Background
Since 2005 the City of Hopkins has been working in partnership with Hennepin County, Hopkins School District, and other stakeholders to form a collaborative to address community concerns in the Blake Road Corridor. A lot of progress has been made including youth summer programming, increased police presence, and the creation of multiple Neighborhood Watch groups.
The Stakeholder Collaborative raised enough money to fund increased police patrols, youth summer programming, and an extensive community assessment carried out by the Wilder Foundation. The goals of the assessment were to clarify community concerns, identify long-term solutions for those concerns, and inform a plan to engage and empower stakeholders. Completed in April 2008, the assessment utilized interviews with residents, an online survey, focus groups and other research tools.
All of these efforts were important steps toward stabilizing the community in the short-run, and the Wilder Foundation Community Assessment has now provided the City with guidance on how to support and bolster those efforts so that community improvements continue and are maintained.
Redevelopment & Revitalization
Redevelopment in the Blake Rd Corridor is inevitable. Land costs and other market conditions, as well as future Light Rail Transit (LRT) in the area will attract higher intensity development. The City of Hopkins is preparing for future redevelopment by updating its Comprehensive Plan and guiding certain sites toward Transit-Oriented-Development.
Important Dates
December 3, 2008—6 pm
Creekwood Estates, 1328 Lake St N
The third public meeting for the Blake Road Corridor Small Area Plan is now scheduled! Please join us at Creekwood Estates’ Community Room. We will look at a preferred concept plan for the Blake Road Corridor based on all the information gathered to date. This is your last chance to provide input for the plan – let your voice be heard!
January 2009
Blake Rd Corridor Small Area Plan complete
This spring, the City received $40,000 from Hennepin County for a plan for the corridor and the City contributed an additional $10,000. In July the City, along with Hennepin County, selected Hay Dobbs (www.haydobbs.com) to complete the Blake Rd Corridor Small Area Plan. This plan seeks to continue the impressive record of community participation in the corridor—please check out the community calendar to stay involved.
Southwest LRT
The County continues to plan for the Southwest transitway that is currently expected by 2015. This has a big impact on the Blake Rd Corridor because one of the three Hopkins LRT stations will be in the corridor. The Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority currently owns 1002 2nd St NE, where 43 Hoops is located. This site is the planned location of the Blake Rd LRT Station. The County, in partnership with St. Louis Park, Hopkins, Minnetonka, and Eden Prairie, is managing two major processes in the development of the Southwest LRT line:
- Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS)
The DEIS is an evaluation of the potential environmental impacts of the proposed Southwest LRT line and will make stakeholders aware of those alternatives when deciding the future of the line. Public meetings for the DEIS will likely be occurring in September 2008—check out www.southwesttransitway.org for more details and meeting dates. - Station Area Master Planning
This process will look in more detail at Station locations, design, access, and surrounding land uses and connections. These details are very similar to the small area plan work being done in the Blake Rd Corridor. Because these processes are so similar, the Station Area Master Planning for the Blake Rd Station and the Blake Rd Corridor Small Area Plan will share some community meetings and discussions.
Other Physical Improvements For The Corridor
The City applied for a Hennepin County Transit Oriented Development grant in the amount of $468,221 in February 2008 to build sidewalks on Blake Rd, also known as County Rd 20. On July 22, 2008, the County awarded the City a portion of that award, $245,000, to construct sidewalks where they are most needed on Blake Rd.
The City has applied for Metropolitan Council Livable Communities Demonstration Account (LCDA) funds to purchase and demolish the two duplexes that separate the Park from Blake Rd. This would be the first phase in a plan to expand the Park to have both street frontage on Blake Rd and access to Minnehaha Creek. Future phases of this plan will be detailed in the Blake Rd Corridor Small Area Plan.
Questions?
Questions? Contact Tara Beard, 952-548-6343 or tbeard@hopkinsmn.com.