MERIDIAN -- The times are tough, but the Meridian Development Corporation says this is the prime time to start preparing for the future. City planners have a plan in place that would change Meridian and make it a destination downtown for visitors, but more importantly, for Meridian residents.
A down economy means a prosperous future for some city leaders. They're looking to get Meridian growing, but they want the residents help in planning.
Meridian is one of the fastest growing cities in the state because of its population and now city planners want the shops, business and development to catch up.
"What we are really looking at in this process is a vision for the entire downtown, but more of a future vision,” said Shaun Wardle with the Meridian Development Corp. “And then what we’re going to do from here is go base that in reality. What could actually happen? What are the action steps?"
The Meridian Development Corp has hired a consultant team to help plan the city's future. The team wants to make Meridian’s downtown a destination for its residents.
"We are going to have to have people building buildings, bring new business to downtown,” Wardle said. “We’re going to need people from Meridian to frequent those businesses. To come down, to walk, to shop, to eat, to bring their families. That’s how you create a vibrant downtown.”
The concepts and plans came from residents and their ideas were categorized and posted on sticky notes. Then the professionals stepped in and turned those papers into an actual vision.
“Showing what some of the ideas, some of the things we've put down, my job is to help people visualize," said Donald Buaku, an urban designer with Planner CRSA.
The designers take the ideas and make out a plan. In this case, a 3-D picture of the old buildings and structures with new ones filled in.
"We get a footprint, and eventually as we go on in the process we are able to shift things around as necessary,” Buaku said. “This is helpful tool.”
These destination downtown artists and planners say the economy is ripe for a project like this one. Plans can be made now so that when things change, they will be prepared.
"I have been impressed with how forward thinking everyone has been,” said Soren Simonsen, an architect and urban designer with Community Studio. Whether they have been residents here for a couple generations or moved in in the last couple of years, everybody is jumping onto the idea that Meridian is already a great place. There are a few things that we can latch onto to make it better. Some of these things are already out there in the works like the commuter rail and there's a lot of interesting ideas people have about how we make it happen sooner and how do we capitalize on that once it's here."
Farmers markets, a commuter train, a civic plaza and gateway are just a few ideas the residents have in mind.
They are plans the Development Corp would like to see too, allowing those who live in the city to enjoy locally.
"We are going to get some action items out of this plan that will allow us to set goals,” Wardle said. “Two, three, four, five and 11 year goals.”
The Boise Hawks are looking to relocate and one possibility is Meridian.
The Hawks organization has attended all the public meetings to look for potential plans to rebuild their stadium.
The drafters and planners say these drawings will change over the years, but they provide a start to get the ideas moving.
