In anticipation of the upcoming Waterfront Workshop, I thought it would be good to reflect back on the design history of the project site as the Anderson Pacific/Oso Trabuco land continues to move forward.

Arguably the most important aspect of our waterfront is the Intermodal Transit Center. Without it, our downtown would lose its main focus and become car centric like almost every other town in California.  Without it, the neighborhoods gathered here would be “pedestrian-oriented” in aesthetic only, and would be considered just another failed attempt at New Urbanism. There’s a reason parking is so scarce where we all live: the waterfront was explicitly designed so cars would not be as important as the pedestrian. Discouraging folks from driving and encouraging us to walk to public transit are why these new parts of Hercules are defined as “transit-oriented developments.”  We can all rest assured as our property values leap frog the rest of the nation as more and more people see the value in savvy places like our waterfront, places created to help people leave their cars at home.

Early Transit Station concept renderings, 2007 Opticos Design, Inc.

In 2007, our Intermodal Transit Station was designed to be a landmark building, one that could be easily seen and identified from a far distance. This would be especially important when driving/walking/biking on the main route, the John Muir Parkway extension, commuting to and trying to find the station for the first time (see view corridor arrow above). As a landmark building, it was to be a mixed-use all-in-one complex designed to house not only the Amtrak and ferry terminal components, but also a community facility for public meetings and events. Integrated into this program would have been retail venders such as meat and cheese shops, bakeries, vegetable stands, and upscale restaurants to name a few. All these components would have made our transit station (see images above) a handsome multi-function terminal not unlike San Francisco’s own ferry building.

New Transit Center Plaza and civic/community facility, 2009 Moule & Polyzoides Architects & Urbanists; Senior housing, 2004 John Reagan Architects

Sadly this landmark transit building got canned and its various pieces became segregated into individual parts gathered around an outdoor plaza instead. My understanding is that the City didn’t want to orchestrate getting all the funding on line simultaneously to make this multifaceted structure work.

Alternatively, as we look at the new transit center plaza the issue of safety becomes readily apparent. Previously as a self-contained building, the doors could have been locked after the commuters, retail patrons, and restaurant diners have gone home. Now as a single-purpose plaza, what will it be like at 2am when no one is around? Crime may take over this transit plaza late at night. I would highly suggest a police annex station be integrated into the plaza design if that is the direction the City is taking. The waterfront downtown is going to need a police substation anyway and this public plaza would be an excellent spot for it.

As you can see in the above images, building “J” (at the corning of Bayfront and Sanderling) back in 2004 was planned to be senior housing. The previous transit building’s civic component has now been carved out and is currently slated to be its own separate establishment as the new building “J”. With all these public day-use only buildings framing the transit center plaza, safety will definitely have to be in-check during the night. This is akin to San Francisco’s Civic Center after hours. Anyone who has been there late knows it’s a fine place to stumble around crazily talking to oneself, but it’s certainly not a safe place for a family. We can do better.

The City plans to make a tall and prominent “tower structure” or campanile on the plaza as a concession to the unfortunate loss of the beautiful early concept for the landmark Transit Station building. Let’s hope this new mass-transit plaza unfolds into a well designed feature that architecturally reinforces itself as the heart of our new downtown.

A big turnout should be expected at 6pm, City Hall at Monday night’s presentation as we come together to work towards our new waterfront.