Community Perspective: Bloomington

 

Maximizing Each Site's Potential

 

Bob Hawbaker, Bloomington's planning and economic development manager, agrees cities today are very discriminating when reviewing proposals, and many want pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use, urban-type developments rather than prototypical freestanding buildings or strip centers. Part of the reasoning is cities see an opportunity to maximize a development's potential and build a stronger tax base.

 

Bloomington City Council Member Steve Elkins is pushing for mixed-use development for yet another reason.

 

"I believe having the conventional suburban, single-use retail strip mall as our predominant form of commercial development undermines our goal of fostering strong neighborhoods with a sense of community identity and involvement," he says. "I believe if we can redevelop our aging 'grey field' strip malls as mixed-use, new urbanist developments we can convert them into vibrant neighborhood centers that create gathering places and help foster a sense of community."

 

Take the southwest corner of France Avenue and Old Shakopee Road, the site of a blighted retail center owned by a family trust. Hawbaker says the trust's administrator cut a deal with CVS Pharmacy to build a prototypical, freestanding store on the corner. (He has no plans for the remaining site.) That wouldn't work with access and other issues, Hawbaker says. The city is giving the administrator time to devise a plan that encompasses more of the site before condemning the eight-acre property. In addition to retail, Bloomington is considering rental housing for the property.

 

Hawbaker realizes mixed-use is expensive and it isn't always the way to go. "The only way to get it done in some cases is for the city to put money into it," he explains. Bloomington currently is working to figure out where to best utilize its financial resources for these types of redevelopments.

 

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