Union Square Business Improvement District Hosts “Hallidie Plaza Charette” (Design Workshop) October 13, 14, 15
Non-Profit Union Square BID (www.unionsquarebid.com) leads effort to Envision the Future of Tourist and Public Transportation Crossroads with Hallidie Plaza Charette” (Design Workshop) October 13, 14, 15
To provide a framework for the ongoing enhancement of Hallidie Plaza -- best
known to legions of international tourists for the Cable Car Turnaround at
Powell and Market -- the Union Square Business Improvement District (BID) will
be hosting a “Hallidie Plaza Charette” (Design Workshop) October 13, 14 and 15
at the Renaissance Parc 55 Hotel.
“Hallidie Plaza is in need of a
re-visioning,” said Leigh Ann Baughman, BID Executive Director. “Its role as a
transportation center continues to intensify with the addition of new services
and developments. The BART airport extension, the Third Street light rail and
the Central Subway plans, and Westfield San Francisco Centre expansion all will
interface beneath Powell and Market streets. This design workshop will lay the
ground-work for reclaiming mid-Market as the traditional hub of The
City.”
The “Hallidie Plaza Charette” is free and open to the public.
Participants include Rich Hillis and Jeremy Hallisey of the Mayor's Office of
Economic Development; Mohammed Nuru, Deputy Director of the San Francisco
Department of Public Works; Tom Radulovich, BART Director for District 9; Peter
Albert, BART Manager for San Francisco; Molly Burke, BART Government Relations;
Maggie Lynch, MUNI Public Relations Director; Natalie Berg, Forest City
Development; Steve Eimer, Westfield and Patrick Lane, General Manager of the
Renaissance Parc 55 Hotel as well as other community leaders, area stakeholders
and interested citizens. The design workshop will be facilitated by Michael
Willis, Michael Willis Architects.
Westfield and Forest City,
development partners for the new Westfield San Francisco Centre, contributed
$250,000 for ongoing improvements to Hallidie Plaza, including the funding for
the October forum.
About the Union Square BID:
The Union Square
Business Improvement District (BID) is a 10-block area where property owners
assess themselves to make their community cleaner, safer and more vibrant. The
BID assessment is used to purchase services that supplement those provided by
the City. The Union Square BID contains 97 properties and is roughly bounded by
Sutter Street to the North, Stockton and Grant Streets to the East, Market
Street to the South and Cyril Magnin to the West. In 1994, California joined
most states in the country and passed enabling legislation for property based
business improvement districts (PBIDS). There are currently over 1,000 BIDS in
the United States and Canada.
A unique program of the Union Square BID,
the BID “Ambassadors” are a visible presence for safety and maintenance in the
BID’s ten-square-block borders. Easily identifiable by their red and blue
uniforms, the Ambassadors provide visitors and tourists with a variety of
services including directions, transportation information, emergency response,
and even help elderly shoppers with their bags as they cross San Francisco’s
busy streets. Also part of the Union Square BID’s success are the “TAGGers.”
“TAGGers” (an acronym for Take Away Graffiti and Grime ) are the primary
caretakers for Union Square and the whole BID district. Seven days a week,
throughout the day, they sweep the sidewalks, pick-up and dispose of trash and
debris, and remove graffiti from storefronts, buildings, area light poles and
street furniture. Sidewalks are steam cleaned twice a month.
For more
information on the Union Square Business Improvement District, access their
website at www.unionsquarebid.com, or call (415) 421-3135.
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/9/prweb162714.htm