Mercer Island is partnering with Seth Harry and Associates, an architecture and urban design firm based out of Maryland, to develop a vision for the Island’s Town Center.

“The (current) plans have been in place for 20 years, so it’s time to check in on them, especially with light rail coming,” said Development Services Group Director Scott Greenberg.

The city went through a similar process in 1994, using an outside consultant to lead “citizen visioning” for Town Center development.

Seth Harry was hired a few weeks ago, though the project was delayed by the ‘boil water’ advisories.

The city’s proposed 2015-16 budget includes $75,000 for Town Center improvements next year: $50,000 for code updates and $25,000 for economic development.

The Council discussed revitalizing Town Center at a planning session in January. Councilmember Benson Wong noted that a certain character, or “feel,” is lacking in downtown.

Wong, who is now living in a Town Center apartment while rebuilding his South-end home, said that his perception of the area has changed since then.

“There’s more activity than I would have imagined,” he said.

Wong said that developing a prescriptive vision for Town Center is important.

“(Seth Harry) knew that we weren’t looking for something cookie-cutter,” he said. “We have to reach a balance to develop a Town Center that’s unique to Mercer Island … and a little more vibrant.”

Greenberg said the city was looking for a consultant with experience with town centers similar to Mercer Island’s, and with analyzing existing regulations, codes and design guidelines.

“I’ve been visiting Seattle on a regular basis for both work and pleasure for over 25 years now, and consider it my home away from home, being very familiar with, and fond of, Mercer Island and Seattle in general,” said Harry, principal of the firm. “We are very excited to be working on this project, and believe it is well-suited to our particular expertise and capabilities.”

Greenberg said there’s a concern that newer projects in the Town Center are “not entirely keeping with the vision,” especially in regard to public plazas.

In the 1970s and ‘80s, Mercer Island had a two-story height limit on the Central Business District, but that changed with the adoption of new Town Center design guidelines in the early 1990s.

According to the 2004 Comprehensive Plan, up to a maximum of five stories are allowed when site development provides for amenities such as ground floor retail spaces, art, public gathering spaces, underground parking, affordable housing units, pedestrian connections, special landscaping and site design features or transit-oriented design features.

“Many of the plazas provided aren’t really open to the public or enticing to use,” Greenberg said, because they might be surrounded by buildings or seemingly unaccessible. “The vision is still good. We’re just looking at how it’s implemented.”

Parking and the proposed Center for the Arts will be taken into consideration, Greenberg said, but the first phase of the Town Center planning project will mainly involve defining weaknesses of the current code, and looking at what’s “new and exciting in urban planning and design.” That phase is expected to be completed in January.

The second phase, beginning next year, will involve more public outreach. The city held a Town Center vision conversation in May with about three dozen people.

According to the 2004 plan, retailers and other commercial services are scattered throughout the Town Center and are not conducive to ‘browsing.’ Some Islanders might say that’s still true today.

Everybody has different priorities when it comes to the Town Center, Greenberg said, whether it’s walkability, stronger retail or other interests.

“We want to take into consideration what the community wants, and the consultant will help us with that,” Greenberg said.

The city is also currently updating its Comprehensive Plan, which the Council is set to adopt in April of next year.