City Council approves long-term land-use plan for Minnesota Avenue

The first pieces of a blueprint for the future of Minnesota Avenue have been approved.

The City Council unanimously voted to support a land-use report that established recommended uses for the blocks from Russell Street south to Third Street.

That’s the same area that was improved last year with a median to remove left turns, widened sidewalks and updated lighting and aesthetics.

The neighborhood weighed in with many thoughts on the area and is considering forming a neighborhood association, urban planner Fletcher Lacock said.

“We took the public input and looked at the issues and opportunities on Minnesota Avenue,” Lacock said.

“How do we reduce parking, promote bicycle and pedestrian and bus transit. Things we looked at were pushing higher-density commercial to signalized intersections, having transitions to higher-density residential along the corridor.”

The plan calls for maintaining and investing in affordable and starter housing while “also allowing for areas where we have reinvestment and redevelopment,” Lacock said.

Here’s how the city is proposing the Minnesota Avenue corridor could redevelop. The yellow area in the graphic below indicates a maintenance property, where there could be some new town homes built, but mostly improved single-family housing is envisioned. Orange is a transition area, where there could be some residential development with a higher density. And red is the most intense redevelopment, where mixed-use projects might include commercial on the main level and residential above, or there might be entirely commercial development.

The recommended land uses now can become a guide for city officials, the Planning Commission, City Council and developers.

The Planning Department plans to continue evaluating the Minnesota Avenue corridor as road improvements move south to Interstate 229. Ultimately, there will be four phases of redevelopment. This is the first.

“Hopefully, it will help everyone make the right decisions for redevelopment moving forward should it happen in the corridor,” Lacock said.