Historic Harbor Renaissance - Tower

Tom H.
US Bank Plaza
Posts: 605
Joined: September 4th, 2012, 5:23 am

Historic Harbor Renaissance - Tower

Postby Tom H. » June 22nd, 2013, 1:29 pm

I'm up in the Soudan-Tower area for the week, and I took a walk this morning along the Mesabi Trail from Soudan to Tower. I was pleasantly surprised by the good urban bones (although, to be sure, missing teeth abound) that Tower has - a coffee shop, cafe, hotel, several shops, museum, bars, grocery store, post office, newspaper, and restaurants, all on a half-mile stretch of Main Street. There were even some occupied apartments above storefronts. I passed a half-dozen bikers and walkers on the trail, and there were several dozen pedestrians perusing Main Street as I walked along it.

Main Street is a little stroady (although re-striping could go a long way for little cost), but I was curious if the City had any plans for redevelopment or revitalization in town. Lo and behold, I found the Historic Harbor Renaissance project on the City's website. It's a little old (2007), a little basic (the Master Plan reads like an Urbanism 101 manual), and I'm not sure how serious the city is about implementing it, as it appears only one recommendation (a bridge) has been implemented so far.

If completed, though, I could see Tower becoming kind of a secondary Northwoods destination (behind Ely), offering some nice small-town charm along beautiful Lake Vermillion.

jbraski
Block E
Posts: 18
Joined: June 3rd, 2012, 6:14 pm

Re: Historic Harbor Renaissance - Tower

Postby jbraski » June 23rd, 2013, 8:26 pm

Wow, this a crazy coincidence! My family and I went up to Ely (from my parents place in Biwabik) to the Bear Center this past weekend and we stopped for lunch at the Good 'Ol Days Bar & Grill for lunch on Satuday. I noticed the billboard with the rendering as we drove back to the Range and was wondering what it was showing. Thanks for the post, Tom H.! I really hope they get going on this project and I hope you had a great week up North! :)

mattaudio
Stone Arch Bridge
Posts: 7752
Joined: June 19th, 2012, 2:04 pm
Location: NORI: NOrth of RIchfield

Re: Historic Harbor Renaissance - Tower

Postby mattaudio » June 24th, 2013, 8:39 am


MNdible
is great.
Posts: 5989
Joined: June 8th, 2012, 8:14 pm
Location: Minneapolis

Re: Historic Harbor Renaissance - Tower

Postby MNdible » June 24th, 2013, 8:58 am

I'm not saying this project is a good idea, but remember that there's IRRRB funding for economic development projects up there. I do think the expanded Vermillion State Park will have a real impact on this area.

Tom H.
US Bank Plaza
Posts: 605
Joined: September 4th, 2012, 5:23 am

Re: Historic Harbor Renaissance - Tower

Postby Tom H. » September 14th, 2013, 5:03 pm

In a related note, a sign along Main Street in Tower indicates that a half-block on the south side of the street is being redeveloped by the city. What makes this interesting is that the city is taking the parcel and subdividing it into eight 25-foot-wide parcels for individual buildings - minimum requirements are a 25'x60' building with at least 3,000 s.f. (2 stories). This is a development method that should be employed more often, in my opinion. Specifically, I think that extending the grid and platting out small lots would be an excellent technique for the Ford Plant site in St. Paul.

Here's the site that I'm talking about:
https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit? ... gfbfXyAuXA


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 13 guests