Moore Square Master Plan

Consultant
Christopher Counts Studio - Park Designer and Team Leader

Sub-Consultants
Elizabeth K. Meyer - Historical Landscape Architect/Cultural Landscape Consultant
Frank Harmon Architects - Architect
The John R. McAdams Company - Civil Engineer
The Natural Learning Initiative (NCSU) - Children's Play Consultant
Cynthia Rice Landscape Architecture and Planning - Consulting Landscape Architect
Integrated Stormwater Systems - Stormwater Ecologist
Bartlett Tree Experts - Arborist
Capital Building Consultants - Cost Estimator

Public Leadership Group
Raleigh Citizen Advisory Council
State Historic Preservation Office
Parks, Recreation & Greenway Advisory Board
Raleigh Historic Districts Commission
Arts Commission
Downtown Raleigh Alliance
Downtown Living Advocates
Parks & Recreation
City Planning
Transportation

City Departments
Department of City Planning, Urban Design Center
Public Works Department
Public Utilities Department
Police Department
Fire Department

Citizen Advisory Council (CAC) District: Central

Christopher Counts Studio, LLC (CCS) is providing design services for the completion of a conceptual Master Plan for Moore Square. Moore Square is owned by the State of North Carolina and includes approximately four acres, bound by East Hargett Street to the north, South Person Street to the east, East Martin Street to the south, and South Blount Street to the west.

The project is comprised of three phases:

I. Competition program review, site investigation, and public meeting #1 - September 9, 2010
II. Design refinement, internal review, and public meeting #2 - December 16, 2010
III. Master Plan booklet, final drawings, and cost estimate - January 2011

The Master Planning process began in April 2010. Phase I & II are COMPLETE.

Public Meeting #1 was held on Thursday, September 9, 2010 at Cobblestone Hall in historic City Market. Participants at this event were asked to provide feedback on the event itself and on CCS' conceptual plan.

The second Moore Square Public Participation Event was held on December 16, 2010 at Chavis Park Community Center. Christopher Counts Studio gave a presentation of the preliminary draft master plan and then hosted a question and answer session around the site model.

Phase III began with the distribution of the DRAFT Moore Square Master Plan to the Parks, Recreation and Greenway Advisory Board (PRGAB), City Council and the Public Leadership Group on January 20, 2011 meeting. It is now available to the public for review. See Moore Square Master Plan Report under Related Information for the full DRAFT report.

On February 17, Christopher Counts Studios presented the DRAFT Master Plan to the PRGAB. The public and the PRGAB expressed their support and concerns for the plan at this meeting. Additional public comment on the DRAFT Master Plan will be accepted until Friday, March 4 at 5pm. Please email your feedback to ParkPlan@RaleighNC.gov or call (919) 996-4797.

Planning Phase

Moore Square was originally conceived in 1792 when it was designated as one of four public spaces in Raleigh. Today, Moore Square is a historic, signature destination.

The square serves as host for a number of high-profile, public events including concerts, Artsplosure, area school activities, summer movies and is the home of Raleigh's most recognized icon, the acorn sculpture, which sits in the square's southwest corner. The square, however, was not designed as a venue for large events, and the heavy traffic has created significant maintenance issues and impacted the attractiveness of the square.

In 2009, Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker issued a 'call for ideas' to re-conceive the four acre square to best serve a new era and inform potential applicants of the City of Raleigh's first design competition.

Competition
The competition was a juried process approved by the City Council and representatives from the North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office. The City, through the Competition, hoped to:

• Create a unique public space and urban experience for the 21st century;
• Engage broad public participation throughout the process and in the future; and
• Establish the conditions to develop a sustainable economic development strategy for the Moore Square area.

Christopher Counts, of Christopher Counts Studio in Charlottesville, Virginia, was selected the winner of the jury-based competition with a design concept that creates a new Moore Square respectful of tradition while looking forward. His design builds upon the square's unique and significant characteristics while expanding the square's sense of space and programmatic range. It also organizes the site into visually and functionally distinct areas that accommodate a wide range of uses.

While the concept by Mr. Counts won the design competition, it is considered only the beginning of a public process to refine and confirm a more detailed master plan for Moore Square. The process will include public meetings to receive input from citizens, a project website, and review by a number of local and state boards and commissions.

Master Plan
In January 2010, the Raleigh City Council unanimously approved a master plan services contract with CCS, the winner of the Moore Square Design Competition. The contract amount is $184,000.

A master plan is a conceptual design document that, once approved by the City Council, generally describes and guides the future design, development, and management of a property.

The DRAFT master plan is scheduled to be presented for review and consideration by the Raleigh City Council and the State of North Carolina over the next 3 months. As the owner of Moore Square, the state must approve any changes to the property. Funding for implementation of the master plan has not been determined.

Timeline
2009: Competition Phase

• Public Competition Approved - April 21
• Public Input Meeting/ Open Call for Ideas - June 17 & June 27
• Jury Selected - June
• Call for Conceptual Designs - August 3 through September 10
• Winner Announced - October 24 at Raleigh Wide Open
• Winning Concept Presentation - December 1

2010/2011: Master Plan Phase

• City Council Presentation Master Plan Process Proposal - February 2
• Begin Master Plan Work - April
• Urban Design Center Lunch Forum - April 21
• Phase I: Competition Program Review
  - Site Investigation
  - Public Input Meeting - September 9, 2010
• Phase II: Concept Development & Review
  - Public Input Meeting - December 16, 2010
• Phase III: Master Plan booklet, final drawings and cost estimate
  - Master Plan Submission - January 20, 2011 - PRGAB: Plan Distribution
  - CCS Presentation and Public Hearing at PRGAB Meeting: February 17, 2011
  - PRGAB Action: March 17, 2011
  - CCS Presentation to City Council: April , 2011
  - Work with the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) for State support of the
  DRAFT Master Plan: On-going

2011 - 2012: Schematic Design & Development*

2012 - 2013: Construction Documents*

* Public input is included as part of the design/development and construction documents process; however, these two processes are currently unfunded.