2014.01.15 - Milliken Design Guidelines

Existing Conditions
Design Guidelines Focus Areas – Town Square
Town Square
The existing Town Square site is largely an asphalt
parking lot with a large wooden gazebo in the
middle. Used informally as a concert and
performance space, the parking lot is closed off for
events, and performers utilize the eastern side of
Town Hall as a backdrop/stage. The Senior Center
(located within Town Hall) also uses the gazebo as a
place to relax outside. Included with the Town
Square site is a historic stone building (the former
Police Station) that has been renovated and is
owned by the Town. Prior to 2013, a coffee shop
leased the historic building space, and organized
several performances in the parking lot. However,
the coffee shop vacated the building in June 2013,
and a new tenant has not occupied the space. On
the eastern side of the historic building, a window
functions as a potential drive-through, and a curbcut
along Broad Street allows one-way traffic access
to the drive-through window.
An approximately 8’ sidewalk and 4’ planting bed
defines the southern edge of Town Square along
Broad Street. Unlike the wider sidewalks west of
Grace Street and east of Frances Avenue, the
sidewalks in front of Town Square and Town Hall are
narrower (but still include on-street parallel parking
and a mid-block bulb-out). Amenities along the
sidewalk at this site include pedestrian lighting, large
banner poles (bent and non-functional), two street
trees, and the small planting bed between the
sidewalk and the parking lot.
In addition to the pedestrian lights that line the
sidewalk along the southern edge of Town Square,
there are also several taller cut-off safety lights
located within the parking lot area. Within the alley
that runs near the northern edge of the site, aboveground
utility poles carry electric wires and support
electrical transformers.
Overall, the current function and appearance of
Town Square feels like a parking lot, with only the
gazebo hinting at its use as a community gathering
and performance space. Several draft plans to
renovate the site have been previously completed,
including a Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) plan
and a design done by a private consultant. For the
draft plans, the following elements were presented
as potential renovations:
Performance in Town Square (gazebo on left)
• Shade Structure
• Stage/Performance Space
• Playground (themed around a ‘Mammoth’
dinosaur bone find near Milliken)
• Splash Pad/Fountain
• Reduced Parking Area
• Ornamental Plantings/Trees
• Public Art
Chapter 2: Existing Conditions
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