For MODSTREET, COVID-19 was the start of something much bigger than expected. At the height of the pandemic, the company offered a solution to restaurants operating under COVID-19 social-distancing restrictions.
But as pandemic restrictions have lessened, the company has started to look toward the future. Durango has become familiar with the downtown bump-outs or as MODSTREET calls them, parklets.
“In 2020, it was like wow, you guys have a product? You have parklets. You have barricades. Great. How much are they? Let's do this,” said Chief Innovative Officer Michael Carrier. “And now it’s could you send over some specs? And do you have ADA requirements?”
Carrier said the urgency caused by the pandemic created lesser regulation for parklets in 2020. But since COVID-19 restrictions have been reduced, decisions made by cities for outdoor structures have become more bureaucratic.
MODSTREET has built three steel parklets in Durango at Seasons Rotisserie & Grill, Cream Bean Berry and the Durango Welcome Center. Now, they are signed on to be the parklet vendor in Boulder.
MODSTREET Chief Executive Officer Roger Zalneraitis said Boulder City Council partnered with restaurants and if those restaurants want parklets, MODSTREET will be the vendor.
“They’ll come back with an order for five, 10, 15, parklets or whatever it’s going to look like in a month,” Zalneraitis said. “And then every year in February, they’re going to call for the restaurants or retailers that want to participate.”
Carrier has planned ways for the company to expand in the realm of tactical urbanism, which is a method for quickly and affordably making small-scale changes to a city involving streets, parks and sidewalks. He said MODSTREET wants to build barricades separating pedestrians from cars and create lanes for active transportation.
“It’s all about making cities and towns a little better, easier, safer and more economically productive for everyone who resides in them,” he said.
Because micro transportation is increasing, Carrier is interested in building bike racks and scooter corrals for urban settings.
He also said given the debate about the downtown reconstruction of Main Avenue, applying tactical urbanism would open a variety of options before settling for expensive permanent ones.
He compares MODSTREET’s structures to Legos. They can be assembled and disassembled in an hour, which would open different possibilities for structuring downtown Durango.
Zalneraitis said tactical urbanism is less expensive, less permanent and more rapidly deployed than traditional capital planning.
“For example, reconstructing Main Street takes years of planning, millions of dollars and can’t be undone easily if people don't like it,” he said. “With tactical urbanism, it is inexpensive, quick and, if it doesn’t work, it’s easy to move.”
Carrier said MODSTREET is in a different position than most companies. Before the pandemic, there were not opportunities to profit by building parklets and now the market is increasing rapidly.
“We’re a fabrication shop. And there’s a real need for fabrication in the local market,” Zalneraitis said. “So one thing we’re doing is reaching out to builders to help with the architectural metalwork, signs, stairs or fencing, we can do that for you.”
MODSTREET has modified its parklets to handle public concerns. In bigger cities, complaints were made about debris collecting underneath the structures. The company resolved this issue by making removable floorboards.
It also wants to work with new restaurants to install point-of-sale softwares. Zalneraitis said prepay POS systems would help outdoor seating because it would decrease the chance of people dining without paying.
Recently, MODSTREET built new parklets in San Francisco and Lakeland, Florida. The company hopes Texas, California and Florida will be growing markets for their products but do not see warm weather states being the only places with interest.
Zalneraitis said there is interest in New York City, where there are over 12,000 on street or on sidewalk dining locations. He said the cheapest way to expand real estate is to build on the street rather than to afford a building.
“It’s interesting to have a startup involved in a market that’s not really defined,” Carrier said. “Some days, it feels like we’re going in 100 directions, and other days we’re focused on one. But it’s Never a dull moment, that’s for sure.”
tbrown@durangoherald.com
