Ideas for a revamped Kingsbridge Armory gushed from the minds and mouths of local stakeholders at a public brainstorming session last week and included everything from a youth center to a community auditorium.

The Armory, which will be redeveloped by mega-firm The Related Companies, is being called a destination retail center, but nearly 150 local residents and stakeholders agreed it should be much more than that. They broke into groups and created wish lists.

“They were really concerned about it becoming just another big mall with big stores,” said Nicole Acevedo, who helped facilitate some of the group discussion for Community Board 7, which put together the meeting and will be weighing in on the project during the city’s land review process. “People wanted to see more community space and recreational space,” she added.

Several Related representatives, including lawyer Jesse Masyr, looked on as the community listed its wishes and concerns. But afterward, Masyr was vague about what he took away from the meeting and what Related could provide. “I think you heard a lot of really good intent on this,” he said. He did say Related would take a hard look at providing affordable  recreational opportunities.

Related’s general vision calls for a mix of larger and smaller retail stores, several restaurants and about 15,000 square feet of community programming space. (More, if you count an outdoor park that will double as a seasonal farmers market and also an area blocked off for a gym that Related says it would be willing to turn into affordable recreational space. Many local residents said they would like to see a YMCA in that space.)

Other ideas for the community space included, among other things, youth and senior activity centers, a rentable auditorium for local performances, a spiritual center, a social services hub and a computer lab for training and community use.

As for commercial stores, people most wanted to see a bookstore and healthy food options. There appeared to be a split on whether there should be a “Big Box” store like a Costco or Sam’s Club. Nearly everyone agreed that space should be reserved for local small businesses and that it should not compete with existing businesses. One group said emphatically, “No 99-cent stores.”

As far as securing additional community benefits from Related, stakeholders agreed that the project should be an engine of economic development and a source of good jobs. Some groups specifically called for employers at the Armory to pay “living wages” of $12 an hour, plus benefits, something the Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance (KARA) has pushed hard for. (Several KARA supporters were sprinkled in amongst the groups and its leaders were on hand as well.)

Nearly every group advocated for some type of binding community benefits agreement that would force Related to deliver on some of the community’s wishes. KARA wants to be the voice that negotiates that agreement and the community board has also said it wants to hold Related accountable and provide more benefits to local residents.

Masyr bristled when asked if Related would enter into a binding community benefits agreement, saying it was “premature to discuss that at this time.” He added that he was interested in continuing dialogue with all community stakeholders involved.

Everyone at the meeting said building schools at the Armory, something KARA has long advocated for, was a top priority. However, the Department of Education took new public schools off the table last year after the city included schools in its original request for proposals (RFP) for the Armory.

Just two and a half years ago, KARA held a similar meeting to discuss a community vision for the Armory. But KARA members said this was an opportunity for even more voices to be heard.

“It was great,” said KARA member Aldis Humte. “There were a lot of ideas and issues that we never dealt with at those [previous] meetings.”

Myra Goggins, a KARA member, also thought the meeting was beneficial and called the ideas “variations on a theme.”

Anthony Springer, a new member of Community Board 7 and also one of the group facilitators, said people came up with “a lot of good ideas.” His group, he said, wanted to make sure the inside of the Armory reflected the historic look of the outside of the building. “We don’t want it to look like Jetsons.”