Neighborhood plans in final approval stages

by Dennis Geisinger

A long-range plan for the development of the Chicago Avenue corridor involving the Bancroft, Bryant, Central and Powderhorn neighborhoods that has been in the works since at least 2004 is now ready to be formally adopted by the City.
“We’re now in the 45-day public comment period,” said Paul Mogush, senior city planner. “The Planning Commission is scheduled to vote on the full project on Jan. 14,” Mogush said. “After that, the City Council’s Zoning and Planning Committee will vote on whether or not to send the plans to the full Council for approval,” he said.

“This is a long-range plan that is intended to guide area development over the next five to ten years,” Mogush said.

According to plan details, the work will extend along Chicago Avenue between 31st Street on the north and 40th Steet on the south, and along 38th Steet between 16th Avenue on the east and 2nd Avenue (adjacent to Interstate 35W) on the west. Three “neighborhood commercial nodes,” or focus areas, within the project include Chicago Avenue and 38th Street, Sabathani at 4th Avenue and 38th Street, and Bloomington Avenue and 38th Street.

Put together by a consortium of local neighborhood organizations, input from neighborhood residents, a hired consultant and city staff, the 38th Street and Chicago Avenue Small Area/Corridor Framework Plan has identified goals for improving the standard of living in the area. The vision, as laid out in documents available online or at community libraries and centers, includes provisions for improved pedestrian and bicycle travel, more attractive street facades with improved lighting, incentives and direction for local business development, and improvements for public safety and crime determent.

A recommendation for locating new higher density commercial and housing development is key. Building heights ranging up to four stories are seen for the commercial space at the Sabathani and Bloomington nodes. At the 38th and Chicago node, the plan’s focal location, a slightly higher range of two to five stories is recommended to make use of and support improvements in transit infrastructure along Chicago Avenue and 38th Street.

An example of the plan’s housing development strategies is building town homes or apartments on the large surface parking lot located at 3101 Chicago Ave. This site, with around 20,000 sq. feet of surface area, could host approximately 14 dwelling units at an R4, or a commercial or multi-family residential zoning designation. In the longer term, parcels currently hosting single-family could be combined to develop town homes or additional apartments.

“This plan represents a major change in the city’s direction for future strategic development,” said Minneapolis Council Member Elizabeth Glidden (DFL-Ward 8), who had taken on much of the responsibility for giving her ward a face-lift early in her election. “There have been so many planning efforts over the years that I think people really want to see something happening,” Glidden said.
“The current plan has short-, medium- and long-term implementation steps,” said Glidden.

Space provided for senior housing and artist-driven community businesses, as well as common space like coffee shops where people could gather to talk, were high on the list suggested by local residents, according to Glidden.
“People didn’t want to see businesses like 24-hour fast food chains,” said Powderhorn Park community organizer Shonda Allen. According to Allen, local input in the Powderhorn neighborhood has come from some 15 to 20 meetings that were organized expressly to give residents a say in how their neighborhood will look in the future.

“Business developers are taking a certain amount of risk by investing in the area,” said Glidden. “But I think we have the roots of strong community in Ward 8 that can make business prosper,” she said.

“I’m very hopeful that we might very soon see someone make an offer on a piece of property near the Chicago and 38th intersection,” Glidden said. The prospective buyer is one with connections to the area who has already worked with neighborhood artists and would develop the land as an art center, according to Glidden.

According to the mayor’s communications director, Jeremy Hanson, “Mayor Rybak is excited about the possibilities to improve this important commercial node. He’s pleased to see that these four neighborhoods have come together to develop a common vision that could ripple through this entire area,” Hanson said.

The plan is available for review on the web at www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/planning/chicago-38.asp. Hard copies are available for review locally at Hosmer Library, Powderhorn Park, Phelps Park and Central Gym.

The city will be accepting comments on the plan through the end of the year. All comments received will become part of the public record and will be included in a report to the City Planning Commission for its consideration at a public hearing tentatively scheduled for January 14, 2008 (4:30 p.m., City Hall Room 317).
Comments should be submitted in writing via email to
paul.mogush@ci.minneapolis.mn.us or Paul Mogush, Senior City Planner, Community Planning and Economic Development, 350 South Fifth Street, Room 210, Minneapolis, MN 55415.