The city has long been planning to rebrick the Mall—a $7.5 million exercise it says is necessary to keep it attractive to shoppers who otherwise might be lured to new shopping centers like the ever-in-the-works Albemarle Place. Mostly, it involves getting rid of the mortar method of joining the bricks with a side-by-side sand method. MMM Design Group had cooked up an elaborate master plan with additional fountains, a children’s play area and a sister city plaza. But City Council wasn’t game for the changes (and their potential costs), saying keep it simple.
The bigger issue now is whether size matters where Mall bricks are concerned. Lawrence Halprin’s original 1970s design has 4"x12" bricks, but newer sections, such as those on Third Street and at the Pavilion, have 4"x8" bricks. City staff has argued for bricks with that 2:1 ratio rather than the original 3:1 ratio because of stability and availability, saying they would have to come from Nebraska. But after the Board of Architectural Review and City Council balked at the change in Halprin’s design, consultants and city staff are talking with Virginia brickmakers to see if making the 4"x12" bricks is possible and affordable.
 Not just another brick on the Mall: The $7.5 million rebricking will involve sand technique instead of mortar, but whether the new bricks will be 4"x8" or 4"x12" is still up in the air. |
Regardless, the city has decided to do the rebricking all in one four-month swoop, starting in January 2009. Tolbert told Council last week, “[Construction manager] Barton Marlow has told us that they are confident that we can start this on January 2 and finish it on the end of April. They built the JPJ ahead of schedule and under budget.” Businesses, Mall aficionados and taxpayers sure hope that will be the case this time as well.
Anyone interested in adding 2 cents to the discussion can attend a June 30 “Design Reveal” at 6:30pm at 100 Fifth St. NE.
| C-VILLE’s Jessie Abrams gives a summary of possible Downtown Mall renovations. |
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