7.4. EDSR 07-20-2020 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Stantec VIII° IIII jje c t UIIIDd a t "' Project Update to EDA,July 20,2020 Elk River EDA Strategic Plan/193805023 Focus Groups The project team conducted three focus groups on the morning of June 24. A Downtown Focus Group took place at 8:00 a.m. The following were key takeaways. • Downtown Elk River may not be the center of commerce for the City, but it is the heart of Elk River. Preserving the historic feel of downtown, while also attracting thoughtful redevelopment and retail opportunities. • Traffic flow and parking are main issues. Parking is not necessarily an issue of capacity, but rather layout and functionality of existing parking. • Re-orientation towards the river is a big opportunity (this could include reorienting existing businesses, trails along river and more gathering space near the river) • Improvements are needed to the historic downtown buildings and city incentives are desired (both fagade improvement and structural improvements) • Identified needs in downtown include: places to gather, grocery store, coffee shops, connection to river • Both support and caution were expressed concerning current redevelopment being proposed for downtown area A Development & Real Estate Focus Group took place at 9:30 a.m. The following were key takeaways. • Assets for commercial/industrial development include workforce from Cities to the north and transportation network that allows easy access in all directions—this will be improved further with 169 redefine project • Other Cities near Elk River (Otsego, Big Lake and Becker) have been more aggressive about attracting commercial/industrial development so businesses may choose to locate there instead. • There are opportunities to the East (by Orono Lake) and North (gravel mine) • From a retail development perspective, the traffic volume is a driver, as well as the quaint downtown. Downsides include competition from Otsego, and consistent number of retail vacancies. • 169 redefine project is a threat to retail in the short-term during construction, but ultimately will improve access and is an opportunity for highway-oriented retail • There is development interest in last-mile warehouse • For multi-family/mixed use development, it is hard to make a development `pencil-out' without incentives from the City. • The City is still overcoming the stigma that it is hard to develop there - recent process improvements have really helped. • Not an ideal location for metro area focused businesses, but definitely a good location for multi-state businesses or statewide businesses. jjg(nA0partMents\commcntty deveilopment\economic development\eda\administrative\agenda\eda agenda packets\2020\07-20-2020\7.4 at1 project update to eda 07-20-2020.docx