Downtown Robbinsdale within the context of the region

Traditionally, the downtown areas of small towns, even those that have been eventually "swallowed up" by larger metro areas have been associated with a high quality of life. There is a sense of place and opportunities for social interaction have not found in most auto-dominated outer-ring suburban communities.

Robbinsdale, Minnesota existed as a free-standing growth area until about the 1950's. West Broadway originally served as the "Main Street" for the Downtown. While West Broadway has relied on the patronage of its surrounding neighborhoods, its broad "product mix" has helped to draw customers from nearby Golden Valley, New Hope, Crystal, Brooklyn Center and north Minneapolis. West Broadway, along with adjacent Town Center Mall and Robin Center strip mall, has experienced significant competition from Brookdale Mall (in Brooklyn Center) and Crystal’s shopping areas. Nevertheless, West Broadway has evolved into a legitimate shopping "center" for a very large portion of the northwest metro area of the Twin Cities, while maintaining its older charm.

In large part, this is due to West Broadway’s accessibility and historical shopping patterns. However, one necessary attribute of enduring successful downtowns is atmosphere: the appearance of unity, complementary shopping goods and services, and amenities (such as pedestrian convenience) that provide a safe, clean, and esthetically pleasing environment.

In 1993, the City of Robbinsdale commissioned Hyett-Palma (of Alexandria, Va.) to do a market study for the Downtown. The consultant’s main recommendation was that Robbinsdale’s best asset was our traditional, historic West Broadway . . . or rather what was left of it. They challenged us to rebuild, to infill, to increase the density of nearby residential, to add new stores and services to the "hometown" mix we already had. They said we shouldn’t try to "out suburb" the suburbs. "Hometown" is our market niche.

The Robbinsdale City Council and Economic Development Authority endorsed this direction as the linchpin of the City’s "Economic Development Strategy." The strategy has four main features:

• Business Enhancement and Retention
• Business Recruitment, Clustering, Creation
• Real Estate Enhancement and Development
• Marketing and Management

The key objectives of the Economic Enhancement Strategy are:

• Position Downtown as the community historical retail center
• Cultivate distinctive physical character
• Enhance existing business
• Attract new business with complementary infill
• Promote cooperative efforts amongst businesses
• Develop a focus for each of the three Downtown districts:              

The REDA works in partnership with Downtown businesses, property owners, and lenders (Citizens Independent Bank – Robbinsdale, US Bank – Robbinsdale, and other area banks and lenders who have clients in Robbinsdale). Financial assistance is provided to businesses that would like to make exterior building improvements such as facade reconstruction, new awnings and signs, and paving/landscaping of parking lots. Interior improvements, fixed assets, and building expansions are also considered. Emphasis of the program is on projects that attract new customers to Robbinsdale’s Downtown and that strengthen local business capacity. REDA assistance includes the following: $500 Design Services Grant $2,500 Façade and Landscaping Grant $100,000 Rehabilitation Loan (5-point interest buy-down) Also, REDA itself may consider loaning rehabilitation funds, and may consider loans that exceed the $100,000 limit on this program. These applications would be considered on a case-by-case basis, with the focus being on the public benefits of taking such action. In the past, the public benefits have involved reuse of REDA-owned land and buildings and projects that addressed objectives identified in the Comprehensive Plan or in the annual Goals and Objectives adopted by either the City or the REDA.

While the REDA has no specific program to facilitate the development of new infill buildings, the REDA commissioners are open to proposals from developers who bring equity and private financing to the table and seek gap financial assistance, consistent with tax increment requirements.