Memo Clock Tower - Mainstreet PlazaI. Purpose of Discussion
II. Background
CITY OF HOPKINS
MEMORANDUM
DATE: August 15, 1991
TO: Mayor and Ci ouncil
FROM: Tom Harmening,`Community Development Director
SUBJECT: Clock Tower - Mainstreet Plaza
This item has been placed on the City Council agenda for the
following reasons:
o Allow the general public to provide input and comments
on the proposed clock tower design. To accommodate
this input, the City Council is scheduled to meet at
6:00 p.m., prior to it's regular City Council meeting.
City staff has sent an invitation to all neighborhood
presidents asking that they, or residents in their
neighborhoods, attend this meeting. Notice of this
meeting was also placed in the newspaper.
During the regular portion of the City Council meeting,
the City Council will be requested, if possible, to
approve a basic clock tower design and authorize the
preparation of specifications to allow the bidding
process to take place later this fall. Attached are
the previous design., options sent to the City Council.
It is hoped that by August 20 a revised design will be
available which takes into consideration the DRC's
recommendations
During this portion of the discussion, staff would also
like to discuss with the City Council specifics
pertaining to the timing of the installation of the
base for the clock tower, and the installation of the
clock tower itself.
July 16, 1991 - During the City Council work session, the City
Council directed that staff solicit input from the Design Review
Committee /Business Council on the clock tower design. The
Council also approved the use of a performance bid basis as a
part of the design and bidding process for the clock tower. As a
reminder, the performance bid basis essentially puts the final
design responsibilities on the clock tower company, rather than
having the City pay to have a consultant design the detailed
specifics of the clock tower.
August 2, 1991 - The Design Review Committee and Business Council
met and received a presentation on the various design options
pertaining to the clock tower. Comments and suggestions received
as a part of this meeting were as follows:
o The DRC seemed to favor design option 3A.
The height of the clock tower seemed satisfactory
(approximately 26 feet) .
o A green color for the clock tower seems appropriate as
it will match the historic street lights on Mainstreet.
Signage should not be placed on the clock tower which
illustrates contributors to the clock tower. Rather,
the Committee recommended that a monument be placed in
the plaza which outlines historical facts regarding
Hopkins, as well as outlines the major contributors to
the clock tower.
o Recommended that the design of the clock tower be such
that it minimizes bird nesting. As an example, the
area around the actual clock faces themselves should
probably be enclosed to disallow bird nesting inside
the roof of the clock tower and on the actual clocks
themselves.
o Recommended that horizontal bars be eliminated as much
as possible to discourage climbing.
Possibly provide for only two tiers or "steps" rather
than three (based upon design 3A).
o Recommended that a re- examination be made of the
location of trees in the plaza to make sure that they .
do not screen the clock tower.
o Consider four clock faces.
o A discussion also took place regarding the kiosk in the
plaza. The DRC is recommending that the kiosk be
removed. The DRC also made other suggestions regarding
the design of the plaza which staff is examining.
Follow -up Actions - After the DRC /Business Council meeting was
held, Westwood Professional Services contacted the clock tower
company who had provided the original design options and asked
that they upgrade the design to take into consideration the
comments made by the Design Review Committee. Staff requested
that they undertake the design modifications such that it could
be discussed with the City Council on August 20. As of the date
of this memo, City staff has not yet received a revised design.
As a result, staff has attached to this memorandum examples of
the previous design options which had been submitted to the City
Council in July. It is hoped that by the Council meeting on
August 20, an upgraded design option will be available for
review.
III. Other Issues
Staff desires to discuss with the City Council the scheduling of
the actual construction of the clock tower. The construction of
the clock tower is broken into two areas:
Base A foundation needs to be installed to support
the clock tower. It is important that this base be
installed this fall prior to completion of the plaza.
Once the basic clock tower design has been decided, it
will be possible for the base to be designed and
installed. Most likely, staff will recommend that a
change order be negotiated with the Mainstreet
contractor to have the concrete base installed as a
part of the construction of the plaza.
o Clock tower - It still appears possible for the clock
tower to be installed this fall or early winter.
Another alternative would be to install the base this
fall, but actually construct the clock tower next
spring. Staff is concerned with the relationship of
the construction of the clock tower as related to the
inscribed brick pavers which will be placed in the
plaza as a part of the buy -a -brick program.
Staff requests direction from the City Council
regarding it's interest in having the clock tower
installed this fall or next spring. The decision on
the timing question is dependent somewhat on the fund
raising efforts being formulated for the plaza. The
clock tower is proposed to be financed through the buy-
a -brick program as well as private donations which will
be solicited from various organizations within the
community. All things considered, staff would
recommend that consideration be given to installing the
clock tower this fall, if at all possible, such that
the portion of the project between 5th and llth Avenue,
as well as the plaza, will have a more complete look in
time for the holiday season.
If the City were to undertake the bidding of the clock
tower this fall, the following schedule could be used:
TKH /kmb
o 8/20 — Approve general design and authorize preparation
of general specifications based upon the design.
o 9/3 - Approve the final specifications and authorize
advertisement for bids.
o 9/4 - Publish the advertisement for bids.
o 9/23 - Open bids.
o 10/1 - Award of contract by City Council.
IV. Recommended Action
o Approval of Design - A revised design for the clock
tower has not been submitted to the City Council with
this memorandum. It is hoped that staff will have an
updated design option for the City Council meeting and
that the. Council will be in a position to provide
direction on the design aspects of the clock tower
based upon the input of the business community and
public in general. If the Council is comfortable with
the design aspects, staff would recommend the Council
indicate its approval of the design and authorize the
preparation of the specifications.
