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St. Croix Valley Development Design Study

St. Croix Valley Region, Minnesota and Wisconsin
Workshop Base map with different land use chips placed by community participants. They also freely drew their concepts on the maps.
The St. Croix Valley region, which spans the Minnesota/ Wisconsin border just east of the Twin Cities, is facing increasing growth and development pressure.
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Click to see BEFORE and AFTER shots
Outward development from the Twin Cities region, including major highway improvements, threatens the predominantly rural and small town character of the Valley, and is placing increasing pressure on the land on and around the St. Croix River. Projections for job and household growth in the St. Croix Valley anticipate an almost 50% increase in the number of households by 2020, from about 100,000 to about 150,000.

The St. Croix Valley Development Design Study explores ways to accommodate this growth and provides a range of development options for communities in the St. Croix Valley. To help shape growth in a way that is cost-efficient for taxpayers, as well as appealing to local residents, the study gives community leaders, citizens and local government officials a chance to build a vision for how the St. Croix Valley should grow. Citizens in the study area were invited to participate in a regional workshop to solicit input on growth and development issues. Participants placed development type chips on base maps to create their own preferred growth scenario for the St. Croix Valley. The participants were challenged with placing the expected 2020 population increase for the study area on the workshop map.
To illustrate the potential for smart growth and walkable development in the study area, six "opportunity sites" on both the Minnesota and Wisconsin sides of the St. Croix River were selected for further study. These are sites or districts with real development potential, spanning a range of conditions, from older downtowns to rural countryside. The opportunity site designs are meant to illustrate innovative types of development that could also be applied to other communities in the St. Croix Valley. The study gives the opportunity site communities, and the region as a whole, ideas on how to apply 'smart growth' principles on the ground. It aims to show communities how they can develop in ways that are friendly to transit, pedestrians, and the environment - and that preserve their community character for coming generations.

View the entire document on-line at the Metropolitan Council's web site.
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A regional workshop encouraged public officials, residents, and other stakeholders in the St. Croix Valley to think about the effects of growth and the consequences of different development patterns. Workshop participants worked together in groups to come up with their preferred development scenario for the study area.
BEFORE condition - move mouse over image to see AFTER Photo simulation by Urban Advantage
This photo simulation of a street in Downtown North St. Paul, MN illustrates how infill development can effectively transform an underutilized and barren area into a walkable environment with a mix of uses and activities. Such development can serve to revitalize areas, and encourages more efficient use of land and infrastructure. The aerial photo diagram above provides a broader vision for Downtown North St. Paul, with an emphasis on infill and redevelopment potential.
The study area includes a variety of rich environmental and natural features, including land designated as part of the Lower St. Croix National Scenic Riverway. Development plans for the area must be sensitive to the varied landscape features of the Valley, and to the historic and rural character of the Valley's cities and towns.