SRF Site Development - Master Planning

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Master Planning

Although every community has unique needs, they often have many challenges in common as well. These can include managing rapid growth, revitalizing neighborhoods, and encouraging transit oriented development (TOD). Planning for the short- and long-term future is an important part of responding to change, and comprehensive planning is an important element of this effort.

A comprehensive plan is a blueprint for a community to use in planning its future and a means of consolidating and carrying out the community’s vision. SRF’s approach to community planning integrates land use, transportation, recreation, urban design and the environment, with an eye on safety, funding and implementation. We develop creative solutions and practical strategies and solicit meaningful community input.

Landscape Architecture/Urban Design

Construction/Survey

Site Development

Funding Strategies and Assistance

Leading the Way

Heritage Park Redevelopment and Olson Memorial Highway Master Plan

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Located immediately northwest of downtown Minneapolis, the Heritage Park Neighborhood is a vital, amenity-rich, 900-unit urban neighborhood. SRF was retained by the City of Minneapolis to lead a team of 13 firms to develop a master plan for the public realm portion of the project. Following the principles of Context Sensitive Design (CSD), SRF and the planning team, along with the City of Minneapolis and the lead developer, led a public involvement process for the Heritage Park project. The planning team explored new solutions for the neighborhood that recognized and responded to the street network and housing styles in the adjacent older and historic neighborhoods.

The master plan addressed the following public realm elements to create a vibrant new neighborhood:

Circulation
Stormwater
Open space amenities
Utilities
Geotechnical

The infrastructure projects presented unique challenges due to existing soil conditions. To minimize soil corrections, parks and open spaces were planned for the areas with the worst soils. Street widths were kept as narrow as possible and other hardscape areas were carefully planned to minimize runoff. An innovative approach to stormwater management was taken to provide water quality treatment for hundreds of acres of existing drainage through the combined use of hydrodynamic separators, wet forebays, wet meadows, and infiltration/filtration areas prior to discharge leaving the site.

Award

2003 MASLA Award of Excellence for Planning

38th Street Station Area Transit Oriented Development Master Plan

Minneapolis, Minnesota

The City of Minneapolis sought consultant assistance as it considered the future of the area served by the 38th Street station on the Hiawatha LRT Line. SRF worked with City staff and a neighborhood-based steering committee to create a shared vision for the 38th Street station area, consistent with transit oriented development (TOD) planning principles.

The Station Area Master Plan identifies opportunities for enhancing the character, identity and economic vitality of the 38th Street LRT station area. The work includes identifying locations, priorities and guidelines for new housing and services; improving the character of the area; and creating a “sense of place.”

The end result of the 38th Street process draws on public opinion, land use planning expertise and market-demand analysis to shape a master plan for future development that focuses on land use, development intensities, critical public investments and change sites.

Daylighting Shingle Creek Framework Plan

Brooklyn Center, Minnesota

SRF worked with Hennepin County and the City of Brooklyn Center to study the feasibility of daylighting and implementing environmental enhancements for a segment of Shingle Creek within the City of Brooklyn Center, in the vicinity of Brookdale Mall and the Hennepin County Government Center.

The framework plan that resulted envisions a restored creek in Brooklyn Center that will:

Revitalize the area’s identity
Create an amenity that builds on recreational and retail assets
Catalyze economic development
Restore a healthy habitat for aquatic life

The framework plan breaks the creek into four segments (reaches) based on like characteristics. For each of the reaches, primary challenges were identified. The plan provides a vision for each reach that restores the environmental health of the creek while also providing an open space amenity for new development to orient towards.

The plan emphasizes phasing, funding, and roles for project implementation that would be of immediate benefit to Brooklyn Center, the area’s tax base, and Hennepin County. The framework is visionary but grounded in fiscal and technical reality.