One woman wanted to know if the Crystal Ice warehouse is going to be "totaled."

Andy Wasserman wondered how a new market plaza would impact Fremont Park just one block over.

And Linda Hinchey was concerned about whether she'd be priced out of the neighborhood, as well as how the sidewalk drainage system would impact her ability to motor her wheelchair to Safeway.

"I'm glad to see that there's improvement going on in the neighborhood," said the 65-year-old, who lives on a fixed-income on 17th Street. "I hope some of it is going to be affordable."

They were among the 40 to 50 people who attended the first public meeting regarding the R Street Market Plaza Wednesday evening. The Market Plaza is a vital piece of the plan to transform historic R Street into a vibrant mixed-use neighborhood. Another public meeting will be held in the fall, but opportunities for input will be limited.

The engineering consultants, Mark Thomas & Co., and Sacramento Department of Transportation staff presented the latest update on the plaza, to be built on two blocks that are now mostly empty buildings and vacant lots from 16th to 18th Streets. They held a question-and-answer session and then worked one-on-one to note attendees' suggestions and address individual concerns.

Those blocks -- and especially the block from 16th to 17th Streets -- contain critical pieces of Sacramento's past due to their ties to Crystal Ice and Cold Storage Co., and the Sacramento Valley Railroad, said Roberta Deering, who works in the city's Office of Historic Preservation. The railway served the ice house and other industrial businesses during R Street's heyday.

The plaza also is a critical feature of the planned infill development because it'd be designed to do double-duty as a sizable public gathering spot. Residents say the old roadway through those sidewalk-free, dormant blocks is currently used mostly by neighbors walking to the Safeway store at 19th and R.

"People are very grateful to finally have a grocery store in this neighborhood -- a grocery store they can walk to," said Andy Wasserman, who's lived near Fremont Park for 25 years.

The design calls for preserving the main railroad track that runs down the center of the street and as much of the siding track as possible, said Mark Thomas & Co. Vice President Robert Himes, the main presenter. The siding tracks went to warehouse docks for loading and unloading.

The exterior of the oldest Crystal Ice building, which is a historic landmark, also will be preserved to front commercial development with possible residential on top, he said. All new businesses on those blocks must be mixed-use, with some combination of retail, office and/or residential, Himes said.

But it's too early to know exactly what businesses may open there.

The new infrastructure will include sidewalks with 4-inch curbs, Americans with Disability Act-compliant corners, drain gutters, and 24-foot sidewalks on the street's south side. Two rows of tall shade trees and on-street parking will be included on that side. The 17th Street intersection will retain the old pieces of granite that line the siding tracks.

Some neighbors weighed the pros and cons of updating the street infrastructure and adding sidewalks and lower-than-standard curbs. Residents used to mainly foot traffic there weren't completely sold on improvements that would bring car traffic.

Hinchey, 65, said she was concerned rainwater would collect and make it hard for her to get to the grocery store. She also asked whether the hot north side of the street would get shade trees.

Sheet-flow drainage should handle the rain well, and the design leaves room for those trees in the future, said Himes. The sidewalks and streets will be capped rather than use permeable concrete due to toxic chemicals that may exist from past use, he added.

As a member of the Fremont Park Neighborhood Association, Wasserman is concerned about the plaza's effect on Fremont Park. Residents have worked hard to reclaim the park for the neighborhood.

"We're trying to turn the park into the center of the neighborhood," he said. "I hope festivals there [at R Street Market Plaza] won't kill off festivals in the park."

Bud Halliday is president of Newtown Booth Neighborhoods Association, representing three areas on the other side of 19th Street. Residents there have been worried about toxic materials in old R Street buildings. He said the materials reportedly have been cleaned up, but that could not be immediately confirmed.

Association members are also curious about the plan because of what it may indicate for redevelopment of their stretch of R Street. Halliday gave it a thumbs up.

"I like the layout and the concept -- which is to have a place for neighborhood people to go within walking distance and within biking distance," he said. "This looks like a very positive thing."