Water Street Townhomes Groundbreaking
We had a groundbreaking ceremony for Water Street Townhomes on Tuesday. It was great to see support from the Plymouth Community. Mayor Listenberger, Clerk Treasurer Lynn Gorski and Council Members Don Ecker, Linda Starr and Dave Morrow also turned out. Mike Miley was there representing the Plymouth Redevelopment Commission. Plymouth City Attorney Jeff Houin was there and Taryn MacFarlane from the South Bend Elkhart Regional Partnership (SBERP). This type of infill development for this area has been part of Plymouth’s last two Comprehensive Plans, so we were pleased to be able to help bring it to fruition.
Housing affordability has become more difficult with the duel challenges of record inflation and interest rate increases over the last 4 years. While there are signs of moderation, they will continue to be a challenge for the near future. Inflation moderates, but continues to accumulate and rarely reverses. The Fed has lowered interest rates, but the mortgage market has done little to reflect the decrease.
We were please to partner with the City of Plymouth and obtain a READI 1.0 grant for this project. Infill housing has also shown up in the two current Marshall County housing studies being completed, so this is a timely addition to the City. We did not get all we asked for from READI, but without their contribution and the matching dollars from the city, the project would not pencil out. Even with that, this is a market rate project, not an affordable housing project. Because of the current inflationary market, the banks look more at the income generated than the loan to value of a project, i.e. another reason the State and Municipal participation is important.
This project is part of a trend towards more walkability and brings some additional rental property to downtown Plymouth. Catty-corner to River Park Square, it will be conveniently located for local festivals. The Mayor’s initiative to improve the festival space on Garro Street between Michigan Road and Center Street as well as his initiative to create a downtown Entertainment District, positions Water Street Townhomes to be successful and Water Street Townhomes will provide residents to attend these events, as well as frequent the existing local businesses and restaurants in the area. This site once was home to the Gem Theater, a predecessor to The Rees, a Doctor’s office and various other business entities through the last 100 years. It will be included in the new downtown entertainment district. We hope to encourage others to revitalize the back half of Plymouth’s downtown main street. Putting this historic block back on the tax rolls is a positive change for the city.
Culver Sand Hill Farm also submitted a townhouse project for Culver, Spirit Townhomes, which was named in the READI 1.0 Strategic Investment Plan. Unfortunately, after the fact, Culver chose to partner with a different developer on the much larger project, The Dunes. (Discussed here.) C’est la vie! Sometimes you reap what you sow. These small pocket developments are ones that can make an impact without as much culture shock to the community. A trend of these small projects would ease a community into the idea of expansion and make it easier to integrate new residents into the community – something to consider throughout Marshall County communities.
We look forward to making a positive impact with Water Street Townhomes and hope it is a catalyst for more downtown Plymouth development. The Plymouth Administration and Common Council have been supportive and a great partner. There is a need for 1,300 new housing units in Marshall County. Often big developments are jarring to the community. Small, infill projects such as this can make a difference and be placed into the community with only ripples instead of waves. They can also take advantage of existing infrastructure, be placed walking distance from amenities, and generally become part of existing neighborhoods. I hope this is the first of many similar projects in Plymouth and Marshall County.
We’re all about Safety at ECC this Month
We received our ABC STEP Silver Safety certificate from Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) this week. Last week we had two employees complete their OSHA 10 Hour safety training as well as their Red Cross First Aid Training. Hopefully one of them will be around when I stress out and have a heart attack here! Ha!
We do our best to be responsible and safe at Easterday Construction Co., Inc. We distribute weekly tool box talk safety meetings and share safety training lunches with information provided by our insurance provider, Gibson Insurance. Last month we had some questions about safety on a job site and they provided a review of our procedures. They congratulated us on the safety measures we had in place and said we were doing everything right. Kudos to the field crew for meeting and exceeding standards!
Solar Subdivisions
So this is an idea that came to me last week while sharing a couple beers with a friend associated with the solar industry. I’ll throw it out here and see if it has any legs. With the ridiculously large buffers being requested around the perimeter of solar farms and our dearth of available housing (1,300 units needed right now per the Housing Matters study done by United Way of Marshall County and backed up by the Regional Housing Study being done by MACOG), it would seem like a great idea to subdivide the proposed buffer and building housing around the perimeter of these solar farms. This would change the solar companies lease model, but with the solar companies’ help, this gives the farmers another source of income from the sale or rental of these perimeter properties.
As discussed here before, it seems the main complaint about solar is visual, i.e. the neighbors don’t like looking at them. This would solve this problem as anyone moving into these houses would automatically know what to expect. Many on the “green” side will want to live there seeing it as part of a sustainable future. I can already see the future subdivision names… Green Acres… Solar Farms… Sunshine Place…
Marshall County’s Zoning Ordinance’s A-3, Agricultural Residential District calls for a minimum lot size of 1 acre, which is 43,560 sf. I would like to think this could be negotiated down some, but to some extent these lots need to be larger to accommodate wells and septic fields. (County side sewer could allow some reductions.) Differing buffer setbacks have been requested, ranging from reasonable to absurd, but a mid range 500′ setback, that gives a lot approximately 90′. There could still be a buffer planting on the rear property line of these lots to appease the extreme solar haters, but there won’t be much to see.
