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Council reviews conceptual plan for Azalea Park community building; staff to seek more public feedback
Summary
Architects proposed a 3,500 sq ft pavilion-style community building with a 2,000 sq ft divisible event room, warming kitchen and integrated gardens; staff recommended a southeast-corner site to connect Main and 5th Streets and will follow up with an online survey for additional public input.
Amy introduced a conceptual design for a new Azalea Park community building and asked the council for feedback. Eric from Epstein Architecture summarized outreach findings (135 survey responses in 2024; a public input session with 10 attendees) and presented a master-plan-level approach emphasizing connectivity between the park's two halves, flexibility in programming, and parking constraints.
Eric said about 20% of respondents use the park weekly and parking was an overwhelming concern. The team's preferred building "sweet spot" was roughly 3,500 square feet, including a 2,000-square-foot multipurpose event space divisible by a folding partition, a warming kitchen, storage and direct connections to gardens and outdoor gathering spaces. He said the concept aims for materials and forms that integrate the building into the landscape (pergola roof, natural wood slats, garden connections) rather than a stand-alone object.
Siting options were discussed: keeping the building in the old footprint, centering it in the park, or placing it along Main Street. The consultant favored a southeast-corner location to engage both Main and 5th Streets and create a strong entrance. Eric also described programming ideas (amphitheater, sculpture gardens, a promenade along the Richardson stream) and estimated peak-event parking could rise from about 86 existing spots to just under 400 if all park measures are implemented.
Amy asked council for input about management and potential alcohol sales; she indicated she would bring management questions back next month and recommended collecting further public input through a survey instead of another in-person meeting. Several council members asked clarifying questions about size, parking trade-offs and whether a larger building is feasible; staff emphasized parking constraints as a limiting factor.
Staff will refine plans and return with a survey and potential management options for council consideration.
