5.0. EDSR 02-14-2005 - Laserfiche WebLink

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CITY OF ELK RIVER DOWNTOWN RIVERFRONT REVITALIZATION Q&A NEWSLETTER JANUARY 2005 Q. Who is paying for this redevelopment? Q. How will construction workers'parking be handled? A. MetroPlains will be required to secure about$14 million in A. The City Police Department and other City staff will monitor funding for this project to construct developments in the the situation and address any complaints that arise through Jackson and Bluff Blocks and the new King Avenue parking the duration of the construction period. Police will enforce th lot. Under the terms of the development agreement, the City construction parking plan to ensure there is still adequate will provide approximately$2.3 million in financial assistance and convenient parking for everyone who is shopping, visit- through the tax increment generated by the project. ing or working in downtown. Q. How will the use of Tax Increment Financing Q. Will it be tough to get around in downtown when impact taxing jurisdictions? construction occurs? A. The taxing jurisdictions will continue to get the same amount A. No, not on a regular basis. As with any construction project, of taxing revenue as they did before the development. Only there may be certain times when the construction impacts the increased taxes from the new development will be used traffic in certain areas of downtown. However, the City will to assist the development. provide clear and frequent communications throughout the construction period to make sure residents and businesses Q. What can you tell me about plans for a riverfront are aware of what is happening in downtown at critical park area/gathering place for residents? points during construction. Information will be provided A. The Elk River Park and Recreation Commission is currently through a variety of means including the City Web site at working on a plan for a park area including a gathering www.ci.elk-rivermn.us, news releases to the Elk River Star place along the river to allow all Elk River residents to take News, and the City newsletter- The Current. advantage of river views. There is also the potential for the development of a river walk. The planning and design phase Q. Do we know yet what retail businesses will be should be completed by Spring 2005. Construction will either located in the new buildings on Bluff and be phased with downtown construction, or could occur a Jackson Blocks? short time later. A. No, not yet. MetroPlains will be working with potential busi- nesses and more will be known about the tenants of down- Q. With the new development,will there be town commercial space later next year. parking problems downtown? A. Ensuring the downtown has adequate parking is an impor- Q. When will the new housing units be ready for II tant issue to the City and to downtown businesses. A vibrant occupancy and who do I contact about them? and thriving downtown will always have certain times when A. At least some of the new housing units are expected to be there are traffic congestion and parking issues and redevel- ready for occupancy by Fall 2006. Anyone who is interested opment by its nature will bring more visitors to downtown. in rental or for-sale housing in Jackson and Bluff Blocks Successfully addressing parking concerns means both pro- should contact Vern Hanson of MetroPlains at viding physical parking spaces and implementing parking (651)646-7848 to learn more about the availability. management and enforcement strategies. Q. How can I stay informed? By their very nature, downtowns are significantly different in A. There are several ways you can stay informed: character than shopping malls or strip and commercial cen- ters. One of those key differences is a lack of large masses • Visit the City's Web site at www.ci.elk river.mn.us and click of parking that are located immediately in front of business- on the "News & Events" sidebar to view the Downtown es, consuming large amounts of space. Downtown parking is Revitalization Project Update page. designed around existing buildings. • Attend HRA and City Council meetings or watch them on ERtV Channel 12. Meeting information is available on the Currently, there are 240 public parking stalls downtown in City Web site. addition to private parking provided by Dare's, The Bank of • Attend regular Rivers Edge Downtown Business Association Elk River, First National Bank of Elk River, Nadeau's, U.S. meetings held on the second Wednesday of each month at Bank, and behind the Sunshine Depot. New development in 8 a.m. at the Elk River Chamber of Commerce office. the Bluff and Jackson Blocks will include about 176 new parking stalls, mostly underground, dedicated to building • Read the Elk River Star News. Articles on the project tenants. The King Avenue parking lot that is being construct- frequently appear in the Star News and in the City's ed will provide approximately 44 parking stalls to replace the newsletter, The Current, which is 21 lost in Jackson Block construction. Finally, the City has distributed as a Star News insert established the King Avenue Parking Lot Task Force and will every other month. J/ be working with downtown business owners on issues of • Contact the Economic Development City of • parking design and enforcement. Elk Department at(763)635-1040. River