This solution provides better use of land. The buffer areas aren’t large enough for much true farming and if they are planted with buffer trees, then they aren’t great for farming anyway. Electricity from the solar field could supplement the housing as a sales incentive, creating solar converts as they go.
Like solar itself, this wouldn’t be the answer in every case. But it might serve double duty in some cases and help find compromise.
Hello Darkness
I don’t know about you guys, but I’m so thrilled with the time change and darkness at 5:00. Ha! I saw a meme that inspired this post title that was a play on the Simon & Garfunkel song, “Sound of Silence”. (Though I do kind of like this cover by Disturbed.) The meme went “Hello Darkness my old friend. Soon you’ll start at 5:00 again…” If you read what I post here, you know I’m against the time changes whichever the direction, and I would be fine with it dark at 5:00, if it just gradually happened naturally as it should. Whichever time we’re on, here in northern Indiana, I would be going to work in the dark and returning home in the dark anyway.
But one of the things this has brought to light (pun intended) is Culver’s welcome signs have gone “Dark Skies” on us. The lights on the limestone Culver Sign (above) at the east intersection of 10 & 17 are out. The internal light in the relatively new electronic sign at the end of school street (left) has been turned off. And in a “Made You Look” moment, I checked, so you didn’t have to, and the welcome signs at the west end of Jefferson Street and Mill Street were never lit.
I made an enquiry about the two signs that had lights and was told no one else had notice (or said anything) about the limestone sign lights. The light in the top of the electronic sign was turned off because the neighbor complained. Keeping with the song theme, apparently, “She was Blinded by the Light” per Bruce Springsteen. (Though again, I am partial to this cover that was done by Manfred Mann’s Earth Band.)
I’ve discussed the electronic messaging sign here often, and I wondered about the neighbor when it was installed. It doesn’t surprise me that it’s obtrusive. I think the flashing, changing message (often with a white background) is probably actually more of a problem. That could be solved only using messages with a colored background. Most of those are the affirmations, so that should be easy to change. For the upper sign, most of these lights would have the option for dimmers, but if that’s not possible, a screen could be added to the interior of the sign on the east side to reduce the light. There are various screens that reduce opacity that would do the trick.
Not much to say about the limestone sign. I assume it needs new bulbs, but we installed those fixtures decades ago and it would probably make more sense to replace the fixtures with new LEDs that use less energy. If I get a vote, something could be done in a soft off-white light that brings out the stone and not a harsh white. As far as the west entrance signs go, it would be relatively inexpensive to install a solar (Oh my goodness! I said that word!) sign lights that would mount to it and light up the faces like the one here for $15.95 (right). Pretty inexpensive even if it has to be replaced often.
Culver doesn’t have much of a highway presence, so all of these signs are important. I doubt they’re going to inspire anyone to make a sudden turn into town. They would help with someone trying to find us though. They also might inspire a stop at a later time, if someone was just passing by. They are already here, we should make the most of them. Light ’em up!
More thoughts on Culver Lights
December 2, 2024
Kevin Berger
Commentary, Culver
Charrette, Community, Complete Streets, Comprehensive Plan, Culver, government, Trends
This post tangentially, convolutedly, connects to the recent Hello Darkness post on sign lights. At least it connects for me, the way my mind works…
The Culver Charrette that was done in 1998 promoted the idea of continuing themes in Culver. One of them was the use of field stone. The Culver Chamber of Commerce embraced this with the field stone and limestone Welcome to Culver sign at the intersection of 10 & 17 as well as covering the wall at the Lake Shore Drive curve across from The Original Root Beer Stand with field stone. Some development in Culver has embraced this and some hasn’t, but it’s nice when it happens. Sand Hill Farm used this in the entrance sign at Jefferson Street and The Paddocks embraced it as an accent on the townhouses in that project.
Another theme that the Charrette suggested was “Utilize a uniform decorative lighting standard throughout the linkages in Town.” This was done along Lake Shore Drive and Main Street. It was continued part of the way out on Jefferson Street with the trail. It was also recommended as part of the Complete Streets discussion. (I couldn’t find the Complete Streets Ordinance on the Town of Culver website, but Kevin Danti, Town Manager, was kind enough to share a copy with me.)
While the lights were installed to follow the bike and walking trail out Jefferson Street to Sand Hill Blvd, neither the lights or complete streets designs were used in the last street Culver put in, Cavalier Drive. The lights were not used along the trail as it goes south from the downtown area of Main Street out to the Masonic Cemetery. I assume per these standards, Resolution 2018-007, Sec. 3(b), will be applied in The Dunes subdivision, though I am not privy to the negotiations on that project infrastructure. They could well have been waived as they were for Cavalier Drive.
I think the consistent themes suggested by the charrette, add to Culver’s character and contribute to Culver being a memorable destination. The lights are not inexpensive, but their ability to be functional and add charm should not be ignored. As with the lighted signs at the edges of town, it would be good to consider a phased spending plan that adds these fixtures to all the main entrance streets. I would also suggest that they be included along the new trails as they go through town as well, since the trails are part of Culver’s destination marketing. They would make the trails more accessible, safe, and using these lights create a more walkable scale than where there are the taller utility pole mounted fixtures.
The lights contribute to the character of Culver that sets us apart. What we locally take for granted, makes us standout to visitors…
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