3.0. HRSR 05-08-2001 - Laserfiche WebLink

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CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS • Redevelopment Strategies The following are strategies important to any redevelopment efforts undertaken in Downtown Elk River. These strategies are key, in fact, to Downtowns everywhere. • Create a sense of place. If any one criteria supports redevelopment efforts, it is this one. People will enthusiastically support an environment that attracts them. Many of the "places" that people mention over and over again as desirable all possess several important attributes: intimacy of scale, diversity of uses, attractive street environment, interesting architecture, individuality(strong visual merchandising and display). • Create new neighborhoods. Housing will support and enhance the retail and commercial base within the Downtown. Efforts to create housing will have the strongest impact on sustaining Downtown's viability over the long-term. • Implement a coordinating entity. It is important to have a Downtown Advisory Committee or Board who oversees the revitalization process. It is not a substitute for municipal planning or economic development efforts,but should be responsible for holding the community to the overall vision. • Use an incremental versus catalytic approach. A Downtown plan that embraces an incremental strategy will prove most effective. An incremental strategy puts forth a number of action plans, meant to be achieved over a period of time, to accomplish a number of goals, rather than relying on a single catalytic event or project to revitalize the Downtown. An incremental strategy will take longer, but the payoff will be greater. However, a key first project can be an important component in an incremental approach to create initial momentum that will then generate additional investment in the Downtown over the long- term. Marketing Strategies Introduction In order for Downtown Elk River to present itself as a strong and active economic entity, there are several elements that must coalesce to create a more dynamic environment that will eventually result in an overall strengthening of Downtown for individual businesses and for the community. In terms of a marketing program to strengthen downtown, three elements have been identified as important. They are: organization, image and people. Today, the consumer typically has a number of other shopping options, Downtown is only one choice among others. People do not come to Downtown to shop automatically as they used to do. Downtown is not longer the only choice and Downtown retailers often find they must make • a greater effort to attract and court the consumer. However,Downtown retailers can compete