Olympia seeks public input on developing these 12 locations into ‘neighborhood centers’
The city of Olympia will host three public meetings in July on its plan to help develop at least a dozen neighborhood centers throughout the city.
Neighborhood centers are small business clusters that can serve daily retail and service needs for neighborhood residents, according to a Wednesday public notice. They are intended to be bike, walk and transit-friendly locations that can create a sense of community.
The city’s comprehensive plan has identified 17 locations for neighborhood centers, but development at each location varies greatly. The focus of the public meetings will be on 12 locations outside of master planned communities.
- Harrison Avenue at Kellerman’s Corner
- Capital Mall Drive at Yauger Park
- Division Street at Handy Pantry
- Rogers Street at Westside Co-op
- Bethel Street at San Francisco Bakery
- Pine Street at Puget Pantry
- Boulevard Road at Pit Stop
- Fones Road at 18th Avenue
- Boulevard Road at Victoria Square
- Capitol Way at Wildwood Center
- Capitol Way at Frog Pond
- Cooper Point Road at Evergreen Park Drive
The city renewed its focus on neighborhood centers this year after last conducting outreach eight years ago. In January, the city hired a consulting team of MAKERS Architecture and Urban Design and Leland Consulting Group to study barriers to neighborhood centers.
In the first half of 2022, the team evaluated each of the 12 locations for neighborhood centers by interviewing stakeholders and conducting a market analysis.
In 2014, the city’s Planning Commission conducted stakeholder interviews and a community-wide survey to understand why the centers have not been developed as planned. The survey found most respondents desired a local bakery, coffee shop or restaurant followed by a food store at the centers. For amenities, most respondents desired benches, a neighborhood message board and a community garden.
Those interested in providing input on the city’s findings so far can register online for a virtual open house from 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, July 13.
The city also will host two in-person pop-up events on July 16. The first event will be in the Roosevelt Elementary School parking lot from 10 a.m. to noon. The second event will take place at the Westside Food Co-op from 2-4 p.m.
An online survey will be available to the public on the city’s Engage Olympia website from July 13 to Aug. 5 as well.
This story was originally published July 7, 2022 at 11:31 AM.
