Chapter 3. GROUND FLOOR TREATMENT  

A. GROUND FLOOR TREATMENT: NON RESIDENTIAL STREETS IN DOWNTOWN

Design ground floor space for retail or other active uses, orienting tenant spaces to the street and maximizing storefronts and entries along the sidewalks to sustain street level interest and promote pedestrian traffic.

1.

Locate active uses along the street façade to enhance the building's relationship to the public realm. Uses include: lobbies, dining rooms, seating areas, offices, retail stores, community or institutional uses, and residences.

2.

Ground floor retail space shall be provided to a depth of at least 25 feet from the front façade and shall include an average 14 foot to 0 inch floor-to-ceiling height, with heights above 14 feet being very desirable.

3.

The primary entrance to each street-level tenant that does not have its frontage along a public street shall be provided from a pedestrian paseo, courtyard or plaza, which is connected to the public street or alley.

4.

Wall openings, such as storefront windows and doors, shall comprise at least 70 percent of a commercial building's street and river level façade as seen in Figure 3.2.

5.

Clear glass for wall openings, i.e., doors and windows, shall be used along all street-level commercial façades for maximum transparency, especially in conjunction with retail and hotel uses as illustrated in Figure 3.3. Dark tinted, reflective or opaque glazing is not permitted for any required wall opening along commercial street level facades.

6.

A building's primary entrance, defined as the entrance which provides the most direct access to a building's main lobby and is kept unlocked during business hours, shall be located on a public street or on a courtyard, plaza or paseo that is connected to and visible from a public street or the River Walk.

7.

At least one building entrance/exit, which may be either a building or tenant and resident entrance, shall be provided along each street frontage.

8.

Use clear windows and doors to make the pedestrian level façade highly transparent and accessible. Along retail streets, provide a nearly continuous band of windows. Ensure doorways in glass walls exhibit sufficient contrast to be clearly visible.

9.

The facades on downtown commercial streets should be detailed as storefronts, except where the proposed ground floor use is live and work units, residential units or other non-commercial building types as seen in Figure 3.1.

10.

Where non-residential streets intersect, the ground floor retail space should wrap the corner onto the intersecting streets wherever possible.

11.

Residential units with separate entries should include windows or glass doors on the ground floor that look out onto the street.

12.

If a residential unit's individual entry along the street is the unit's primary entry, it should be accessible from the sidewalk.

13.

More public entrances than the minimum specified by code, including building and or tenant and resident entrances are highly encouraged.

Incorporate a pedestrian-oriented scale at the street and river level.

1.

Awnings and canopies shall be fabricated of woven fabric, glass, metal or other permanent material compatible with the building's architecture.

2.

Street wall massing, articulation and detail, street level building entrances and storefront windows and doors, as well as the use of quality materials and decorative details should be used to promote pedestrian-scaled architecture along the street. (Fig 3.5)

3.

Architectural features that reinforce the retail character of the ground floor street and river wall and/or help define the pedestrian environment along the sidewalk, such as canopies, awnings, and overhangs, are encouraged and should be integral to the architecture of the building.

4.

The design of the ground floors of hotels should exhibit a series of public space and entries that equally welcome the general public as well as guests. The first floor should be as transparent as possible.
Hotel uses such as bars, lounges, restaurants, cafes, spas and other uses open to the public should exhibit a direct pedestrian connection from the public right-of-way whenever possible

Don't waste valuable street frontage on "back of house" uses.

5.

Electrical transformers, mechanical equipment and other equipment should not be located along the ground floor street wall.

6.

Electrical transformers, mechanical equipment, other equipment, enclosed stairs, storage spaces, blank walls, and other elements that are not pedestrian-oriented should not be located with 100 feet of the corner property line as seen in Figure 3.6 or visible from public right-of-way.