The Two Rivers Community Development Department is providing an idea of what a former factory site could look like in the future.
Director Jeff Sachse presented three different development site models for the former Hamilton Property to the city council last night during their work session.
He first recapped all the work done during the four previous community vision meetings involving residents.
Sachse then showed the residents what they wanted to see on the site based on their input. It could include a mix of businesses, green space, and especially water access.
Council Members Adam Wachowski and Katherine Dahlke had concerns, with Wachowski opposed to another park on the city’s south side.
“We are very heavily parked on the south side of town,” he stated. “And quite frankly I think we’ve got a good use of parks throughout the our district. And then to have another park there will increase staff. The need to cut grass and maintain, I don’t know if that is the right spot for a park.”
Dahlke is concerned about adding a hotel with a conference center, citing other area cities having trouble filling rooms.
Sachse then presented three renderings with varying densities of buildings relative to green space.
The low-density model reflects the community, with more residential and less commercial space and more open land.
Medium-density would have more business spaces and some residential space, while the high-density model would have a mix of commercial and office building spaces, with some residential.
Following the presentation, Sachse tells SeehaferNews.com that it’s all about balance.
“Every concept has more buildable square footage committed to commercial use than residential,” he explained. “Where again, regardless of the concept that the public is going to be looking at, there are fewer housing units intended on the property under each concept than I think the public feared.”
Starting next week, the city will release another community survey that will include prioritizing the three density concepts and the likes and dislikes of each.
There will also be public voting open until August 14th.
Sachse hopes residents will take this seriously.
“It is really the best chance that the public has to influence what happens here,” he expressed. “Because if the public, for example, is really adamant about some kind of fast-casual restaurant on the site, then those are my marching orders. Then I need to go and try and sell the site to those retailers.”
There will also be public meetings coming up in July and August about the renderings.
The city has been working with the community since February as they look to redevelop the 14-acre site that used to be home to Hamilton Manufacturing.
