Changes to come.

I’ve decided to widen my blogging horizons.

The original intent of this blog was to become an outlet for design ideas and critiques of projects within my hometown of Kokomo, Indiana and some select projects in neighboring towns. As I’ve come to realize, I’d like to write about much more than just development specific to one city and have decided to redefine my blogging persona.

I will be changing this blog’s url sometime in the near future and will attempt to tackle a wider variety of topics. From at home DIY projects that I’ve been working on, events that I attend, quality of life issues, and of course my critique on the urban environment and new development projects. Essentially, I want to break through much of the blogger’s block that I’ve been experiencing with Kokomotive.

This isn’t an end to Kokomo-related blog entries. I don’t intend to turn my back on the origins of this blog, but to expand into new topics and locations. I’m still brainstorming on topic ideas for blogging, so tweet at me (@ross_pierce) or comment below on what areas that you think I should cover and I’ll try and think of my own personal take on that subject.

Hey Walgreen’s, This is an unacceptable a bike rack

A few days ago, I decided to take the scenic route on my way home from work. On my way to my house, I decided to stop into Walgreen’s to buy a drink for when I got home. I locked my bike to an obviously unattached bike rack only because I decided I could run into the store, buy my drink and get back outside before anyone could possibly steal my bike (and the bike rack). When I came back outside, my bike was still there (phew!) but I decided to take a better look at the bike rack. Not only is the rack not attached to any surface, it was somewhat lightweight. I could pick it up if I wanted to. Below is a picture of the bike rack in question.

This is a perfectly good example of what I would call an unacceptable bike rack. Since it is in the parking lot, someone could easily drive by in a pickup truck, get out and pick up a bike with the bike rack attached. Secondly, this does not shed positive light to its owner. It looks as though they took a railing and welded it to a rusted metal window frame. Not to mention also, should an employee want to ride their bike to work, the bike could still get easily stolen without taking the bike rack. This type of bike rack makes it hard to lock the BODY of the bike so the WHEEL is the one getting locked to this structure. Most bikes nowadays have quick release mechanisms. Mine takes seconds to remove the front tire.

Downtown Kokomo Construction Roundup: 3/6/12

It was a beautiful day yesterday and after work I decided to go on a long bike ride. On that ride, I decided to go take a look at how some of the known construction projects downtown are developing. For the first time in what seems like my whole entire life, Kokomo has many different projects going on downtown at the same time. Here are three of the projects that have visible changes as of 3/6/12. As the construction season begins, this list will grow to include some of the other downtown development news.

Kokomo-Howard County Public Library Outreach Building

My first stop was the Outreach Building for the Kokomo-Howard County Public Library. To my surprise, the building is coming along quite quickly. You can see that as of yesterday the building’s supports are in place and the shear mass of a building is starting to take shape. From the elevation images and the articles that I’ve come across, the building won’t be a design icon in the downtown district. Although it won’t be the most beautiful building, it does provide density to a block where a parking lot previously sat.  It does provide a good street wall to both Market and Mulberry Streets, which helps enclose the street and promotes walkability. One of the MAJOR design flaws is how close the building is to the neighboring structures and doesn’t fit in well with the previously existing urban fabric in that area. The building’s orientation is exactly how I would have designed it, but I would have had more visible facade changes to mimic the existing look and feel of the surrounding structures. This is just a cookie cutter building that doesn’t provide much value and similar if not exact replicas of this structure could be found in an infinite number of communities in the world.

More on the Library Outreach Building is here in a Kokomo Tribune article.

Senior Housing Development

The Senior Housing development that I’ve previously highlighted on this blog, got some great news recently that will help get this project rolling. According to the most recent Kokomo Perspective and Kokomo Tribune newspapers, the St. Mary Development Corp. received a federal rental housing tax credit of $900,429 in addition to a $250,000 loan both from the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority. Within the past couple weeks, the site has been cleared and the old Hoosier Wholesale building was demolished. Site prep is ongoing and construction should begin on the $9 million project this July with a completion date in 2013.

PNC Bank Facade Improvement

Another urban design improvement downtown is the facade improvement of the PNC bank at the corner of Mulberry and Buckeye Streets. This one has a bit of mystery behind it as I have no idea how the end result will turn out. If a certain development firm is in control of it, I’m sure it will end badly, disastrous, ugly or  tasteless. I’ll get more into that in a blog entry at a later date… As for right now all we have is the facade with orange fencing near the base awaiting for construction.

Not exactly a “downtown” project but I am most certainly excited for the extension of the Industrial Heritage Trail: The current southern terminus (Boulevard) pictured below facing south to the potential future IHT extension.

Say No to S.O.P.A. and P.I.P.A.

I’ve always believed that we should live without censorship. I Strongly oppose of both the “Stop Online Piracy Act” and the “Protect IP Act”

How SOPA could affect you

SOPA, PIPA What you need to know

Make the Call – Stop the Wall

UPDATE: Sycamore Commons Convenience Store proposed for “Manetoowa” Parcel

"Manetoowa" sitting in front of the proposed site (Image: www.waymarking.com)

According to a article in the Kokomo Tribune on 12/20/11, Fortune Management is proposing to build a convenience store on the lot where the Indian Maiden statue is currently located. The development could provide everyday necessities that would normally not be within walking distance for people living east of downtown. The project is also located at an important automobile and bicycling route within downtown Kokomo, which “ups the stakes,” creating certain expectations on a currently empty site.

