Royal Oak DDA getting feedback for Fifth Avenue plaza

ROYAL OAK — The Royal Oak Downtown Development Authority is looking to make a big change to a section of its downtown.

Last year, The DDA approved the beginning of a design process for a plaza that would be located at Fifth Avenue from Center Street to Lafayette Avenue.

The beginning of that design process began on March 20, which occurred after the Royal Oak Review went to press. This included meetings with property owners, businesses and a public forum with residents to gather information and feedback on potential plans.

The DDA stated in a press release that “landscaping, decorative paving, lighting, public art, green infrastructure and street furniture will be incorporated into the space.”

Downtown Manager Daniel Hill said, from those meetings, engineering firm Fleis & VandenBrink will create what’s called a 30% design. The 30% design will show the major parts of a potential plaza and be used to engage with the community.

After more feedback, the firm will make a 60% design and get even more feedback, Hill said. From there, the DDA would look to get approvals from the City Commission and the DDA’s design committee.

Once those approvals are sought, we’ll move forward with the 90% design, which then starts with the bidding of construction and kind of outlining when this starts to come to fruition, and if it’s going to come to fruition,” he said.

Hill stated that businesses the DDA spoke to last year felt it would be good to have park space similar to Centennial Commons in the downtown, which led to discussions of revamping the Fifth Avenue area.

“A lot of it’s really grassroots-led, where businesses expressed the need for more pedestrian spaces,” he said. “This portion of Fifth Avenue has been closed since the beginning of COVID-19. So it kind of presented itself as its own option of, it served a little bit like a plaza when it was servicing for outdoor dining. And so this project is basically just taking what’s kind of been there and making it more of a ‘for use by’ everybody purpose.”

City Manager Paul Brake said there are some opportunities to make the area a more “pedestrian-oriented destination,” and with the barricades currently there, it looks temporary.

Brake said the city needs to come up with a design and plan that has a sense of permanency.

“There are things that make the area much more inviting and interesting,” he said. “A connection to other areas through alleys where it would be interesting to walk, to see public art murals, things like that, perhaps have gathering spots where you could include tables and chairs. You know, I don’t know what the specific plans are, but many times where you’re in a plaza that’s designed around people and not cars, those are kind of some of the components that make that much more appealing and to make it a destination.”