Storefront Studio Program to host open house Wednesday

The Downtown Waterfront Alliance and The University of Washington School of Architecture will host an open house on Wednesday (Aug. 2) to give attendees a chance to view the student’s ideas and to give their opinions and suggestions as part of the Storefront Studio Program.

Late last month, a 10-person panel of community representatives met with the students to discuss the Gig Harbor downtown area. They discussed the uniqueness of downtown, what retail services should be encouraged, needs for parks and public spaces and the pros and cons of residential growth.

The panel included Harris Atkins, Marlene Drucker-Puratich, Brett Marlo-DeSantis, Paul Kadzick, Melissa Moller, Wade Perrow, John Ross, Lindsay Sehmel, Dick Vanberg and Nick Tarabochia. The four graduate students — Erica Cartwright, Arian Van Der Aar, Daniel Harrringan and Stacy Cannon — are led by Professor Jim Nichols.

The panel expressed different opinions but all members felt they wanted an “authentic” community that was a “go-to” place for citizens and visitors.

Most would like to see us recover some of the retail services the downtown has lost over the past decade. Most said effective commuter alternatives would help relieve downtown congestion and that wider sidewalks are needed.

The study will focus on the downtown block bordered by Harborview, Pioneer, Judson and Soundview. The students will present “best practice” ideas for the area. A drone photographic survey of the site was also completed.

The public input meeting will run from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday (Aug. 2) at Arabella’s Net Shed, 3323 Harborview Dr. The public is invited to view the student’s ideas and to give their opinions and suggestions.

A final report detailing the program’s findings will be released on Aug. 16.

This story was originally published July 28, 2017 at 10:29 AM with the headline "Storefront Studio Program to host open house Wednesday."