Bemidji Downtown Revitalization Underway

A facelift in Downtown Bemidji will begin this spring with the implementation of the Bemidji Downtown Revitalization Project.  The City was successful in its efforts to access grant funds from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.  The award of more than $600,000 will be used to help finance the renovation of eighteen commercial buildings and twenty affordable rental housing units.  HRDC staff will provide general oversight for the project, and Bi-CAP will administer the rehabilitation activities.

The City of Bemidji, Bemidji Township, and Northern Township have been working together for the past three years to fundamentally change the way each entity does business when it comes to land use planning in the community.  Initially, the three jurisdictions adopted an annexation and joint service delivery agreement for the area which decoupled the issues of annexation and service extensions.  The orderly annexation agreement specified areas to be annexed into the City of Bemidji over a fifteen year period, along with a couple of areas to be unincorporated.  In March of 2007 the Joint Planning Board adopted a Land Use Plan, Zoning Ordinance, Subdivision Regulations and Shoreland Management Regulations for the entire 72 square mile jurisdiction. 

The Greater Bemidji Area Zoning Ordinance can be viewed here.

The Joint Planning Commission held its first formal meeting on April 26 initiating a new era in local land use planning.  With the administration of the ordinance now underway, the real test lies ahead as the three jurisdictions respond collaboratively to the most pressing community planning issues.  HRDC staffed both phases of this innovative project.

The Bagley community has a passionate interest in the future of Lake Lomond Park.  HRDC staff has been working with a local task force to help create a vision for the future design of the park, including both uses and facilities.  The task force has identified a number of existing attributes that it desires to maintain, and a number of improvements that should be considered to help make the park better meet the needs of the community.  In addition to the general park improvements, the task force is discussing options for the development of a multiple-use structure which could house a number of local organizations including a new library, City Hall, and Senior Center.  HRDC has contracted with Widseth Smith Nolting to provide site design and building design assistance.

Last year Beltrami County developed a County-wide Park and Trails Plan that was seen as a model for the rest of the state.  The County found a way to design a system that minimized conflicts between uses and that was able to meet the demands of a variety of user groups.

What will it do for an encore?  Beltrami County is now undertaking an ambitious second phase that will result in specific designs and capital improvement programs for each of its six parks. These plans will be used to both target local resources and leverage state and federal funding.  One example of this effort is displayed to the right in the design for Rognlien Park, and Park South of Wilton on Grant Lake.

For more information on this effort, contact John Winter of the Beltrami County Natural Resources Department, or Tony Mayer of the Headwaters RDC.

The Park Rapids community is blessed with abundance of natural resources.  Fishhook Lake borders the community on the north, and Fishhook River bisects the town from north to south.

These resources also provide Park Rapids with almost unlimited opportunity to develop a showcase system of parks.  After years of maintaining the status quo, the City of Park Rapids is committed to making investments in each of the City’s parks.

The first step in this process is to develop specific plans for each park and the system as a whole.  In addition, the City will develop a trail system plan that will connect all parks and the community’s major activity centers.

“We’re excited to have a roadmap for the City’s investments in its parks and trails”, stated Nancy Carroll, Mayor of Park Rapids.  “The plan will help us use our own resources wisely, and will also give us the opportunity to leverage outside investment in the system.”

For more information you can contact Brian Weuve, Park Rapids City Administrator, or Cliff Tweedale of the Headwaters RDC.