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Monroe unveils four concepts for newly acquired downtown lot; council asks for tighter concepts before public outreach
Summary
City staff and a consultant presented four concept options for the downtown parcel at Main and Blakely — from a festival lot to a mixed-use development and a small parking garage — and council generally favored a festival/activation approach while asking staff to refine concepts and return for further guidance before wide public engagement.
City staff and consultant Rowy Works presented four conceptual options on March 11 for a city-owned half-acre site at the northwest corner of Main and Blakely, and council members asked staff to refine the concepts and narrow the public-engagement materials before taking the ideas to the community.
The city purchased the adjacent bank and former chiropractor buildings in December 2023. Patrick Dougherty, the project presenter, said the site could become a festival lot, a 2-story parking garage with tenant space and plaza, or a multi-story mixed-use development with ground-floor retail and upper-floor housing. "The notion that had been brewing since, I think, the seventies was that, we might make such a purchase for a festival lot," Dougherty said.
Option details: the festival-lot concept has two variations: one…
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