The Myth of the Instant Main Street

Suburban sprawl continues to advance in Minnesota and elsewhere. But for a number of good reasons, most having to do with the drawbacks of automobiles, sprawl has gone distinctly out of fashion as the model for real estate development. Environmental concerns, overcrowded roads, and the rising price of gasoline all argue in favor of greater density—communities designed so that people can be less dependent on their cars. The "new urbanism," typified by higher-density, pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use projects—developments that concentrate retail, office, and residential space in the same area—is very much in vogue.

In principle, the idea appeals not only to city planners but to many real estate developers. Land prices escalated dramatically for years before the recent slowdown, and the values placed on land zoned for different purposes have drawn closer together, says Chris Winter, senior project manager for Mortenson Development, Inc., of Minneapolis. "It makes less difference today what [kind of project] you're doing or whether the property is zoned as residential or commercial," Winter says. "To make [financial] sense of it, you need increased density."

But denser in what way, exactly? That is the question, local developers say, over which they find themselves butting heads with city councils and community planners all around the metropolitan area.

"An untold number of projects are being proposed in the Twin Cities area with retail below and housing above—in locations where retail will not work."

As many developers see it, officials in practically every suburb and exurb surrounding the Twin Cities now seem wedded to a particular vision, remarkable for its consistency. Kelly Doran, owner of commercial development firm Doran Companies in Bloomington, calls it a "one-size-fits- all mentality."

The developers' complaint boils down to this: Show us a multi-acre parcel of land, be it a greenfield site or a failing strip mall that cries out for renewal, and we will show you a group of suburban officials who know exactly what the site ought to contain: a mixed-use development or "lifestyle center" that will serve as an instant downtown for a bedroom community that grew up without one.

Popular models—examples to which communities point and say, "We want that"—include the 50th and France area in Edina and the newer Excelsior and Grand project in St. Louis Park. The trouble arises, developers charge, when communities are determined to follow these models regardless of the economic and demographic realities specific to a particular site.

Michele Foster, vice president of development for Minneapolis real estate management and development company CSM Corporation, summarizes the characteristics of the common vision: Street-level boutique shops and restaurants are topped by office space and, ideally, apartments or condominiums, so that locals can live, work, and shop without having to climb into their cars. Instead of sprawling asphalt parking lots, there are vertical ramps—or, better yet, angled parking spaces along a new Main Street to provide a small-town ambiance. The area is "pedestrian-friendly" and nicely landscaped, with plentiful green space.