Network TV and Urban Planning
My wife recently returned from a business trip that echoed an interesting phenomenon in urban planning. It was a city with revitalization, development, place making, events, community building, art, food, drink, culture, commerce and destination planning. Sounds like all the attributes of new urbanism planning. Now where do you think my wife went on her business trip? Was it LA? Was it Austin? Was it Portland? No, it was Waco Texas. Waco you say. Why, where and what? Yes Waco Texas, further known as home base of the Magnolia network, with Chip and Johanna Gaines the stars and the originators of the fixer upper phenomenon on TV. But Chip and Johanna did more than be faces on Network TV, they revitalized their hometown, turning some empty silos and vacant land into a destination built around tv. The silos are an interesting urban planning phenomena and let me delve into it a bit more.
The silos commonly known as the Magnolia Market opened in 2015 according to Wikipedia and encompasses two city blocks. The centerpiece of the market is the two 120’ high silos built in the 1950’s and remained vacant since the 1990’s. The grounds include a 12,000-sf retail store, a food truck park with picnic tables, a garden store, bakery, lawn area, stages for concerts and now a part of Waco’s oldest church that was moved to the property. What has evolved is a destination that has transformed the area and the surrounding areas of Waco. My wife was belittled on how many people were at the silos and the lines at the Magnolia store.
So, what is the urban planning theme here? Let’s start with revitalization. The Gaines’ realizing their marketability and brand knew they can transform an area and make it a destination. However, a destination needs a smart design. And the Gaines’ took the blueprints of successful places, and retrofitted them into their silos. They created a tiny village that is walkable, a place where people can eat, shop, people watch and interact with each other. They created a town square, where there are stages for music and live performances. They have events such as craft markets, food trucks which only continues the draw to the silos.
The results have been phenomenal. According to Wikipedia the first full year of operation the silos as I like to call them reported an estimated 1.9 million visitors. This number has only increased and truly the silos that anchor the Magnolia Market has become a destination.
In ending, it is the combination of the popularity of the Gaines’, their Magnolia network, but with smart planning building a walkable town center where people can walk, talk, eat, drink, enjoy that has made the silos the destination it is. It is an interesting mix of urban planning and network tv, but the results, with the number of people who visit each year, is a sign of marketability, popularity and smart planning where maybe one day I will visit first hand.
