Northfield Downtown Development Corporation

As I mentioned in the previous entry, I’m attending the National Trust’s “Building a Sustainable Future” conference in Seattle. I forgot to mention that my participation is made possible, in part, by the generous support of the Minnesota Housing Partnership. The organization is helping the NDDC achieve a sustainable design for the Building for Creative Professionals.

I had heard that Seattle was on the forefront of public transportation. I thought that I’d check it out right from the beginning. I took the bus from the airport.

This is a picture of the bus. Notice that it’s “Powered by Hybrid Electric.” I don’t have the details on that aspect yet but I do know it was a bargain, only $1.25 to travel the approximately 15 miles from the airport to downtown Seattle.

I also noted that it appeared that a wide variety of age groups, from 18 to 80, were well represented in the ridership. The bus was full, even the aisles, on a Sunday afternoon, and they run about every half hour.

Of course, if you’ve read this blog for any time, however, you know what I’m looking for in a transportation system.

Show me the bike racks!

Tomorrow, I head to Seattle in order to attend a National Trust for Historic Preservation Conference, focusing on their Main Street Program. This year the theme is Sustainable Design and, over the past few years, Seattle has conceived and implemented many projects based on these concepts.

There are a number of sustainable design concepts that guide the NDDC’s current work, including protecting the Cannon River, reusing existing infrastructure, increasing leverage from our built assets and green development techniques for the Building for Creative Professionals. I’m hoping to learn more about cutting edge projects from my peers around the country at the conference.

On the other hand, as I’ve mentioned before on this website, when Bardwell Smith, Brett Reese, Jim Braucher and Keith Covey started the NDDC back in 2000, much of their conceptualization was based on the 4 Points of the National Trust’s Main Street Program. These concepts have continued to guide our work as we prioritize our initiatives today and I look forward to sharing experiences with folks who have been implementing these ideas going back as far as 1977.

Fortunately, Downtown Northfield has helped prepare me for this exciting experience. From my shoes purchased at Rare Pair, through my pants picked up at Ragstock and my shirt discovered at Rocky Top, to my hat acquired at Tiny’s Dogs All Day, I am fully outfitted for a Main Street adventure… thanks to Division Street.

Early last spring, I first reported on the mystery surrounding this man and his activities.

Well, he’s at it again. Here he is, second from the right, chatting with friends in a local factory.

I can only reveal that he is continuing his work to support the advancement of a cause that is near and dear to his heart as well as my own.

Onward!

They don’t need the sun in the sky, warmth in the air or rain in the soil. All it takes to perk up these folks is a love for and commitment to Northfield’s artists.

Jill Enestvedt (pictured) was coaxed out of “retirement” to provide leadership for the fourth annual celebration of art in our community. She is joined this year by an energetic and creative group that includes Nick Sinclair (Grezzo Gallery), Liz Carpentier (The Art Store), Jessica Paxton (digs), Ally Beyer (Rare Pair), Wendy Smith (the Zillionaires) and Rachel Haider (the Arts Guild).

The “10 Days of the Arts” runs from August 2nd to August 12th this year. They’ve got some exciting new ideas to link the studios with the galleries and the galleries with the cafes. There are also new programs planned for this year, some geared to children and some geared to adults.

The ArtSwirl “task force” meets the 4th Tuesday of every month from 6 to 7 pm at Tiny’s Dogs All Day. The next meeting is March 27th.

A matter of some importance to the NDDC is this summer’s Streetscape projects. Late Monday afternoon, NDDC representatives met with Northfield’s Director of Public Services, Joel Walinski, to discuss these projects.

It was our understanding that this year’s Streetscape projects would include the completion of the Library Plaza’s paved crosswalk, an additional paved crosswalk on south Division Street, and substantial infrastructure replacement on 5th Street. The NDDC is advocating for some parking lot screening (it’s not just aesthetics, we believe that it helps visitors to locate parking), way-finding signage (we’ve got the information and the time, let’s install some signs) and some (limited) tree replacement.

That guy Joel is good; we found out that he’s already on it.

The plan is to do some example projects for the parking lot screening (along the lines of the pictured design used at the Municipal Liquor Store lot) for the “Horseshoe Lot” at Highway 3 and 3rd. There is also a goal of doing approximately 4 “test models” of the way-finding signage this summer to see how the designs actually work “in the field”. Finally, although Joel said that the tree replacement is expensive and is best included in larger projects, he is going to look at the trees that are missing, destroyed or out of control and consider some limited replacement.

As was the case last summer, the NDDC is going to work closely with business owners and city staff in an effort to limit economic distruption resulting from the Streetscape projects. Watch this website for more information.