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minnesota.uli.org 6 Focus on placemaking on and around the site With a stable shopping center, city owned land, and a good partnership with the senior housing developer, the biggest opportunity right now is placemaking around the site to position it for when redevelopment opportunities arrive. Investing in improvements to the public realm not only improves the experience for existing users and the community but has the added benefit of signaling to the market that the City is committed to the district’s future. The panel identified several possible placemaking opportunities the City may wish to consider. • Create welcoming entry points to the Gateway South District The clearest opportunity for this lies at the southwestern corner on the bank-owned parcel where Lowry Avenue meets Kenzie Terrace. Turning this site into a pleasant green space that welcomes visitors to St. Anthony can help transform the arrival experience to the area. A similar approach would be ideal at the meeting points of Kenzie Terrace, Hwy 88, and St. Anthony Boulevard, but the panel recognizes this may be more difficult with the already-successful Village Pub on site and facing inward away from the road. • Pursue an improved public realm and streetscaping, especially at Kenzie Terrace The study area is bordered on both the west and east by high capacity roads with fast-moving automobile traffic, a design challenge that can make the Gateway South District feel like an isolated island rather than a destination. The panel recognizes that changes to New Brighton Boulevard are unlikely for the foreseeable future, but Kenzie Terrace presents real opportunity. The current configuration of Kenzie seems overbuilt for its traffic volume and is adjacent and connected to residential areas that would be likely users of retail in the area. A reconfigured, calmed Kenzie Terrace with fewer and/or narrow lanes, wide sidewalks, and improved streetscaping would encourage pedestrian activity and improve quality of life for current and future residents within the Gateway South District and the surrounding neighborhoods. Improved bikeability should also be a priority for the area as a recreational amenity, commuting option, and a potential driver of retail trips. With the Minneapolis Diagonal Trail just across New Brighton Boulevard, the Gateway South District could be the ideal solution to the “missing link” of the Grand Rounds Scenic Byway, a project for which it might be possible to obtain regional, state or federal funding assistance. This connection could be accomplished via Kenzie Terrace or by using the existing rights of way in the site. • Preserve and improve existing rights of way It’s tempting when looking at large redevelopment opportunities to start from scratch or to vacate rights of way to make things easier, but the panel sees value in the existing rights of way within Gateway South. For example, Pentagon Drive today is fronted on its northeastern side by the existing St. Anthony Shopping Center. With a complementary stretch of small storefront retail on the opposite side, it could create a “Main Street” type of experience while encouraging movement through the area instead of just around it. With the Hennepin County Library onsite, it already possesses community-oriented civic space, which could be enhanced further if the library was interested in an expanded or renewed presence. “Without demolishing everything, you could create a small "main street" on Pentagon Drive from Kenzie to New Brighton Boulevard. Reskin the existing building to better orient to the space with angle parking on both sides of a narrow, two lane street.” TAP Chair Michael Fischer, LHB, Inc.