LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) — A Lafayette business owner is trying to add
on to his property not only for his customers, but for the rest of the
community as well. Some Purdue students may help the Spot Tavern’s owner
Paul Baldwin with a concept for a community green space.
As News 18 reported last week,
there are some new developments coming to Fourth Street — an area where
developments were once abandoned. Now, we head south on Fourth Street.
“It’s kind of a place I don’t really go to. It’s kind of left out
from the city,” Purdue junior Trey Bobillo said. “So, Paul is kind of
trying to bring it back up with kind of a park that anyone can go to.”
Bobillo, a Tippecanoe County native, is talking about Fourth Street.
An area that at one time may have been left out of downtown
revitalization is getting more development.
Between planting designs from Purdue students and neighborhood
planning classes, it’s giving a Fourth Street business owner ideas for
what is next.
“Now, I have explored the idea of having this striping. Through the
striping I would have spots where the concrete is raised for seating,”
Purdue junior Matthew Rodgers explained his design.
The students have taken on Baldwin as a client to design a green
space to go on the business’s property, but will be open to the whole
community. The students visited the space several times and immediately
saw the need for shade.
But from their ideas, they broke off into several different concepts.
“One of my designs I actually incorporated an urban fruit farm
because [Baldwin] said that would be a good idea,” Rodgers said. “So,
we’ve had some plain ideas, and we’ve had some very eccentric ideas.
Bobillo agreed, “Paul Baldwin is really involved with the community
and tries to bring art into the community, so within my design I added a
lot of art pieces — like an artistic wall.”
Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture Mindy Appold said the
project at The Spot Tavern is one of several service learning projects
the students will complete. The projects take them into neighborhoods.
“What we liked about this project is — One it was part of the
community, [and] two we had a dynamic client that was able to meet with
us and have certain specific needs that we could meet,” Appold said.
“Then, it was a pretty basic site. There wasn’t a lot involved. Students
could really use their imagination.”
One of the designs will not necessarily be picked by Baldwin to bring
to life, but Appold said that is not the point of the project.
“Whether he builds it or not at this point, I think the idea of
planning ahead of time will allow him the ability to to take the project
that much further,” Appold said. “He can kind of take the ideas and
work them through — designing is always a process.”
News 18 reached out to Paul Baldwin, but he never got back to us
about meeting for an interview. However, he told News 18 over the phone
that “Fourth Street is the future.”
External Link: http://wlfi.com/2014/09/29/purdue-students-help-create-ideas-for-what-is-next-on-fourth-street/