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Elk River FAST Expert Panel Minutes <br />March 4, 2009 <br />Page 2 of 2 <br />• Housing demand is built on job creation. Job creation in the study area should be key focus. Reverse- <br />commute train could be anoffice/industrial marketing bonus for the study area. <br />• FHA financing of residential development is dependent on noise levels. <br />• Job-based commercial development market is currently declining. <br />• Development objectives outlined in the three alternatives could not be realized without Highway 10 <br />interchange. <br />.~ Long-term market assessment: <br />o Easiest: senior & rental housing, industrial <br />o Moderate challenge: office,. residential condos <br />o .Tough: retail (interchange would impact this), strict eco-focused industrial <br />• Absorbtion of the amount of office shown in some concepts would belong-term (more than a decade) <br />~¢ Existing and adjacent uses make the study area an opportunity for "eco-focused" development - ~ ~C ~,~ DF <br />especially eco-industrial. Even as few as 5 synergisfic uses would be a great success. <br />• Need to think about development that could occur on the river side of Highway 10 in order to put the <br />study area in better context. <br />• RDF plant could be beneficial use. Its visual character should be revamped. ~~ ((~~ <br />• The study area seems like a place that could play to the market niche of low impact, eco-based. #1t7u~ <br />• Maybe two development scenarios need to be explored, one that assumes rapid economic recovery with <br />business as usual in real estate development and another with protracted recovery and an altered real <br />estate/transit climate. <br />Amenities: <br />• Rail station will be a residential and commercial development marketing bonus. <br />• It will be in the study area's best interest to get areverse-commute train. <br />• Excess steam from GRE could stimulate commercial market interest. <br />,~ • Creating a pedestrian environment and trai]/sidewalk linkawill be critical. <br />Finance: <br />• City will likely need to subsidize development in some form. <br />• In today's dollars, a new Highway 10 interchange budget would be roughly $15 million. This would <br />likely need City financial involvement to occur. <br />M.•IELKRIVER108-65 FocusArea Study(FAST)13 Meetingslezpertponed minutes 3-4-09.doc <br />