3.0. HRSR 05-08-2001 - Laserfiche WebLink

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CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS • Retail in the Core CBD would be enhanced if a traffic generator were located Downtown. Traffic generators in many towns include such uses as government agencies, such as city hall, county administrative buildings, library, and post office. Downtown Elk River currently lacks all but the Post Office. We recommend that the City find a way to retain the Post Office in the Downtown,potentially by acquiring land to the north of the existing building. The proposed river walkway and fishing pier would also help draw people to the Downtown who would potentially patronize the businesses. Events, such as festivals and farmers market, should also be explored. Events do not substitute for daily traffic generators,but are important because they increase awareness to the Downtown. We understand that there is interest for a performing arts center from some Elk River residents. Such a center would be a great draw to the Downtown. However, because of the large amount of space required to support the center and its parking, it may be infeasible to locate this type of facility in the Downtown. The most likely location in the Downtown may be the Northern Area, near Jackson Avenue and 6th Street. A library would also be a good draw. However, the existing library at 4th Street and Proctor Avenue was expanded in 1995, and its space needs have been met for the foreseeable future. Still, Downtown businesses could benefit from programs and activities offered at the library, which is only a short distance from the Core CBD. In addition, the impact of library programs and activities on the Downtown businesses would be maximized if they were held in partnership or sponsored with the Downtown businesses. Types of retail that would be appropriate for the Downtown are listed in Table 3, along with the typical square footage for each type of store. Some of the uses, such as drugstore/pharmacy and • hair salon are already located in the Downtown. The store types in Table 3 that are bolded are those with the greatest potential for a downtown location(some of the retail types, such as drug store and tanning salon, are good types to have Downtown,but because they are already existing, the potential for addition such stores is limited). A restaurant, particularly fine dining or a family restaurant, was mentioned repeatedly during interviews as being needed in the Elk River area. We believe that an upscale restaurant (either a "cloth napkin"restaurant or a family restaurant)would be a great traffic generator to the Core CDB and would subsequently benefit other retail stores in the Core CDB. Our demand calculation was for 14,000 additional square feet in the Downtown over the next five year. This would probably accommodate fewer than 10 new stores. The example below lists a potential mix of seven new tenants to the Core CDB. The seven stores, including a larger restaurant, combine for 18,700 square feet. Restaurant with liquor 6,000 Arts & Crafts 2,200 Hobby 2,500 Sporting Goods 3,000 Sandwich Shop 1,200 Books 2,100 Decorative accessories 1,700 1111 Total 18,700