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The Need to Redefine <br /> To evaluate the need for redevelopment, the Task Force ❖ New residential <br /> completed a series of exercises and small group discussions. ❖ Accessibility <br /> 0 Pedestrians <br /> Characteristics of"Downtown" Exercise o Traffic flow/access points <br /> The first exercise asked Task Force members to define the 0 River <br /> 1 History <br /> "Components of a successful downtown" and describe'What <br /> + Activities/amenities <br /> downtown means". Their responses included the following in no Aesthetically pleasing <br /> particular order: <br /> • Balance of old and new <br /> What makes a downtown successful? ❖ Charm,pleasant feel <br /> ❖ Brick and south Main Blocks <br /> ❖ "Heart"or center <br /> • Nostalgia What should downtown have that it doesn't <br /> • Authenticity ❖ Embellishments (flags,plantings,color) <br /> • Unique/traditional(sets us apart from suburban <br /> Specialty businesses <br /> development) + Signage <br /> • Past,present and future planning • Directional <br /> • Shopping/eating <br /> • Informative <br /> Why do you come downtown? <br /> Strengths. Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats Exercise <br /> • Diversity of activity <br /> •• Destination The second exercise involved a discussion of Strengths, <br /> ❖ Tradition Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats,a summary of which is <br /> ❖ Special events/entertainment provided in the Appendix. <br /> How do you know when you are downtown? It was a result of this exercise in which the Task Force reached <br /> • Mass of historic buildings consensus that"Downtown Elk River"has already changed, as a <br /> • Signage result of time and market, to a point where it is no longer the <br /> thriving commercial center it was 50 years prior. Further, <br /> What does downtown mean to you? consensus was that"Downtown Elk River" needs to reinvent <br /> ❖ Vitality itself as the historical, cultural,and energetic core of community. <br /> ❖ Interest,not necessity With the core established and strengthened, the service and office <br /> ❖ Commercial,retail and service uses will reemerge in the area, even when changes to Highway 10 <br /> ❖ Connectivity, transition,cohesive <br /> require more destination driven trips. <br /> oas of September 4, 2012 -Part I, page 18 - <br /> III III <br />