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West Side Gateway Legacy Project

By Robert Craft  ·  March 04, 2020
04
March 2020

POSTPONED To the FALL OF 2020

CNU UPDATE: Due to the various recommendations for shelter-in-place and restrictions on non-essential travel related to the outbreak of COVID-19, the CNU 28.Twin Cities Legacy Projects have been postponed. New dates will be announced once regular business travel has resumed.

Each year, in conjunction with its annual Congress, CNU (the Congress for the New Urbanism) invites municipalities and neighborhood organizations within the Congress's host region to apply for pro-bono technical assistance from leading urban design firms. Each expert-led Congress Legacy Project is aimed at empowering local leaders, advocates, and residents in underserved communities to implement New Urbanist principles that help people and businesses in their communities thrive. Through public engagement and collaboration, CNU’s Legacy Projects strive to demonstrate the power of great urban design beyond the boundaries of each selected community, and targeted communities experience both short-term progress and long-lasting momentum.

The West Side was selected as one of the few recipients of a legacy project. This means, all eyes will be on the West Side from a national standpoint! 

Join us at 88 Cesar Chavez - 6 - 9 PM on date TBA to participate in the community discussion. Discussion continues 9 AM to 9 PM on Dates TBA, same location.

DISTRICT DEL SOL VIADUCT PLACEKEEPING AND COMMERCIAL REDEVELOPMENT

  • Sponsor: West Side Community Organization
  • Location: West Side, Saint Paul
  • Background: Saint Paul’s District del Sol is the heart of the West Side, and despite a vibrant local community, it has suffered disinvestment and vacancy in recent decades. From 2004-2014, more than 40 businesses closed and in the last 20 years, less than 5 percent of discretionary Saint Paul STAR funds were spent in the neighborhood. WSCO seeks to change that trajectory and create a vibrant and thriving neighborhood for all by improving the pedestrian experience and the public realm, and redeveloping a particularly challenging intersection in the neighborhood.
  • Goal: Develop a preliminary plan for placemaking / placekeeping, pedestrian improvements, and redevelopment priorities within a small but highly-visible commercial node.

What Is A Legacy Project?

To deepen the impact of our annual meeting and leave a lasting contribution to our host city, CNU provides on-the-ground pro bono design assistance to neighborhoods in conjunction with the Congress each year. Through our Legacy Projects, CNU recruits national design firms to work directly with local partners to leverage over $100,000 in professional design assistance per project. Legacy Projects are executed in neighborhoods that have experienced decades of disinvestment, have majority minority populations, or have been overlooked by mainstream planning and investment strategies. They bring real solutions to neighborhoods in a way that
values and taps into the lived experience of residents; facilitating engagement, discussion, problem-solving, and ultimately community buy-in for the final plans.

Designed to be a short and intense process, Legacy Projects condense the typical neighborhood design workshop into a three-day model with a heavy emphasis on community and stakeholder engagement. Each project is designed with a “start now” mentality, including implementation strategies that allow for change to be seen on-the-ground in as little as nine months. CNU Legacy Projects have an implementation rate of over 90%, shifting the narrative around planning and design in communities who often see professional, expensive plans shelved for decades.

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The West Side Community Organization powers the people of the West Side to work together to create a vibrant and thriving neighborhood for all. We envision a just, united, self-reliant and bold West Side where all our people a connected, safe, healthy and successful.
[email protected]  | 209 Page St. W. Saint Paul, MN 55107  |   (651) 293-1708
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West Side Community Orgaization
209 Page Street West
Saint Paul, MN 55107
(651) 293-1708
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