The two-and-a-half mile stretch of Fourth Plain Boulevard between St. John's Boulevard and Burton Road has been called many things, none of them printable on a residential or commercial real estate brochure.
But thanks to a unique coalition of businesses, residents, city and transportation officials, a spirit of renewal looks to transform this busy corridor from a mini-highway filled with vacant lots to a pedestrian-friendly residential and shopping district.
"There is so much to offer on Fourth Plain that just isn't known," said Sharif Burdzik, chair of the Fourth Plain Boulevard Coalition. "We just need drivers to slow down enough to see it."
To accomplish that goal, planners working with the Fourth Plain Revitalization Task Force proposed reducing the number of lanes from four to two, with one lane in each direction. Regional transportation agency C-TRAN also has proposed beefing up its bus service through the corridor – one of the highest in terms of ridership in the county.
For Burdzik, the aim of many coalition members, which include small ethnic food stores, as well as popular establishments like El Rancho Viejo and Dodge City Bar and Grill, was to bring what he called a "Main Street" feel to the boulevard. "We want people to feel comfortable crossing the street to come shop here," he said.
In Mark Maggiora, executive director of Americans Building Community, Inc. and a fellow Fourth Plain Corridor Task Force member, Burdzik has found a stalwart ally. Maggiora, along with his wife, Patti, led the rehabilitation last year of 53 dilapidated residential properties in the Fourth Plain Corridor, which runs east from St. John's Boulevard to Burton Road, north to S.R. 500 and south to 20th Street.
Despite a string of vacancies in recent years, most notably that of Fred Meyer at Fourth Plain and Grand Boulevard, Maggiora had a positive economic outlook for the area – which like other Vancouver retail corridors, took a big hit during the recession. "Vacancies aren't as bad here as in other places," Maggiora said, before conceding: "But it sure doesn't look that way."
Burdzik agreed. "The loss of Fred Meyer overshadows all the good things that are happening on Fourth Plain," he said, referring to the store's relocation one mile south to Grand Central in Vancouver in 2009.
To combat signs of urban blights such as litter and graffiti, the Fourth Plain Business Coalition enlisted the help of the community, organizing as many as 400 volunteers, including then- Vancouver Mayor Royce Pollard, to help clean up the thoroughfare last year.
This year, the coalition will hold its first annual International Food Festival at Vancouver's Warrior Field on Saturday, July 10. According to Burdzik, the festival will be "anchored" by Burgerville, El Rancho Viejo and Dodge City Bar and Grill and will feature food from Middle Eastern, Indian and Mexican small stores and restaurants lining Fourth Plain.
Beyond serving up good eats, Burdzik saw the festival as a way to bring a diverse mix of newly-arrived immigrants, longtime residents and business owners together to revitalize their neighborhood. "We wanted to make it seem like this revitalization effort wasn't something that was imposed on the community," said Burdzik, an assistant vice president and branch team leader at Vancouver-based First Independent Bank. "We wanted this to grow from the community."
Though budget woes may put much of the city's Fourth Plain Subarea Plan, first proposed in 2007, on hold, Burdzik and Maggiora continued to push a more grassroots strategy, inviting residents and business owners to take a greater stake in the future of the corridor.
"Our goal is to bring different people, different cultures together to get this difficult job done," Maggiora said.
