Repurposed Parklets and Activating Dead Space
Since the onset of the COVID 19 pandemic, many municipalities and governments have permitted local eateries and stores to flourish on public streets using parklets. This reaction was prevalent across the United States, and many people would like it to remain post-pandemic.
According to a recent study by the National Restaurant Association, 84% of all participants want to keep eating on the street after the COVID 19 pandemic. Youngsters, those with families, and those earning over $100,000 a year were the most likely to dine outside. Similar findings obtained in a study conducted by the International Downtown Association showed that most respondents favored continued outside eating on a permanent or seasonal basis.
Based in Durango, Colorado, MODSTREET seeks to cater to the demands of local towns and municipalities who are looking to improve their businesses and reinvent their downtowns and main streets. The company creates one-of-a-kind, premium-quality, adjustable outdoor and other modular parklets for merchants and communities alike. It has designed cutting-edge solutions for retailers, breweries, restaurants, and towns to provide public seating spaces in parking spaces and along sidewalks.
From the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the company has worked on several projects across the United States, including various towns in Colorado like Berthoud, Olde Town Arvada, Golden, Grand Junction, Alamosa, and many others. They have built parklets and other modular items for the revitalization benefits of small communities and promotion of outdoor dining and living throughout the year. Parklets refer to a customized, flexible, and open-air private area that offers a feeling of independence and promotes outdoor activity while providing privacy from bystanders for people within.
Parklets, commonly built up along public sideways and in old parking spaces, allow you to enjoy the outdoors while being protected by partial barriers. MODSTREET provides parklets of different sizes, shapes, and styles to suit your needs. Some of them include barricades, partial enclosures, and complete enclosures. So, whether it is a downtown eatery, bar, small business, retail store, or residential community, the company can provide you with anything you need.
Now that things are going back to normal, installed parklets continue to prove themselves as essential outdoor solutions for promoting human connections, health, life, and business. Other than using them for their original purpose, it is possible to use modular parklets for activating dead spaces by repurposing them to suit your needs.
Whether on the streets or downtown space, they are excellent placemaking solutions for transforming an underutilized open public site into a vibrant hub for business incubation and community interaction. As a result, MODSTREET parklets can be repurposed for popup events, seating, food trucks, start-up businesses and other innovative products.
A recent project by Downtown Grand Junction (DGJ), Kaart, and Downtown Grand Junction Business Incubator, The Shift, clearly shows how the revitalization of dead spaces can take place by repurposing parklets. The Shift is a welcoming outdoor space that offers locals a fun food, art and social experience. Since its launch in July 2021, The Shift has organically become the go-to downtown spot as it attracts many locals and new people in the town to experience the exciting events taking place there. Thus, this project is an ideal example of how repurposing street parklets used during the COVID-19 pandemic can add to the vibrancy of a downtown space while also creating more opportunities for small businesses.
The mission of MODSTREET is to assist communities in rebuilding and recovering from the effects of the COVID-19 crisis. MODSTREET’s modular parklets do not require any construction and do not require any downtime. The best thing about these solutions is that it is possible to put them together and take them apart in under an hour.
Furthermore, these parklets are recyclable into several items, including barricades, portable stages, and other similar items. Moreover, they can survive collisions and consist of steel construction joined by wedged connections in a keystone shape.
Parklets have become a terrific approach to increase the liveliness of any downtown space and help various businesses thrive. Every parklet provides new prospects for COVID-affected enterprises and contributes to a more dynamic and pedestrian-friendly environment. It promotes placemaking in downtown spaces while enhancing its culture and health.
For more information on MODSTREET and its innovative parklets and other modular products, please contact us today.