60-Unit IUK Student Housing Complex Approaches Next Hurdle

Potential style of what student housing across from IUK (Image: Kokomo Perspective)

Mecca Companies of South Bend wishes to build a 60-unit student housing complex across the street from Indiana University Kokomo. The project is up for approval with the zoning board for a special exemption and setback variances. If the project moves forward, this would improve IUK’s desireability for prospective freshmen as well as improving the quality of life for current IUK students, which could mean added future development and economic stimulation.

The owner, Annex of Kokomo LLC is asking for variances for setbacks for the front and the rear, a driveway separation variance and a buffer variance on the south and west sides of the property. If the project clears the zoning board hurdle the proposed $7 million 60-unit housing complex could be completed as early as August 2012.

Greg Goodnight’s positive effect on the City of Kokomo

Kokomo’s Mayor, Greg Goodnight, is up for reelection tomorrow. Many reasons noted by unions for backing Goodnight for reelection is because of his dedication for quality of life issues and retaining and attracting new business to the city of Kokomo. Here are some of the reasons why I support Greg Goodnight:

The City Line & alternative transportation

Before Greg Goodnight was mayor, the city of Kokomo was one of the largest cities in Indiana without a free or low-cost public transportation option. (Source) The city itself has been lacking a mass transit source for over 40 years, and has been relying solely on automotive transportation and within the past 10 years has just begun delving into alternative transportation sources. Under Greg Goodnight’s reign as mayor, the city of Kokomo has seen the birth of the City Line trolley as well as a mile and a half of new multi-use pathways and 5.5 miles of bike lanes within the last year. The city created the Industrial Heritage Trail, a rail-with-trail project that cleaned up an unused railroad line creating a safer place for people to bike as well as beautifying a formerly littered industrial area of the city. In the past year to 2 years, the city essentially created alternative transportation infrastructure, catching Kokomo up to other similarly sized cities that already have these amenities in place.

Downtown Revitalization

In the past 4 years the city has seen some tremendous things happen in downtown Kokomo. For the first time in years, the majority of the downtown area had new pavement at the same time as well as a reduction in sign and street clutter and the introduction of the “bump-out” to the “City of Firsts.” Our downtown hasn’t looked better than it does now. With the creation of the “Riverfront District,” downtown Kokomo has seen an influx of businesses making downtown a more attractive business location. With the removal of 4 one-way streets that often confused drivers and deterred customers, the city is more accessible by all modes of transit.

Business Growth

Under Greg Goodnight, the city has attracted new businesses and the opening of many new stores and restaurants. New businesses includes a $25 Million Delphi expansion, Carney-Echelbarger Machining relocating to Kokomo, Angie Meyer’s Design Studio, Planet Mind Learning Store, Comics Cubed, MC Sports, a relocation of Artworks to downtown, Westwind Wood Specialities and a $5 Million Fed-Ex expansion. Some of the eating establishments include Cook MacDougals, Dunkin Donuts, Chipotle, The Vault, Hibachi Grill, Whisky Creek, Supreme Buffet, and two “Green” Subway’s.

What do you want in a community? Do you want to be able to walk to vibrant business districts? Ride your bike safely, any time of day, to work or for recreation? Greg Goodnight has been a forward-thinking mayor compared to past mayors and the city as a whole has benefited from his guidance. As I illustrated in this post, Greg Goodnight has removed Kokomo from the Forbe’s list of fastest dying towns and became the Community of the Year according to the Indiana Chamber of Commerce. We need to continue that success for the next four years, instead of relying on someone who clearly doesn’t know the demands of running a municipal government like Scott Kern.

UPDATED: New Mural along the Wildcat Walk of Excellence

Finished Mural (Image: Ross Pierce 10/21/11)

There is a new mural in town along the Wildcat Creek Walk of Excellence in downtown Kokomo.

It is located along the Wildcat Creek Walk of Excellence near it’s intersection with Union Street. In my opinion, the mural is pretty cool. I like the use of color, and the contrast between the bright colors and the black. Although I’m unsure how I feel about the black wispy tree, or what I assume is a tree that flows behind the Native American’s back. The idea of celebrating Native Americans in the Midwest isn’t anything new, but this mural is nice take of the idea and it celebrates our heritage as a city, after all, we are supposedly named after an indian chief. Its location is on a building in what used to be the Apperson Brothers Automobile Company Buildings, an early car manufacturer.

5 Screen Movie Theater coming to Peru, IN

Peru's Roxy 5 Movie Theater (Image: Kokomo Tribune)

As you might have realized with An Indianapolis Festival Day, I’m trying to branch out slightly in the world of blogging, I’m also going to attempt to branch out geographically. So for this post, I took a better look at the new 5 screen movie theater coming to Peru, Indiana.

For those of you who read the local newspapers, some articles have come out giving details on the 5 screen movie theatre located within Peru’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district. The new Roxy 5 Movie Theater will be the only movie theater within Miami County and hope to keep residents from traveling to Kokomo for entertainment.

An Indianapolis Festival Day

IMA Fountain (Image: Ross Pierce 9/10/11)

This past weekend, I spent some time with some friends going to two festivals in the Indianapolis area. We went to the Penrod Arts Fair at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, and later went to experience Greekfest at the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Carmel. It ended up being such an awesome day of some good ole-fashioned cultured fun. Picture heavy post after the break: