They came. They learned. They made recommendations.
For six days, a 10-member urban design assistance team, known as a UDAT, studied the Essex-Middle River area. At a preliminary concept presentation Oct. 24, the team showed the community its vision.
Among the areas on which the team focused: 75 acres Lockheed Martin owns along Martin Lagoon, on which the company proposes developing what it calls a waterfront destination
Other areas at which the team took a hard look: downtown Essex, centered around the 400 and 500 blocks of Eastern Avenue; the Kingsley Park and Back River Neck areas, and the federal government's Middle River Depot on Eastern Boulevard.
For the Lockheed Martin site, the team proposed a series of office buildings, stores, condominiums, a hotel and conference center and piers.
"Lockheed Martin is the proper place for the destination," said the team's chairman, Steve Gaddis, of the Gurlitz Architectural Group in Durham, N.C. For the UDAT, the Essex-Middle River Renaissance Corp. hired consultants from North Carolina and Virginia.
As conceived by the UDAT, the Martin's Lagoon site would connect to the Hawthorne community and the future Wilson Point Park via a shoreline walking trail, which would also loop through the retail, office and parking areas.
Creating boundaries and designing appropriate gateways to Essex-Middle River were important concepts to the team.
"The place needs to have an identity," Gaddis said. "How does one know you're arriving in Essex?"
The team's preliminary recommendations include creating gateways into the area, one for cars entering downtown Essex from the Eastern Avenue bridge and a second for cars on Route 702 heading south. Other gateways could be on Martin Boulevard and the extension of Route 43, now under construction, from Interstate 95 to Middle River.
Downtown Essex was examined in depth by three team members.
"The street really says speed. Drive fast and drive past," said Bill Burgin of Ramsay Burgin Smith Architects Inc. of Salisbury, N.C.
To slow traffic and make Eastern Avenue more pedestrian friendly, the team suggested narrowing the lanes, removing the center concrete strip and doing intensive streetscaping along Eastern Avenue's 400 and 500 blocks.
Another group of three put its efforts into the Kingsley Park and Back River Neck areas, taking walks and asking residents about their hopes.
The team recommended connecting homes, businesses and parks with pedestrian trails.
Although she is a founding member of Durham Area Designers with plenty of experience with charrettes, this was Lyn McClay's first UDAT.
"We were just blown away," by the community's involvement, she said. "They came in so well prepared and raised all sorts of questions for us."
In keeping with a need they identified - amenities to which residents can walk - UDAT members suggested a mix of uses, such as a movie theater and community pool, in the Country Ridge Shopping Center.
To enhance the area's tie to the waterfront, the team proposed expanding the Middle River vista from the Eastern Avenue bridge.
Trees could be removed or thinned to enhance the view and the bridge could be expanded to be more pedestrian friendly.
Looking further into the future, the team suggested building a restaurant on the southeast side of the bridge, taking advantage of water views.
What comes next?
Since its first meeting last January, the Essex-Middle River Renaissance Corp. _ led by Shawn Meyer and John Gontrum _ has brought together residents and businesses to share what they want to preserve, create and change in the community.
As part of the UDAT, the team hosted an Oct. 21 community forum. Team members also toured the community on foot, by air and by water, and met with business leaders and community groups.
When the team departs after a formal presentation today _ at 1 p.m. at Essex Church of God, at 500 Maryland Ave. - it will leave behind two tangible reminders: a professional, illustrated report that recommends a vision for the future with specific action items and timetables and an action plan developed by the steering committee.
As a rule, UDATs do not just make suggestions on how to improve an area. They also help groups see how to fund the changes.
"It's all about money and how you get things to happen," Gaddis said.
Hannah Twaddell, a senior planner and public involvement specialist for Renaissance Planning Group of Charlottesville, Va., has been examining ways to build momentum in Essex and Middle River.
The area should have something happen "right out of the blocks" to galvanize the community around something positive, Twaddell said.
Civic groups, nonprofit organizations, businesses and local, state and federal government agencies need to be involved, she said.
Local businesses know that financing is a major issue.
Janice Hundt of Norman's Tags and Title Express on Eastern Boulevard has been attending as many of the meetings as possible.
Hundt said she has wanted to improve her building but has "been waiting to see what would transpire" with the UDAT team.
"It's a wonderful opportunity for the community and I'd like to see other businesses get involved," she said. "I would like to see the other areas united."
