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Lakefront Nodes A. Civic/ Cultural (Down-
Although a mixture of land uses is
typically desirable, to assure year- town Waterfront)
As stated in the introduction, the con- round use, there are instances where
ceptual framework of this plan is prem- concentrating uses is advantageous ei- The Civic & Cultural node is conceived
ised on the designation of four primary ther to contain adverse impacts, or to as the centerpiece of the lakefront, and
land use nodes along the Muskegon catalyze positive ones. Such affects are a principle focal point for the entire
lakefront: recreation/ natural habitat, also accounted for in the nodal concept City and region. Because of this dual
residential, commercial/ industrial and outlined below. role, it is important that it is visually
public/ institutional. The nodes, de- linked to downtown, and be physically
scribed below, were selected for their For instance, while certain port opera- integrated with it in terms of site plan-
physical characteristics and location, tions may actually help "animate", or ning and streetscape. It is also impor-
the level of current infrastructure, and add interest to the waterfront, heavy tant that the activities planned at this
their compatibility with surrounding port operations and aggregate storage location be distributed densely enough
land uses. are best concentrated at one particular to encourage pedestrian cross-traffic
area to mitigate impacts on (or take ad- and spill-over into downtown.
The node designations are not meant to vantage of) area infrastructure, to re-
preclude development identified pri- duce noise and other environmental and Principle uses appropriate for this node
marily with one particular node, at visual impacts. On the other hand, cul- include those recommended in the
other locations along the lake, or the tural and "tourist" facilities are best Master Plan, and repeated (augmented)
mixing of uses between nodes. For in- concentrated near downtown where here: Aquarium, Planetarium-
stance, it may be perfectly acceptable, they can form a "critical mass" of ac- Observatory, Arboretum-Botanical
and in fact desirable, to have housing tivities whose economic benefits can Gardens, Great Lakes Maritime/ Indus-
near port facilities even though housing spill-over into the heart of the City. try Museum, outdoor recreation/ sports
is most strongly associated with resort/ facilities, municipal fishing pier, hotels,
residential development (of the type In short, the nodal concept should not conference center/ research institute(s),
envisioned for Lakeside). Similarly be interpreted, or applied rigidly. By produce/ seafood market, restaurants,
commercial uses, albeit limited in some design, the boundaries are both porous ferry landing, transient boat slips, am-
cases, may be appropriate at each node and overlapping. phitheater,
and in the stretches of shoreline in be-
tween nodes. In all cases, recreational
uses and public access to the shoreline
are encouraged.
Waterfront Redevelopment Sub-Plan 32
The vignettes shown on this page
express a design vocabulary con-
sistent with the industrial origins
of the Mart Dock. Preservation
and adaptive reuse of the original
brick structures, and integration of
new construction consistent with
their character, would provide an
historic "wharf" theme for the
downtown waterfront. Uses appro-
priate to this site include: ferry
terminal (above left),shops and
outdoor market among others.
Waterfront Redevelopment Sub-Plan 33
arboretum/ sculpture gardens
and limited condo/ apartment
housing.
Although a waterfront baseball
stadium is not incompatible
with the uses described above,
such a facility requires large
amounts of parking and is
used only infrequently. There-
fore, it would be best located
on the eastern edge of this
node (Teledyne), where its
presence would not over-
whelm or "strand" other
nearby uses.
Funding Sources
In addition to private sector investment, possible
funding sources for these projects could come
from a variety of sources including: donations or
endowments, CMI (environmental cleanup and
new construction), Coastal Management grants
(recreational facilities), EDA and MJC loans and
grants (typically projects tied to job creation),
Federal TEA-21 grants (transportation projects
with an historic preservation and/or "intermodal"
aspect) as well as, EDA Brownfield Assessment
Demonstration Pilot grants, and DEQ Site As-
sessment
Waterfront Redevelopment Sub-Plan 34
Opposite page: The Civic Node should be tied
together with an esplanade (top) directly along
the water's edge. A focal point element on axis
with Third Street (bottom), would provide a
badly needed visual linkage between downtown
and the waterfront.* Drawing by Colette Klukos.
This page: Conceptual site plan for the Mart
Dock (top). New construction includes: Great
Lakes Museum (6), indoor/outdoor sports com-
plex (1), hotel (10).
Bottom: Early conceptual rendering and site
plan of a proposed aquarium for property near
Heritage Landing.
* Hooker/ DeJong Architects.
Waterfront Redevelopment Sub-Plan 35