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Downtown Mixed Use <br />Downtown should be enhanced with a compact mix of uses <br />that create an active and vibrant district. Redevelopment <br />and infill development of parking lots and undeveloped <br />sites should be a priority on Main Street in the downtown <br />area followed by strategic expansion of the district. The <br />city should encourage higher density uses with a primary <br />focus on mixed use which includes buildings that provide <br />ground level/first floor commercial uses and residential or <br />office uses above. Mixed use creates opportunities for both <br />new housing and businesses and can be scaled to transi- <br />tion between the intense commercial uses in the core to <br />the mixed residential uses at the periphery of downtown. <br />Mixed use should be applied in the downtown core where <br />appropriate. <br />Promote Reinvestment <br />Today, the downtown primarily consists of a mix of older, <br />one- to two-story commercial structures some of which <br />were constructed as far back as the 1900s. To help estab- <br />lished businesses and property owners downtown main- <br />tain and improve their properties, the city should work with <br />the Economic Development Authority (EDA) to expand <br />the Downtown Revitalization Financing Loan program. <br />Currently, the program offers downtown businesses and <br />property owners loans of up to $74,999 for secondary <br />financing. The city and EDA should consider expanding <br />this loan program to provide primary financing of smaller <br />scale facade improvement projects. <br />Example: Older buildings in the downtown that may benefit from <br />reinvestment <br />64 <br />Economic Development Plan • Elk River Comprehensive Plan <br />IDIC AI ad907C1CSMAIMAVE9701Wo <br />