Timing of Installation Staff would recommend the
Council consider proceeding with the bidding process
this fall to hopefully allow for the clock tower to be
in place by the holiday season.
Westwood Professional Services. Inc.
The Kiosks shall be made to match the Clock Tower so until the Clock Tower
design is more refined we will not pursue it.
We used five criteria as design guidelines for reviewing each proposal. These
guidelines are as follows:
CLOCK TOWER DESIGN GUIDELINES
June 12, 1991
CLOCK TOWER DESIGN OPTIONS
MAINSTREET IMPROVEMENT PROJECT
HOPK.INS, MINNESOTA
INTRODUCTION
Since the completion of the Manstreet Improvement Project plans, Westwood has
been working in conjunction with Verdin (specifically Barbara Jordano) on
Clock Tower design alternatives. At this time we would like to present you .
with the four proposals which Verdin has prepared as well as our review and
recommendations of these proposals.
1. Clock Tower location should enable tower to be visible from several
directions and become a focal point for the downtown area.
2. Design of the Plaza and proposed location for the Clock Tower in the
Plaza area (on corner of 9th Street & Main) suggests accommodating
pedestrian movements underneath the Clock Tower.
The height and mass of the Clock Tower should not exceed the building
heights at 9th and Main yet be large enough to have a strong visual
impact.
4. The design theme for the Clock Tower should allow for adequate detailing
and ornamentation to relate to the historic theme of the streetscape and
plaza designs.
5. The Clock Tower should have a minimum of two clock faces, be either open
or enclosed at the top and be able to accommodate other signage on the
tower.
DESIGN PROPOSALS BY VERDIN
14180 Trunk Hwy. 5
Eden Prairie, MN 55344
612 -937 -5150
FAX 612- 937 -5822
The following is a brief review of the four proposed towers by Verdin. See
also attached elevations of each proposal.
Proposal #1:
- Overall design theme is too modern to fit historic theme for plaza and
streetscape.
- 25'height is appropriate.
-Width and openness at base will accommodate pedestrian movements.
CLOCK TOWER DESIGN OPTIONS
MAINSTREET IMPROVEMENT PROJECT
HOPKINS, MINNESOTA
Proposal #2
Overall design them is not unified - top half is detailed for historic
look while bottom half appears too modern.
-25' height is appropriate.
-Width and openness at base will accommodate pedestrian movement.
Proposal #3
Proposal #4
- Overall design theme is unified and fits the context of the historic
streetscape and plaza designs.
- Design shows good detailing and an appropriate ornateness to compliment
historic. theme.
-25' height is appropriate.
-Width at base is generally too narrow to easily accommodate pedestrian
movements.
-Overall design theme is not unified yet it begins to suggest a historic
theme.
- Detailing is awkward and disjointed. "
-25' height is appropriate.
-Width at base is generally too narrow to easily accommodate pedestrian
movements.
COST IMPLICATIONS.
The four proposals by Verdin all fall within the $50,000 budget allotted by
the City. Slight revisions to the design could be accomplished while
maintaining the same budget.
HEIGHT ISSUE
It is Westwood's understanding that there has been some concern expressed
about the Clock Tower's height. In our estimation the Clock Tower should fit
the relative scale of downtown yet be large enough to become a focal point.
Following our - design guidelines, the tower should accommodate pedestrian
movements through its base. This would suggest there be approximately 6 feet
of width between the base columns. The appropriate overall height of the
tower then becomes a function of the base width which determines an
aesthetically pleasing proportion of width to height. A shorter tower will
appear "heavy" and "squat" in the space.
It is also important that the tower's height compliment the heights of the
buildings surrounding its location. Nearly all of the buildings which
directly relate to the tower are 3 stories and therefore range between 30 and
36 feet in height.
Given the above information it is Westwood's recommendation that the Clock
Tower be approximately 25 feet high. This size would give the tower good
width to height proportions and properly fit it into the context of the
surrounding building heights.
CLOCK TOWER DESIGN OPTIONS
MAINSTRE T IMPROVEMENT PROJECT
HOPKINS, MINNESOTA
DESIGN RECOMMENDATION
Following our review of Verdin's four proposals, it is our determination that
Proposal #3 most closely matches our design guidelines. It articulates an
historic theme with proper ornamentation and detailing, has four clock faces
and fits our height and mass requirements. The one guideline which it fails
to meet satisfactorily is the base width. In Verdin's proposal the inside
width between columns is 4 feet. Westwood's recommendation is that width
should be approximately 6 feet to comfortably accommodate pedestrian movements
underneath the tower. We are therefore offering 3 design alternatives which
have a 6 foot inside base width that are spin - offs from Verdin's Proposal #3
for the City's review. We have attached them and labeled them 3A, 3B, and 3C.
We favor any one of these proposals.
CONCLUSION
It is our desire that the City carefully review the Clock Tower Design
Guidelines, Verdins designs, and our recommendations and alternatives before
reaching your decision. The appropriate next step would be a joint review of
those plans (with Westwood). We will then provide Verdin with a summary
recommendation to get us to a single plan and their confirmation on costs.
They could then proceed with the kiosk design and also provide the City with a
colored rendering of the preferred Clock Tower design. If you have any
questions please call Randy Goertzen or Tim Erkkila at 937 -5150.
RG -TE
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