Tuesday Forum on RSA Judicial Building

Producing a Win-Win for Downtown Montgomery and the RSA   

Unfortunately, the recent debate over the proposed RSA Judicial Building on Dexter Avenue has focused on whether the RSA should construct a building or not, instead of how the project’s design flaws can be corrected in order to adequately leverage its economic development potential for the benefit of the city, region and State.  Please join us at the Hank Williams Museum Meeting Hall at 118 Commerce Street downtown on Tuesday January 22nd at 5:30 p.m. to discuss how the RSA can work with the Citizens for Downtown Revitalization in order to maximize their investment.  downtown-revitalization-forum-2008-01-23-email.pdf

 Downtown Montgomery has been an under-leveraged economic asset for this region for more than 50 years.  Fortunately, over the past several years we have had the nation’s leading planners and designers of downtown areas such as Andres Duany, Victor Dover, Rick Bernhardt, Tony Nelessen, and Ed McMahon, visit the downtown and provide their thoughts on how to leverage it economically.  

 All agreed that:  

             1.            The downtown operates like a sterile 9-5 suburban commuter office park instead of a vibrant 24/7 downtown regional center; 

             2.            Despite the substantial amount of investment in construction in the downtown area over the past 40 years, these investments failed to sufficiently foster the economic revitalization of downtown due to the failure to follow basic rules of urban design for downtown buildings; 

             3.            The downtown still has great potential due to a wide variety of factors such as the grandeur of the Capitol and its surrounding grounds, its underlying block structure, and the institutions that need to remain downtown.

In 2006 the Chamber of Commerce released its Economic Development Report for the region. Montgomery Economic Development Strategy  It correctly concluded that the downtown would not be revitalized so long as developers had no predictability in the nature of what would be built downtown.  For years, developers were drawn to the suburbs where there has been much greater predictability.

The City of Montgomery wisely heeded these conclusions and commissioned the award-winning firm Dover Kohl to work with the City and its citizens to craft a game plan for turning the downtown around. Dover Kohl answered the call with a world-class master plan and zoning code that was unanimously adopted by the City Council.  See http://www.montgomeryal.gov/depts/planning/downtown-plan.aspx. The RSA did not actively participate in this planning effort.

  In 2007, the City Council unanimously adopted a mandatory zoning code for the downtown area that requires the master plan to be followed.  These actions set the stage for downtown developers to invest in the downtown area thanks to the certainty it would now bring to development in the downtown area. Other cities are so jealous of this remarkable turn-around, that they are inviting representatives of Montgomery to come to their cities to explain how they can follow a similar path. 

  Now, less than a year after Montgomery made this quick turn-around, the RSA wants to reverse the progress that has been made by constructing a building on the most important street in downtown that does not comply with the unanimously adopted master plan or the unanimously adopted zoning code due to numerous design flaws.  While there are several correctable design flaws, the most fundamental violation is the height of the structure.

The height limitation in the master plan is premised upon several reasons including the need to safeguard the grandeur of the downtown’s most valuable asset— the view and primacy of the Capitol and its surrounding grounds. 

This requirement, along with the others found in the Master Plan, seek to emulate the success of Charleston, Washington DC and Paris as opposed to the “anything goes” policies that have produced disinvestment in places like downtown Houston.

It is absolutely imperative that this $200 million dollar project move forward in a manner that will allow it to stand the test of time.  After all, this is not only Montgomery’s Main Street, it is Alabama’s Main Street, as well as the Main Street for the Civil Rights Movement.  Add to that the fact that the RSA constructs building to last for generations, and we have no choice but to demand that the RSA refrain from moving forward with all deliberate speed on a design that does not even stand up to the concerns of the current generation due to correctable design flaws.

The good news is that we have a precedent for dealing with this impasse.  One hundred years ago there was a similarly heated controversy that arose over the addition of wings to the Capitol.  Our forefathers reached out to the nation’s most respected architect, Charles McKim, who helped guide everyone to a solution that worked for everyone.  This example can be replicated by bringing in some of the nation’s most respected designers who have had a direct hand in helping breathe life into Washington DC.  These designers can help us understand the possibilities that will allow the RSA to move forward with a design that meets their economic goals while conforming to the Master Plan and zoning code.  And the solutions will not only work now, but for generations to come—- just like the guidance given by Charles McKim 100 years ago.

These issues will be fully discussed at the next RSA Judicial Building Forum hosted by the Citizens for Downtown Revitalization at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday at the Hank Williams Museum Meeting Hall.  If you are concerned for the future of downtown, we strongly encourage you to attend and let your concerns be heard.