3.0. HRSR 05-08-2001 - Laserfiche WebLink

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SUMMARY OF FINDINGS • Housing • While demand should be sufficient to support the amount of housing shown in the table, it is most likely that development will be constrained by the availability of sites. Still, we believe it is reasonable to fit 300 new housing units into the Redevelopment Area. • Multi-story buildings, versus townhomes, are the appropriate form of rental and for-sale housing in the Downtown. To be successful, however, a for-sale building (such as a multi- story condominium or senior cooperative project) would have to be located on the Mississippi River. Buyers of housing are more concerned with purchasing in a"high- amenity"location,which will help to maintain their home value. Office • The Downtown can support an additional 39,000 to 59,000 square feet over the next ten years. The 20,000 square foot 1st National Financial Plaza is currently under construction and will satisfy a portion of this demand. Subtracting 1st National Financial Plaza, an additional 19,000 to 39,000 square feet of office can be supported Downtown through 2010. • Most office tenants Downtown will be smaller businesses (2 to 10 employees needing 200 to 2,000 square feet, on average) serving the local population and business base, such as attorneys, accountants, insurance agents, etc. However,we believe that over the next decade, Elk River will be able to compete with other northwestern Twin Cities suburbs for larger(up to 5,000 square feet) technology based firms. These high-tech firms, along with healthcare • businesses, should create more demand for lager spaces over the next decade. Retail • The Downtown can support up to 14,000 square feet of additional retail through 2005. This is also about the maximum amount of additional space that could be developed in the Core CDB, which is the portion of the Downtown Redevelopment Area that is most suitable for additional retail. We believe that the Northern Area is more suited for service industries than retail,because of limited access and visibility. • New retail stores will predominantly offer specialty goods and be able to market their unique Downtown location as an experience that can not be found at shopping centers. Also, new housing located Downtown will increase demand for neighborhood goods and services. Recommendations The following is a summary of the overall redevelopment potential we identified in the Core CDB, Western Transition Area, and Northern Area. More detailed recommendations, including redevelopment potential for specific parcels, are found in the Conclusions and Recommendations section of this report. Redevelopment and marketing strategies are also included in the Conclusions and Recommendations section. • MAXFIELD RESEARCH INC. 4