.

The eventual master plan is expected to get formal City Council review in 2012.

Evolving master plan available for public view

Macerich has announced that its evolving master plan with potential site-plan layouts will be available at three open houses at the Broadway Plaza concierge on Thursday, Dec. 1;  Tuesday, Dec. 6; and Tuesday, Dec. 13. The open houses will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on those dates. According to a Broadway Plaza press release, planning staff will be available at those times to answer questions.

The master plan with a vision for the next 15 years calls for adding pedestrian spaces, integrated parking underground, enhanced transit access and new event spaces. "Possibilities also include adding residential uses to the mix," the Broadway Plaza news release states.

"We hope residents will drop by to take a look at the concepts that have developed from the community design process and are inspired by the kind of lively pedestrian zone people have experienced in European cities," said Chuck Davis, vice president, development, for Macerich, which has owned Broadway Plaza with Northwestern Mutual Life since the mid-1980s. "These potential plans also build in better access, parking and traffic flow, and more modern retail space."