5.2. SR 03-12-2007 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Downtown Redevelopment Plan Taskforce .Minutes February 5, 2007 Page 3 . The funeral home may not be a good occupant for supporting the downtown as a retail area since it is destination based. The funeral home may be a good user for north ofHwy 10. Mark Moorhouse, Dominium, Inc. . The natural barrier of Hwy 10 and the railroad will be a tough issue to deal with no matter how the highway and railroad may change over the years. . Focus on redeveloping south of Hwy 10 in the core downtown. One reason is because it's important to focus on a cluster of activity in one area. . The way to maintain historical character on new projects is through design standards. . Redeveloping existing buildiogs to new uses is expensive and can be cost prohibitive. . Hwy 169 has become the core retail area in Elk River and will continue to be in the future. . Purchasing single family homes for redevelopment is very difficult due to higher costs of assembling enough property to make the economics of a new development . work. . It is not a problem for residential to be located near railroad tracks. . You won't see new market rate rental projects being built in Elk River because the location is "too far out". This is not a demand issue, it is a financial feasibility issue. Ivfixed income projects work better in this area. . T ownhomes and apartments would work well along J ackson Avenue north of Hwy 10. . Young families want to live close to schools, day cares and amenities, 5. Small Groups The taskforce broke into three small groups and discussed items which "stood out" over the course of the first four taskforce meetings. A summary of those items are attached, however the following items were mentioned more than once: . There is interest in exploring long-range redevelopment opporronities for the funeral home and nursing home. . MetroPlains' 20,000 SF of retail will take time to absorb so there is limited demand for more retail in the near furore. . Hwy 10 and the railroad is a natural barrier and the areas north and south ofHwy 10 should be redeveloped separately. . The taskforce did not realize the extent of the senior housing and high density market in Elk River. 6. Next Steps Ms. Kvilvang reiterated that City Engineer Terry Maurer would be attending the March meeting to provide background information/discuss MnDOT's plans for Hwy 10. She also reminded the group that they would be reviewing the photos taken as part of January's "homework" assignment. 7. Final Comments Ms. Kvilvang asked each taskforce member to talk about his/her reactions to tonight's presentation. The comments are listed below: