By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Bowling Green is one step closer to a revitalization plan for the northeast and southeast neighborhoods of the city.
City Planning Director Heather Sayler reported to the city planning commission on Wednesday that interviews had been conducted with consulting firms interested in taking on the revitalization project.
Sayler said it was very important that the proposals considered the community’s traits. “As a college town, we are a different animal than the typical community,” she said.
It was also quite important that the consulting firm knows how to collect input from the neighborhoods, Sayler said. “How will they handle engagement with the community?”
City council agreed earlier this year to contract with a consulting firm to develop a strategic revitalization plan for the northeast and the southeast quadrants of the city. Among other goals, the plan will look at fixing neglected and abused housing.
When offering background information to the possible consultants, city officials said the east side has been impacted by its proximity to BGSU, “which has created a magnet for student rental properties.”
“Over the years, the character of these neighborhoods has changed from single-family owner-occupied homes into an area dominated by rental properties geared toward students, compounded by aging stock and lowered property values,” the background information stated.
For the northeast neighborhood, the challenge is to return the blocks to family-orientation, and modify infrastructure and regulations to promote the northeast blocks to BGSU graduate students, university staff, alumni and other families.
The goals for the northeast neighborhood are:
- Stop and then reverse “apartmentalization” of houses.
- Improve livability and aesthetics.
- Encourage health and fitness.
- Allow transition uses and higher densities.
The challenge for the southeast neighborhood is to upgrade the character and livability of the blocks to make the whole quadrant more appealing to students as well as other types of residents. By doing so, the plan can help BGSU become more competitive and take advantage of the infrastructure already available to make a quality neighborhood.
The goals for the southeast quadrant are:
- Enhance aesthetics.
- Establish new development that creates high livability.
- Encourage health and fitness.
- Create positive first impressions.
The strategic plan will focus on how to attract the city’s target market of young professionals, educated and skilled, into the neighborhoods.
“We’ve been talking about the need to revitalize these neighborhoods,” council member Daniel Gordon, who represents the northeast quadrant of the city, said earlier this year.
The decline of the housing stock around BGSU has been going on for years, Gordon said. “The city has not intervened.”
Much of the traditional single family housing has been converted into rental units. “When you have that unbalance created,” the housing problems worsen, Gordon said.
When the city recently updated its land use plan, the consultant ranked revitalization of the East Side as high on the priority list.
Gordon is hoping that the revitalization plan is more than conceptual and has some real teeth. One possibility would be the creation of revolving loans for homeowners wanting to spruce up their structures.
Eleven consulting firms submitted proposals for the revitalization plan. A committee narrowed the proposals down to the top three, Sayler said. The final decision rests with Municipal Administrator Lori Tretter. The committee narrowing down the 11 consultant proposals included Sayler, Tina Bradley, Joe Fawcett, Gary Hess and Bruce Jeffers.
