If you missed Sunday’s display of color options for the new retaining wall in the 800 block of the townhouses, you’ll have a second—and final—chance on Thursday, February 1, from 6:30-7:30 p.m. before the Board meeting.
The NMC Board is to make a final masonry color selection on Thursday. The $67,000 project was approved by the NMC Board of Directors at the January 4, 2018 meeting as one of the pending urgent safety needs in the community. The existing two- tier wooden timber retaining wall, which has been falling down, will be replaced by a tiered concrete masonry block retaining wall along the L- or U-shaped parkland parcel.
On Sunday, about a dozen residents, most of them from the 800 block, turned out to view the sample masonry block and consider the four different color schemes available.
“The people were gravitating to what’s a more earthy color,” observed Board Member Kathleen Moran, who was on hand to talk to residents. Board Member Ellen Stein was also present.
Gloria Cohen of 800 NME said: “Having something that looks really natural to the earth would be best.”
See the full-size color chart below.
There was a variety of comments. Some residents wished there had been a color name attached to the block on display, and that blocks in the other colors had also been available. (See photo and color chart). Others expressed support for the use of timber, instead of the colored concrete blocks.
In response to complaints that residents had not been adequately informed, Kathleen and Ellen noted that the information about the color choice gatherings had gone out through a broadcast email and a community news item on the website. They were pleased with the turnout, since they had not expected that more than a dozen people would turn out on the rainy Sunday afternoon event. They emphasized that the retaining wall was an urgent need and a hazard to residents.
Questions or comments on this retaining wall project can be sent to nmcadministrator@newmarkcommons.net.
[gview file=”https://newmarkcommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Retaining-Wall-Color-Selection-Chart.pdf”]