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Summary of Phase I Findings and Draft Recommendations Great River Forum, September 27, 2011 

Support ATF Land Use Findings

Industrial districts. Portions of North Washington, Upper River and Shoreham industrial employment districts in the study area should remain industrial. Consider adding employment district designation to Graco/Scherer area.

Grain Belt area. Guidance for area should be as a mixed use activity center with housing, commercial, office, and other uses.

Lowry Marshall commercial node. Should remain a commercial node. Key location suggests potential as a river-oriented business/amenity district.

West Broadway corridor. Guidance should continue to be for non-retail commercial. Possible additional focus on recruiting office headquarters, building on Coloplast development.

East side parks. Main character of area should be park. Consider modification to encourage compatible river-oriented uses within park (residential, commercial, etc).

Modify ATF Land Use Findings

North of Xcel industrial. Modify policy guidance from residential to industrial. Isolation from residential neighborhoods and recent investments by industrial/office support this.

Lowry to 26th riverfront industrial. Modify policy from mixed use to industrial. Isolation from residential neighborhoods and suitability for long term industrial support this.

Further Analysis Underway

Riverview Homes subarea. Conflicts exist between existing uses. Need guidance on policy framework and approach given land use realities.

Northwest quadrant/terminal area. Higher intensity development would yield greater benefits, but a feasible implementation path has not been defined. Near term process (2-3 months) will quantify the costs and steps involved in pursuing an alternate development future, for Council consideration.

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Related Findings/Topics

Upper Harbor Terminal. Maintain ownership until path for redevelopment of surrounding area is clarified, or risk missing major opportunity.

Industrial policy. Consider development/branding of industrial areas with green/sustainable focus. Strengthen job linkage programs for area. Create and maintain citywide developable site pipeline.

Infrastructure and site conditions. Need coordinated approach to context setting, including site preparation and public realm investments.

Implementation. Develop strategies and phasing plans by type of area, ranging from preservation to transformation.

Rezoning. Nuanced approach needed in order to support ongoing business investments over appropriate time frames.

Organizational structure. Scale and timeline of required investments implies the need for one or more properly staffed and authorized lead organizations.

MPRB Consultation. Continued coordination needed between the City and MPRB as plans for the upper riverfront move forward.

Next Steps

Public process. Present research findings and recommendations to public for review and comment. Bring to City Council, recommending direction to staff to proceed with next phase.

Plan modification process. Proceed with 9-12 month plan modification process, including public input, creation of document, and formal review and adoption.

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