Designers present drawings for Town Branch District project

Sulphur Springs city officials and community members gathered in the Grays Building Thursday night to hear Toole Design Group’s (TDG) presentation of their conceived plan for the Town Branch District, also called Downtown West.

“This plan is not just a plan for now. It is a plan for the future,” TDG representative Andrea Ostrodka said. “It is the legacy of Sulphur Springs.”

Toole Design Group is the same firm the city employed to design and engineer Celebration Plaza, a prominent fixture in the town. Elements such as the brick streets will be incorporated into parts of the design for coherency, but the project’s aim is to create an active living space adjacent to downtown.

It stretches north from Easy Street south to the Kansas City Southern Railroad tracks and east from TJ Alley and Magnolia Street west to Davis Street.

The following is a breakdown of planned elements by street, north to south:

T

EASY STREET TO CONNALLY

The most northern part of the Town Branch District will be mostly residential with townhomes and single-family housing, and it is planned to hold a small plaza with a white star to honor Sulphur Springs’ former name, Bright Star.

A fountain or statue will be in the center of the star, and TDG engineer Ian Lockwood suggested a contest could be held for the design. The surroundings are proposed to be natural with plenty of native flora that could possible draw in native insects. There will also be shaded seating areas available for visitors or residents.

The main water feature, which is a brook doubling as a drainage way, will start here.

“It was really important that we consider the context and sense of place and identity to make sure what we were designing really reflects Sulphur Springs,” TDG representative Karen Fitzgerald said. “The details are key to the sense of place here like the art pieces and the natural history.”

CONNALLY STREET TO MAIN

A transition from a more natural environment to a more structured one will begin here. Buildings are planned to be of mixed use, meaning they are both retail and residential, similar to some downtown buildings.

A small pedestrian plaza is also proposed with public art, which will either be a permanent installation or rotating local works, located near it. Shade structures will be built, and the walking paths will be wide to accommodate any foot traffic.

The Main Street bridge will be one of the centerpiece of the Town Branch District. It will be slightly arched to give visitors the impression water is flowing underneath, and it will have overlooks on either side down into a reflection pool create by the brook. Main Street will also be narrowed but not to the extent as it is closer to the square.

The brook will continue down through this area, falling in places to create ambience in areas closer to the water. At that level, the traffic noise should hopefully be reduced.

“That’s when we start to get a little more structured,” TDG representative Christopher Bach said. “It becomes more of an urban plaza, a place where more individuals congregate as opposed to you strolling with your spouse, significant other or family.”

MAIN STREET TO SPRING

The spaces in this area will be more varied with a possible spring water feature to show appreciation for the once-flowing sulfur springs the town is named for.

“We want to make sure that we bring that history back, bring that reason that everyone came here,” Bach said. “Native Americans would be in this area with all the water, and settlers came because there was water here.”

Most of the buildings will continue to be of mixed use, but Spring Street will lead into what the TDG designers called the Artists’ Way, a residential area proposed to hold gallery spaces on their ground floor. A possible ironwork entrance was suggested.

The Spring Street bridge will be different from the others as it is proposed to be made from granite or other material that slightly jars vehicles into slowing down, and the street will be slightly realigned to make room for other elements.

SPRING STREET TO RAILROAD

This area will be the other centerpiece to the Town Branch District and will be most of the tourism will be focused. The brook turns into a large pond (or small lake) will be surrounded by a boardwalk, and the pond will be function both as a beautifying element and drainage for stormwater. Possible concert venues will be focused around the pond.

“What we’ve done here is create all these nice loops so you can walk all the way around the water or go up and over a bridge,” Bach said. “You’ve got multiple opportunities to get to experience it the way you want.”

An interactive children’s play area will be to the west of the pond with a proposed splashpad similar to downtown. However, a planned 60-foot, fully-functioning windmill will pump water into a nearby water tower that will provide other splash opportunities. An area with outdoor children’s musical structures was also proposed.

The windmill would also allow people to climb up to three stories high to gain a better view of downtown and the Hopkins County Courthouse. A dog park will be located to the north of Backstory Brewery.

More parking will be installed in the area as well close to the railroad tracks, behind some trees and shaded structures with seating. Parking will also be available along Davis Street and Magnolia.

Lockwood said the phases of this project have not been set yet, and those phases will depend on funding availability and other outside factors. Some phases may be finished in three years, he said, but other may be finished in seven.

“This is just the beginning,” Lockwood said. “When we created the first concepts for the square, lots of people weight in on it like the veterans community. Lots of people had value added, and that will continue in this.”