The Chestnut Corridor has long been a prime connection to the East Bottoms. It leads directly to the Electric Park District, which acts as the stopping point before heading to the East Bottoms. Chestnut and the Guinotte Corridor have long been neglected— road conditions are rough and there is no clear connection to Electric Park from Independence Avenue. These conditions are on of the reasons why this area isn’t a main destination. Our vision for this district is to reconnect to Electric Park and bring more people from the city to this area before they make their way to the rest of the East Bottoms. Our design consists of adding more pedestrian friendly streets, reviving Electric Park, and developing the existing neighborhood to more mixed use. Focusing on these points will allow for future stability in the area and the rest of the East Bottoms. Some examples of this development includes adding a pedestrian bridge to connect J. Rieger and Knuckleheads as well the north end of the site at Front St., adding bike lanes and wider sidewalks, and creating a public venue in Electric Park.

This focus area is the starting point to the rest of the East Bottoms project. It has the strongest connection to the city with J.Rieger & Co and Knuckleheads as the prime magnets. Other landmarks and attractions include Electric Park, Grandma’s…

This focus area is the starting point to the rest of the East Bottoms project. It has the strongest connection to the city with J.Rieger & Co and Knuckleheads as the prime magnets. Other landmarks and attractions include Electric Park, Grandma’s Office Catering, Yoli Tortilla, and Headlights Bar & Grill. Even though this area already has it’s own identity, there is room for improvement. On this map, you can see a trail that runs along Guinotte and Chestnut which will provide more connectivity for those visiting the area.

One of the keys to connecting more people to the Electric Park District is the improvement of infrastructure. As you can see from these process renderings, improvements with the flow of traffic while accommodating the pedestrian right-of-way will bring more people into the area.

The first proposed plan is the 10 year plan. Here, we start with establishing the street corners on every available block with large commercial/retail units. This is to provide business and create a completed street edge design.

The overall plan sums up what the whole of the phasing would like after the 20 year plan.

This axon represents the existing runoff conditions on East Guinotte Ave. Flooding in this area mostly impacts Standard Sheet Metal.

In this rendering, you see a the bus station design proposal.

In conclusion, our concept of connectivity for these spaces would be achieved through a trail on Guinotte and a bridge on Chestnut.

This graphic explains the current/existing housing units that are within the Electric Park Corridor. It gives you an idea of the current homeowner vs. renter percentage, as well as housing value, recently sold properties, and housing typologies.

Electric Park is home to numerous family friendly events including musical performances. For the past two years the park has been home to Bluegrass in the Bottoms Music Festival, a two-day event that provides multiple musical performances and festival eats.

The pedestrian footbridge will guide visitors to the gathering space north of Knuckleheads Garage. This gathering space provides terraced seating as well as direct access to the pedestrian underpass leading to electric park.

The pedestrian footbridge will connect visitors to knuckleheads saloon and J. Rieger despite constant rail interruption in the area. The footbridge and towers provide space for both pedestrians and those biking. The footbridge will not only provide connection for pedestrians but will also serve as a wayfinding element.

electric Park will engage visitors of all ages, including children and families. Playgrounds and recreational courts will dedicate space for outdoor play and discovery. Detention basins in the park will provide a space for managing stormwater while engaging the public.

Another part of the project is figuring out how we can strengthen the community that already exists. Currently there are around 300 residents living in the East Bottoms, the majority of them off of Chestnut. In this diagram, we start to play with the context in order to understand the missing teeth in the area.

the second proposed plan is the 15 year plan. Here, we looked at the west side of Electric Park first since this has the more dominant neighborhood features. With the available land in mind, we plan to incorporate smaller mixed-use units into this area while also maintaining similar characteristics in the surrounding existing typologies. These units will house commercial units as well as residential units.

This diagram explains our concept as connecting in both north-south, East-West corridors while developing the Electric Park historical district.

This axon represents the existing runoff conditions on west Guinotte Ave. Flooding in this area impacts the soil and contaminates adjacent greenspace.

A study of negative and underutilized space was where we began with the Electric Park District. There were three distinct spaces that we found disconnected that had potential. The first is the intersection between Chestnut and Guinotte. Second is the J.Rieger outdoor space and the underpass adjacent to it. Last is Electric Park itself.

This is a diagram of the tower connectors. The purpose of the connectors are to get people from the back side of J.Rieger to the front of Knuckleheads in order to improve the flow from one area to the other. These towers are made of steel and follow our folly typology of at 12’x12’ enclosure. The panels that are separated show the degree of enclosure.

On the north side of the site you’ll see the end of the Electric Park District. This is where Chestnut connects to Front St. and provides the entry to the rest of the East Bottoms project. Here we are proposing a pedestrian bridge connection to better suit bicycles and pedestrians and connect them to the Riverfront Park. It starts as a ramp and toward sthe end takes you to a tower where you can take the stairs or elevator down to begin the journey in Riverfront Park.

The proposed pedestrian underpass will allow direct access from the East side of Chestnut Trafficway to the WEst side of Chestnut Trafficway. Visitors will be greeted with rows of beneficial landscaping that not only offers visual appeal, but manages stormwater in the area.

Chestnut Trafficway provides direct access from Independence Ave to the Riverfront. Along the way, the pedestrian trail provides green wall safety barriers as well as seating. A portion of the path provides views to the industrial factories in the Electric Park District.

The space East of J. Rieger provides adequate space for flexible programming such as art exhibits. Visitors can engage with local artists while expanding their familiarity with the East Bottoms.

These diagrams give an axon perspective of the current vacancy and zoning regulations within the Electric Park Corridor.

Next is the 20 year plan. Here, we switch our focus to the east side of Electric Park and continue the idea of what we incorporated on the west side of Electric Park.

This diagram aims to call out issues discovered during our analytical research of the Electric Park District. Stormwater runoff, limited connectivity, and stagnant local business development is at the core of our design solutions.

This diagram is a study on the existing bus routes and how they relate to the design proposal. We discovered that the district lacks public mobility to the Riverfront and River Market.

From the negative space study, we came to the idea of a constant connection between the spaces to promote pedestrian right-of-way.

This rendering shows what the tower looks like when driving north on Chestnut right after you pass Electric Park. Here you’ll see the relation between the enclosed pedestrian trail and the towers.

The Proposed bus transfer station will allow visitors and residents access to public transportation. This area is near J. Rieger, Knuckleheads, and Electric Park which are all public spaces. This bus transfer station will further connect the East Bottoms to the Kansas City metro area.

Electric Park will provide terraced seating for visitors, connection to the pedestrian trail, views to Kessler Bluff, and an event pavilion. These public spaces will enhance the public realm by providing gathering spaces for visitors.

The proposed bus transfer station provides much needed public transportation while interacting with the bike and pedestrian trails in the area. The addition of several ways traverse the Electric Park District allows for multiple means of connection in the area.

J. Rieger’s backyard space adds a gathering space that provides events such as a beer garden The beer garden event will provide entertainment as well as a pleasant outdoor atmosphere.