The City of Rogers is a prosperous and growing community in northern Hennepin County, with a population of 13,150 residents. The city has grown rapidly, almost quadrupling in size since 2000, when its population was 3,600. Its downtown area is generally characterized by auto-oriented development with disconnected buildings, large parking lots, and low walkability, though it also includes a small finer-grained district with pedestrian-scaled storefronts, sidewalk-fronting buildings and historic façades. It currently lacks several key characteristics that could strengthen its role as an organizing force for the city’s development and as an economic engine for furthering the city’s prosperity.
CDG developed a plan that leverages Downtown’s existing assets and strengthens the city’s “sense of place” while building a foundation for development / redevelopment that could take place in future years - a process where deciding what to protect, what to encourage and what to discourage are powerful and lasting markers for orienting Downtown’s future evolution.
CDG's work in this project included:
- Developing a set of Urban Design Guidelines to guide development and rehabilitation in the Downtown
- Leveraging Downtown’s current historic assets by evaluating façades and identifying needs and costs to restore buildings and historic storefronts
- Developing a toolkit for active downtown uses oriented to the needs of Downtown Rogers
- Updating the city’s zoning regulations pertaining to placemaking opportunities and provide implementation strategies and regulatory recommendations to implement these changes
The plan was adopted by the Rogers City Council in March 2021.