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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
City of Duluth Communications Office
Mayor Roger J. Reinert
411 West First Street • Duluth, Minnesota 55802 • www.duluthmn.gov
For more information, please call 218-730-5309
DATE: 9/28/2011
SUBJECT: Community Invited to Set Vision for Duluth's Future
BY: Pakou Ly, Public Information Coordinator

 

Community Invited to Set Vision for Duluth’s Future
 
[Duluth, MN] – Look around Duluth and success is evident in the revitalized entertainment district along East Superior Street, implementation of Duluth’s new land-use zoning regulations passed by the Duluth City Council in August 2010, and many completed and planned housing, commercial, retail and infrastructure investments in the downtown and Hillside neighborhoods. Duluth’s public and private leaders have infused the city with strategic investments, built effective private-public partnerships, and implemented innovative redevelopments of ailing storefronts and older buildings.
 
The public is invited to attend an open forum on Monday, October 3rd from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. at the Greysolon Plaza’s Moorish Room to celebrate successes, review current projects and initiatives that impact the downtown, Hillside, and eastern waterfront areas and consider what steps are necessary to continue building on the momentum of creativity, commitment, and revitalization that has already taken place.
 
In 2005, in a highly competitive process, the Knight Program in Community Building at the University of Miami (Florida) School of Architecture selected Duluth for its annual Charrette, an intensive weeklong public design workshop. Co-sponsored by the City and Duluth Local Initiatives Support Corporation (Duluth LISC), the purpose of the Charrette was to develop a vision and plan for the revitalization of the East Downtown and adjacent Hillside and Waterfront areas of Duluth. Now, six years later, the community has accomplished many of the recommendations that addressed zoning regulations, housing developments, and connectivity. The city has experienced a resurgence of vitality but now is the time to acknowledge our successes and also plan for the next phase of development in the area. 
 
"Over the past six years we have seen substantial private investment in Old Downtown and the Plaza Business District. We want to continue this momentum in our entire downtown waterfront district. Through creative planning and celebrating our successes, we hope to inspire even greater private investment in the years to come," said Mayor Don Ness.
 
On October 2nd – 4th, the City of Duluth, Duluth LISC and other community partners will once again host a group of national experts convened by the University of Miami School of Architecture’s Community Building Program, including three who participated in the 2005 Charrette, to listen to the stories of progress and change over the past six years to better understand and make recommendations about the challenges that face the area in its next stage of development. 
 
According to Pam Kramer, Executive Director of Duluth LISC, “The 2005 Charrette brought citizens and key stakeholders together to create a common vision for the east downtown, Hillside and waterfront. Working together, Duluth has accomplished a lot in the last six years. The key principles and new tools, such as the form-based code, that derived from the Charrette are sound. Now is the time to recognize and celebrate those accomplishments, and to take the next steps. We’re particularly interested in exploring increased partnerships with local medical and higher education institutions, the potential for arts-based revitalization, and connectivity between our neighborhoods and to the Lake.”
 
The initiative is funded in part by the Community Opportunity Fund and the Knight Fund of the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation, the Duluth Economic Development Authority, Minnesota Power, and Duluth LISC with the support of the Greater Downtown Council, The City of Duluth, The Sheraton Duluth Hotel, LHB, Greysolon Plaza by Black Woods, the AIA Northern Minnesota, and the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.
 
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