The 38th Street and Chicago Avenue Small Area / Corridor Framework Plan

Participants sharing their ideas at the Plan’s Kick-Off Workshop.

A proposed cross section for Chicago Avenue near 38th Street.

Massing study for one of the project area intersections.

The phases of this project

• Phase 1 (2004-2005): We are hired by Minnesota Renaissance Initiative (MRI) to begin work on "Reimagining 38th and Chicago"
• Phase 2 (2005-2006): PPNA and Bancroft hire us to develop the 38th Street and Chicago Avenue Community Development Vision. This vision document is approved by all four area neighborhoods.
• Phase 3 (2006-2007): PPNA, Bancroft, Bryant and Central neighborhoods and the Business Association fund the development of the Small Area / Corridor Framework Plan to turn the Community Development Vision into reality.
• The Plan is approved by the Minneapolis City Council on March 21 2008.

On March 21 2008 the Minneapolis City Council unanimously voted to approve the 38th Street and Chicago Avenue Small Area / Corridor Framework Plan. The Plan, prepared for four central-city Minneapolis neighborhoods with a combined population of 23,000 people, will be incorporated into the City's new Comprehensive Plan and help guide City of Minneapolis policies for the area.

This Plan is the culmination of a three year partnership between Community Design Group, area neighborhood, citizen, and business associations, and the City of Minneapolis, and is the result of a project that began as an initiative formed by residents, business owners and civic leaders interested in increasing access to economic opportunity and improving the area of and around 38th Stret and Chicago Avenue in South Minneapolis.

The Plan seeks to support the continued improvement of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue as "vital corridors and places in our City ... hubs for prosperous, inviting, healthy, safe and artful communities, unique places and destinations where people connect with each other and have the opportunity to grow and develop socially, artistically, economically and ethically."

A placemaking and economic development blueprint, the Plan provides specific recommendations for improvement for the several "urban systems," or interrelated planning and policy spheres that, taken together, make up people's experience of and vision for the project area, including recommendations for land use, transportation, economic development, housing and urban design, among others.

Additionally, the Plan features a prominent arts-based community development component, and is one of the first small area plans submitted to the City of Minneapolis that includes specific consideration of the relationship between the built environment and community health.

Resources

• City of Minneapolis Plan Website:
  www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/planning/chicago-38.asp
• Download a copy of the Plan (PDF) >

Contact: