Merschel Plaza Vision Concept shared today at the DWSP Annual Meeting Today

I want to thank all of you who were able to attend the DWSP Annual Meeting today.  We had the opportunity to provide an update on Merschel Plaza.  We shared the video below as an update.

Also can be viewed on You Tube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npIhHlrNBYs

Helpful Graphic to understand the development area

Meschel Plaza excerpt from the approved 2013 Downtown Plan............"

The Civic Plaza (now named Merschel Plaza) area will become the exciting

urban gathering place and mixed-use development

that will encompass parts of several

blocks in the heart of the Downtown. It will

become our Downtown’s “living room” and

will eventually connect the major office areas,

south of W. Second Street and east of N. Liberty

Street, with the retail and entertainment areas

to the north. The plaza itself will be a well landscaped

public park where people can

meet, relax, exercise and enjoy the amenities

of a wonderful urban space"

• Mayfair Development, headed by Simon Burgess, has purchased the Pepper Building at the corner of Fourth and Liberty along with the Crawford Lot (just east of Pepper Building along 4th Street) and the Piedmont Federal Parking Lot. --- Link to Mayfair Partners website - http://mayfairstreetpartners.com/index.ht
• The Pepper Building is under construction and will be converted into an Indigo Hotel - http://www.journalnow.com/news/local/boutique-indigo-hotel-planned-for-pepper-building/article_fc72ca0d-8ce6-5fef-aac2-8984639a1cb2.html
• The Piedmont Federal Parking Lot will be converted to a Hyatt Place Hotel developed by Mayfair Development - https://www.bizjournals.com/triad/news/2017/08/24/exclusive-new-hyatt-place-hotel-featuring-modular.html
• Mayfair is contemplating a 3rd building on the Crawford Lot, however, they have not yet determined whether it will be residential or an Extended Stay Hotel.  This building concept is show in the video above.
• In previous plans, the DWSP shared the potential for underground public parking below Merschel Plaza, which would have been underneath the park.  Due to the cost of building underground public parking we have removed public parking below the park.  
• $3M in funding for Merschel Plaza was set aside in the 2014 City bond election.
• The county is funding a new Kaleideum Museum in the old Sheriff's Office at Town Run Land and 3rd Street
• Mayfair will build private parking underneath the Hyatt Place Hotel which will also encroach into the eastern side of Merschel Plaza.  
• Next steps, finalize plans and coordinate with the City, County, Kaleideum, other stakeholders.  
• People have asked what they can do to help.  We need your support and we need you to share this support with city and county elected leaders.  
• City staff is communicating positively and constructively with the DWSP and the Mayfair Development, however, this is is the appropriate time to let our elected leaders know that we are eager to finish this project.  Also please keep in mind that city and county officials are generally supportive of this project as they have approved bond funding for Merschel Plaza (City of Winston-Salem) and county funding has been raised for Kaleideum.  
• The final steps include coordination mostly revolving around the funding for demolition of the bridge, replacing major sewer lines, converting 3rd Street to a two way street, and other minor infrastructure matters.