The Temple Medical Educational District

     Former Club member, David Blackburn, presented our program today on the Temple Medical Educational District (TMED).  David has served as City Manager for Temple since April of 2005.  His primary job duty involves overseeing a staff of about 1,000 employees in implementing the City Council policy decisions and executing the daily activities in Temple.  In addition, he is heavily involved in some of the strategic and visionary initiatives that are designed to put Temple in the best position possible for future growth and development. 

      TMED is just such a visionary project.  Geographically, it is the area bounded by Avenue M on the north, South 31^st Street on the west, Loop 363 on the south, and Martin Luther King Drive on the east.  The TMED project began before David took the City Manager position in Temple.  David considers the TxDOT project on First Street and the Loop 363 interchange project were two key factors driving the establishment of a TMED district. 

      Various local stakeholders appeared which helped identify the physical assets in the TMED area (i.e. Scott & White, Temple College, the Olin Teague Veterans Administration Hospital, Temple Independent School District, the Central Texas Housing Consortium, The Texas A&M Medical School, and the Bioscience District).  Most recently Blacklands Research Laboratory approached the TMED group asking to be included in the plans for the TMED. 

    David noted that the TMED has no taxing authority and no governing board.  It is more of a conceptual district with visions by the various stakeholders.  Ultimately, the group of stakeholders is focusing on long term development plans that will stimulate growth in the TMED district.

       What kind of development can occur in the TMED area?  According to David, a TMED area must have great streets and connected campuses.  It must have a presence day and night.  That is to say, people need to be encouraged to use the area much of the day.  The area must be safe and inviting.  Also, a TMED area must be managed for change, which David explained is a polite way to describe responding to an aging population. 

      How does a TMED area accomplish these goals?  Or in the common parlance—what makes it all happen?  Logically, financing is a key factor.  As David repeated, at this stage, the TMED does not have any taxing authority, so the stakeholders are really focusing on the planning process.  Along that line a consultant visited other medical educational districts and provided TMED with a variety of renderings of “streetscapes” to help envision the possibilities. 

      It is also important for the TMED to have a clear identity in the community.  People need to recognize when they have entered this unique area.  Building monument entryways is typically how one sets a TMED apart from other areas of a community.  David said that the medical and education stakeholders consider landscaping and connectivity (ability to walk between campuses) to be critical aspects of the TMED.  The TMED is looking at possible ordinances or codes that might be applied to the area to accomplish some of the desired features.  David thought that by year end there might be a development ordinance for the TMED area.

      From a Temple planning perspective, development of South 1^st Street is critical because that is the southeast gateway to Temple.  David showed a rendering of that street as a beautiful promenade.  It is a little known fact that there is a lake behind the Olin Teague Veterans Administration Hospital.  This lake area could become part of a city park for the citizens of Temple.  Also, the TMED stakeholders envision a lot of redevelopment of commercial properties in the area.  David noted that housing is also important for a TMED area.  There is a stretch of property between Temple College and Scott & White properties that is ripe for some kind of development.  One thought is to have a performing arts theater there, or even a medical school.  It might be possible to expand The Summit Fitness Center to a Family Life Center.  David described creating pedestrian friendly streets and hike and bike trails.  In effect, the concept is for a multi-purpose area blending residences, educational facilities, research facilities, commercial facilities and medical facilities in an area with lots of green space and pedestrian features.

      After having discussed the hopes, dreams and visions for TMED, David quickly dove into what has been done.  This is the point in his presentation where he impressed the audience by referring to a “charrette” involving the TMED.  Your writer had to go to Wikipedia® to decipher that word.  In urban planning “charrette” is a way of consulting with key interested participants, usually at multi-day meetings, to plan the next steps for a venture. 

      Aside from the charrette, TMED has received six grants to develop the First Street area.  Funds have been used to remove some structures (i.e. the quonset hut on First Street), and to conduct a drainage study that would encourage development in the Temple College area.  David also pointed to the conversion of Travis Middle School in a health and science academy, with the hope of having an adjacent magnet elementary school on that property, as clear steps that have been taken by the TMED stakeholders.  The City obtained a Department of Energy grant of $4.3 million to create a 10’ wide hike and bike trail along Fifth Street between Temple College and Scott & White. 

       Indeed, the Temple Parks and Leisure Department has garnered quite a bit of attention and accolades for the great job of creating the Pepper Creek hike and bike trail.  This trail has been a wonderful addition to our community, and in December of 2009 received a design award.

      David ended his talk by explaining that the TMED area will be an important facet of Temple’s growth.  But various questions from his audience showed that such growth must be managed carefully to make certain all property owners in the area are part of the winners in this process.