Not only are two of the key members of the design team recently chosen by the City Council to develop concepts for a Downtown Yakima Central Plaza highly regarded regionally, nationally, and globally, they are both originally from Yakima and have taken on the project as a way of giving something back to their hometown.<\/p>\n
Kathryn Gustafson is a founding principal of Gustafson Guthrie Nichol (\u201cGGN\u201d), an internationally-celebrated landscape architecture practice based in Seattle.\u00a0 Gustafson, who grew up in Yakima and has several family members who still call the Valley home, has earned acclaim around the world during her 30-plus-year career for her ground-breaking, contemporary designs.\u00a0 Gustafson, who is also a partner in the London-based design firm Gustafson Porter, has contributed to notable projects including the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial at Hyde Park<\/i> in London, Cutuurpark Westergasfabriek<\/i> in Amsterdam, Valencia Park Central<\/i> in Spain, and Lurie Garden at Millennium Park<\/i> in Chicago.<\/p>\n
Brett Baba, a founding principal of Graham Baba Architects (\u201cGBA\u201d) and also a Yakima native, has spent more than three decades honing his reputation as the \u201cdetail master\u201d on projects that range from the Melrose Market in Downtown Seattle to the Cowiche Canyon Restaurant\/Ice House Bar, a project still under construction in Downtown Yakima.\u00a0 In 2011, Baba and GBA\u2019s other founding principal, Jim Graham, were named among \u201cSeattle\u2019s Most Influential People\u201d as chosen by Seattle Magazine<\/i>.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs someone who grew up in Yakima, I want to create an absolutely stellar piece in my hometown,\u201d said Gustafson. \u201cFor me, the Central Plaza project is about the place where I was born and raised before I went out into an international realm. I look forward to going home to make a place that fits Yakima,\u201d said Gustafson.<\/p>\n
\u201cGetting to work on projects in Yakima, like the Cowiche Canyon Restaurant\/Ice House Bar, the new Washington Fruit office, and now the Downtown Yakima Central Plaza, is not only professionally rewarding but also gratifying on a personal level,\u201d said Baba.\u00a0 \u201cThe enthusiasm we\u2019ve received for our work in the area has felt like a warm welcome home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Magnusson Klemencic Associates Magnusson Klemencic Associates, a civil and structural engineering firm headquartered in Seattle, will bring their expertise in innovative stormwater management systems to help the team design a plaza that functions well in Yakima\u2019s semi-arid climate.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith Kathryn and Brett, we are really getting the best of two worlds,\u201d said City Manager Tony O\u2019Rourke.\u00a0 \u201cThe Downtown Central Plaza design will combine the insights and experience of world-renowned architects with a truly unique hometown Yakima connection.\u00a0 Our community is incredibly fortunate to have GGN, GBA, and MKA as our plaza design team,\u201d said O\u2019Rourke.<\/p>\n
The Central Plaza is a key element of the Downtown Yakima Master Plan, which began being developed in 2013 and is still a work in progress.\u00a0 Plaza design concepts will be developed for two sites \u2013 the parking lot across from the Capitol Theatre and the parking lot at the northeast corner of 2nd<\/sup> Street and S Sgt Pendleton Way and will cost about $145,000.\u00a0 The designs will focus on transforming the lots into welcoming, interactive public spaces while also accommodating public parking.\u00a0 Ultimately, the City Council will be asked to choose one of the two sites to develop.<\/p>\n Both the Downtown Master Plan and the Central Plaza design concepts are expected to be completed later this year.<\/p>\n – end –<\/p>\n Downtown Yakima Central Plaza Design Team – News Release<\/a><\/p>\n