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<br />32 <br /> <br />Focus Areas <br /> <br />The City has identified a number of potential redevelopment areas that relate to the future land use <br />plan. The illustrations below are intended to highlight those areas to determine the range of <br />potential redevelopment land uses, and the capacity of those areas for redevelopment. The sketch <br />plans are provided as illustrations only, and do not suggest or endorse any particular pattern of <br />development. <br /> <br />Focus Area: Rice Street and Little <br />Canada Road <br />The City has been engaged for a number <br />of years in promoting redevelopment <br />and enhancement of the Rice <br />Street/Little Canada Road area, <br />including both improvements to public <br />space and renovation or redevelopment <br />of private property. <br />The land uses in the area have been <br />dominated by commercial retail, <br />hospitality, and professional office <br />facilities, much of which has been in <br />place since the 1950s or 1960s. <br />Senior residential development flanks <br />the commercial uses on the east edge of <br />the district. The largest building in the <br />district is the Marketplace, a retail <br />building of more than 100,000 square <br />feet in floor area. The facility has <br />undergone a variety of renovations over <br />the years but suffers from low visibility. <br />The original shopping center site has been divided to accommodate a series of separate <br />developments on underutilized land or excess parking. <br />At the center of the district, a series of commercial uses, including professional office space and <br />entertainment dominate. Most of these buildings have little presentation to Little Canada Road, <br />which the City has actively sought to add streetscape improvements along with the development <br />of open space between the roadway and Round Lake. Redevelopment of the area would benefit <br />from revitalized commercial space, particularly development that would continue the pattern along <br />Little Canada Road established by the Villages development at Rice Street. <br />This area could accommodate additional housing, particularly senior housing which has already <br />established a successful presence. More than 150 additional senior units are shown in the attached <br />illustration. City officials have also discussed the potential for “town square” type open spaces in <br />Figure 1: Aerial of Proposed Plan for Rice St and Little Canada Rd