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Commissioner urges greening of unused Lake and Hiawatha parking to ready site for development
Summary
Commissioner Lundy urged the HRA to prepare the undeveloped parcels for future development by converting underused parking to green space and addressing environmental readiness; the chair also suggested urban agriculture and noted ongoing heat-island mapping of formerly redlined neighborhoods.
Commissioner Lundy told the board that preparing the site now will improve future development outcomes and recommended conversion of unused parking to green space to make parcels development-ready and to provide neighborhood amenities while the HRA markets the sites. "If we're waiting a couple years, it provides an amenity to the neighborhoods to have actual green space that people can use," Lundy said.
The chair echoed interest in interim green uses and noted Hennepin and Ramsey Counties are conducting heat-island mapping that makes greening efforts particularly relevant in formerly redlined neighborhoods. Commissioners discussed that proactive site preparation could reduce environmental unknowns and make the parcels more attractive to developers who must consider cleanup and site-readiness costs.
