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Photos from the second public workshop Area character photos, "snaps"

Second Public Workshop Held January 26

On the evening of January 26, about 75 residents and other interested guests filled the Keewaydin Community Center for the second in a series of public workshops on the Nokomis East Station Area planning process (NESAP).

Residents were for the most part from within the Nokomis East boundaries, with about a dozen folks from within the actual planning area boundaries. Also in attendance were several developers, affordable housing advocates, and about a half-dozen facilitators and staff from the consulting team.

This night’s goal was to identify common themes based on participant preferences. Central to this round was a hands-on approach as participants broke into eight groups to look over large aerial photos of the planning area and note their thoughts on where, why, and what form of future development should occur. Participants placed colored sticky dots to mark locations that should be either off limits or investigated for possible redevelopment. Participants were were also given a set of images representing different physical types of development to express preferences by location.  As expected, this exercise was one of the more colorful discussions for each group.  

At the end of the evening, a speaker from each table stood and summarized the group’s results and suggestions. Those results are being tabulated by the consulting team.

Most groups identified 50th and 54th Streets at Highway 55 and the northbound LRT where it crosses 54th Street as “Gateways” to Minneapolis. They emphasized the importance of the visual impression visitors and commuters receive when entering the City at these locations. The Riverview Road/54th Street Triangle saw most groups favoring lower density development in the form of two story town homes and row houses as infill on the MnDOT-owned properties. Medium-density, mixed-use buildings of medium height and with increased setbacks were mentioned as appropriate along Minnehaha Avenue.

Many saw the need to preserve the existing single-family character along 50th Street, and generally requested that future development be restricted to a few buildings between 43rd Avenue and Highway 55. The Minnehaha Grocery building (former dry-cleaner) received the most attention. (Although several groups mentioned replacing it with a park and ride or mixed use apartments, there remains a problem with the LRT transformer locking in the current shallow footprint and a complete lack of available parking.)

Additional public green space, child play areas (in the Triangle), increased lighting along Minnehaha Avenue and pedestrian and bicycle-oriented pathways connecting Minnehaha Creek/Parkway to the north with the Fort Snelling trails to the south were frequently mentioned. Several people mentioned turning the tip triangular parking lot at the former Country Hearth Bakery site (intersection of Minnehaha, 48th Avenue and 52nd Street) into a green space with trees, public art and perhaps a gazebo.

Several groups mentioned issues with the amount of traffic and flow issues in the area. With the potential for hundreds of people moving to the area, traffic flow will have to be addressed. Currently, on 54th Ave, at Minnehaha and at Hiawatha traffic often backs up waiting for trains and lights, making it difficult for residents there to enter or cross 54th St.

The resulting themes, when added to real estate market research, traffic analysis and the input from the steering committee, will help guide the development of planning scenarios for presentation at the next workshop.

That third community workshop is scheduled for Thursday, March 23, 7 PM, at Keewaydin Community Center (3030 East 53rd Street). Please check these pages or call 612-724-5652 for last minute schedule changes and workshop content.

To aid in the planning vision, NENA maintains a gallery of neighborhood “character” photos at www.nokomiseast.org. We also post photos from the meetings along with any relevant documents and maps as they are made available.

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