The EDA held its regularly scheduled meeting this morning. Agenda items included some administrative housekeeping items, an update on the City website (details below) discussion of the Q-Block master plan (ditto), discussion of the status of EDA funding (more on that in future posts), and of most immediate interest, a presentation by the New Division Development Company of their plans for infill redevelopment on the parcel occupied by Lansing Hardware.
New Division Development Company purchased the building and lot from Lee Lansing some months ago, and they have come up with a beautiful, context-sensitive plan for the site. Lansing Hardware will continue to occupy the original building as the anchor on the first floor, and the two residential units on the second floor will be restored and sold as condominiums. The adjacent building, to be built on what is now the parking lot, will consist of first-floor retail and second-floor office space, and will take its architectural cues from the hardware store building and the Northfield Armory. Randy Lutz of New Division Development Co. was careful to state that these drawings are preliminary and are being modified because he thinks the rendering of the fa�ades may look too uniform and static (my words, not his). Nevertheless, this project appears to be just the type of development the City needs. See the formal announcement, with larger images, on the EDA website under the heading "Downtown Redevelopment".
City Website: In the latest episode in a long, agonizing series, the Council authorized a transfer of $35,000 from the cable fund to the EDA to pay for the cost of redesigning the City website from the ground up. The consultant chosen for the project, Livefront, Inc., has made progress updates available online via their weblog for anyone who is interested. It looks like we may actually have a decent city website up and running by the end of 2005. Not bad for a issue which has been lamented, discussed, and prodded along by yours truly for the past FIVE YEARS, then finally abandoned in frustration. Thanks to all who are continuing to carry the torch.
Q-Block: At the May 9th joint work session between the EDA and the City Council, the Council directed the EDA to develop a master plan for the area referred to as the �Q-Block.� Upon direction from the EDA, City staff has been working with Dahlgren, Shardlow, and Uban, Inc. (DSU) to develop a scope for the Q-Block master plan project. The draft scope was received by staff last month, but needs to be revised in scope to eliminate unnecessary tasks (e.g., existing conditions information, market research) which can be obtained from already existing sources. Staff will present the revised scope of the master plan and define the timelines at the next EDA meeting on August 25.