Thursday, May 2, 2013
Duluth City Council, Downtown Development Authority informally agree on ambitious timeline for seeking, selecting developers for retail/entertainment district and residential neighborhood downtown.
With the blessing of the Downtown Development Authority, the City of Duluth plans to proceed with an ambitious timeline for requesting qualifications and selecting developers for a proposed retail and dining district and a high-quality residential neighborhood in two downtown locations. In a joint work session April 29, the Duluth City Council and the DDA informally agreed to authorize city staff to issue a RFQ (request for qualifications) seeking interested developers. Later, the city would issue an RFP (request for proposals) to qualified developers. Duluth Planning Director James Riker explained the two-step process and presented the timeline at the joint work session in the Community Room at Duluth City Hall. The two locations are …
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Letter from board informs friends and patrons that the City of Duluth has other plans for the space the theater occupies. The theater leases space from the city.
New Dawn Theater in Duluth is looking for a place to relocate. According to a letter from the theater’s board to friends and supporters, the theater is planning to leave its location on Main Street in downtown Duluth no later than early January 2014 because the City of Duluth has other plans for the space it occupies. The city is involved in a revitalization effort with an initial focus on creating a downtown dining and nightlife district in the Old City Hall Block, now called The Block, where the theater is located. The theater leases the space at a discounted rate on a month-to-month basis from the city, which owns the block. A copy of the later was emailed Monday (April 8) to Duluth Patch by New Dawn Theater President/Artistic Director …
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Duluth City Council reviews two proposals for widening downtown sidewalks to allow more outdoor dining and other activities.
Two different proposed plans for widening the elevated brick sidewalk and modifying parking in front of some Main Street businesses were reviewed by the Duluth City Council in work session Monday (March 25). Both plans prepared by city staff would eliminate the brick triangular points that jut out into the 18 existing vertical parking spaces in front of businesses fronting on Main Street from The Farmhouse Home Décor & Gifts to Trish Land. One plan would create 12 parallel parking spaces (22 feet by 10 feet). The other would eliminate parking in front of these stores. The plan that allows the parallel parking spaces would have an 11-foot upper sidewalk and a lower four-foot sidewalk. The plan that eliminates parking spaces has a 20- to 21-…
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Duluth City Council votes to enter into agreement with Morris & Fellows to prepare plans for downtown redevelopment.
Duluth’s plans to revitalize downtown moved forward with the city council’s vote Monday (March 11) to enter into an agreement with Morris & Fellows to provide professional services for redevelopment planning. The agreement prepared by city staff and the city attorney authorizes the expenditure of up to $150,000 for the consulting firm to prepare land use recommendations, transportation and utility plans, urban design, landscaping, signage, and a marketing plan. Cheri Morris, president of the Sandy Springs-based company, outlined a plan at a joint meeting of the Duluth City Council and Downtown Development Authority Monday Dec. 17 that would initially focus on redevelopment Old City Hall Block, now referred to as “The Block,” but also …
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
City officials, merchants, building owners and citizens gather in downtown Duluth to view proposed changes.
A mock-up of downtown Duluth improvements, including a widened upper sidewalk and a new lower sidewalk in front of Main Street shops and a “bump-out” in front of Steverino’s patio, stimulated discussion Monday (Feb. 18) morning between city officials, merchants, building owners, and citizens. The improvements are being proposed to make downtown more pedestrian-friendly and improve shopper accessibility to stores as part of revitalization efforts. Adding three more sets of stairs from the street level to the upper sidewalk would result in a total of five. The widened upper sidewalk, which would be created by filling in the brick triangles that protrude in front of some of the stores, would allow for expanded outdoor dining, vendor displays…
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
City officials to demonstrate proposed changes to Main Street in Duluth starting at 10 a.m. Monday, Feb. 18, in front of Steverino's.
Proposed sidewalk and parking changes on Main Street in downtown Duluth will be demonstrated using visual materials next Monday, Feb. 18. Most downtown merchants are closed on Mondays. It’s also President’s Day. City officials are calling it “Practice Day.” The changes are being considered by the Duluth City Council to complement the proposed revitalization of downtown. Potential changes include widening the elevated brick sidewalk that runs in front of some Main Street stores by filling in the projecting triangles, adding a lower sidewalk, and turning the vertical parking slots into parallel spaces. The mock-up will be available for viewing starting at 10 a.m. Monday in front of Steverinos’s, City Manager Tim Shearer announced. “The city …
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Duluth Downtown Development Authority hears, discusses plans to facilitate downtown revitalization, increase visibility.
Building a wall along the edge and widening the elevated sidewalk in front of stores on Main Street in downtown Duluth is being contemplated, according Duluth City Manager Tim Shearer. This change would eliminate the triangles that jut out between parking spaces. Steps would be added to improve access for shoppers from the street to the stores, he said. Widening the sidewalk would provide more space for outdoor dining, artist demonstrations and vendor merchandising as part of the city’s plans to revitalize downtown, Shearer told Downtown Duluth Development Authority members at their Tuesday night (Jan. 15) meeting. Turning the 18 parking spaces in front of the elevated sidewalk into parallel rather than vertical spaces is also being …
Faye Edmundson
3:28 pm on Thursday, May 2, 2013
Gentlemen: Stick to the issues. No personal insults. more ›