Downtown Courtyard Gets City Nod

Downtown Duluth shoppers will have a courtyard to rest their feet and restaurant patrons a place to wait for tables when the Community Volunteer League turns a pocket parking lot on West Lawrenceville Street into an inviting garden courtyard.

The parking lot lies next to and behind Main Street shops in the Old City Hall Block. The city owns the property.

The on Jan. 9 approved revised plans for the courtyard with conditions developed during several months of discussion at meetings of the Duluth Downtown Development Association and council work sessions. The Community Volunteer League, led by DDA Secretary Shelly Howard, serves as an arm of the DDA. The league plans to create the courtyard with volunteer labor and donated materials.

The city prohibited the league from disturbing the land underneath the parking lot to avoid disrupting utility lines beneath the surface. Instead the league plans to cover the asphalt with pavers. Chief Randy Belcher reviewed the courtyard plans and allayed the council’s concerns about lighting and safety.

Revised Baker Land Design plans for the courtyard show a gazebo, a significant tree, plants, and benches. The tree will be contained in a planter so as not to disturb the land.

Community Volunteer League member Stacie Stamper said after Monday night’s council meeting that the league plans to start work on the courtyard in March or April. The project should only take about a month to complete, Stamper said. The league aims to have it complete for the city’s Barefoot in the Park Arts Festival in early May, she said.

Several conditions were imposed by the city council on the courtyard project:

• The improvements shall be considered temporary and removed at the request of the city if the Old City Hall Block is redeveloped.
• The Community Volunteer League shall be responsible for installing and maintaining the courtyard and caring for the plant materials.
• The courtyard shall be considered public space and monitored for safety and security.
• No merchant shall display materials, merchandise or signage within the courtyard.
• Any future changes to the courtyard shall be submitted to the city for approval.
• City staff shall review the courtyard 30 to 90 days after completion to make sure it meets criteria.

In addition, parking spaces in front of the courtyard shall be eliminated and instead cross hatched to serve as a loading zone for businesses.