Urban Waters

To me, the most important critical factor is the compatibility with the surrounding neighborhood. The area is very unique as it has nice housing, the Mississippi River, and a vibrant commercial district. The Planning Task Force calls for mixed use development. This would likely fit well with the surrounding commercial zone and the apartments that are already in the area. I hope that what goes up in the area is not the standard high priced luxury condos. With so many entry level employment opportunities in the existing commercial area and potentially more to come with a mixed use development I would hope to see lower priced apartments. It would be nice to have people living in the same neighborhood they work in. To me this would be true compatibility with the neighborhood; especially if they could get some biking/walking paths near the river and keep the development as pedestrian and transit oriented as possible.

I agree with Peter that one of the most important issues is for whatever gets developed to meld with the surrounding neighborhood. I think this area has a lot of potential to become one of the best developments in st. paul. There is more than enough land to have mixed use development, connections with the walking and bike paths, commercial, and i'd even like to see some better connections with the river at this point. A nice neighborhood park. Ultimately though its up to Ford Motor Company but hopefully with the extra effort st. paul is putting into this development Ford will choose one that fits the mold

The most important factor that should be taken into account while planning for the redevelopment of this property is clearly the economic impact that the development will have. The reason I think this, is pretty obvious the former use (present) has a very large importance to the economy of not only St. Paul but the entire metropolitan Area. Since the closure of this plant will result in the loss of thousands of ireplacable jobs it is practical to try and find a land use that replaces as many of these jobs as possible. It will likely not be possible with the development being mostly housing but regaining many of the lost jobs should be the primary focus of the redevelopment plan.

I think the more critical factors to keep in mind when deciding what to do with the Ford Plant are the surrounding communities and the Mississippi River. The river has been there longer than anything else in the area and it is important to keep it in mind and not to create any harmful outcomes that would affect the river. Also, those who live in the community are going to be affected by the redevelopment the most. I think it is important to get the community members input and see what they want to be done with the area. There is already a lot of retail in the area so I don’t think they need any more. Maybe some new housing and I think an inner city camp/park area for kids would be a cool different idea, a place for kids to go after school or in the summer. Maybe they could have more hands on learning projects or learn about environment sustainability or survival learning projects.

I think everyone so far has brought up some good points. I agree that the surrounding neighborhood should be pretty high on the priority list when considering future development but in addition, I think the environment itself should be considered as well. It could set a positive example if the redevelopment of the site makes minimizing negative environmental impact and maximizing energy efficiency a priority.

I think the most critical factor to keep in mind when determining how the site should be redeveloped is the 1,900 people who are going to lose their jobs. If the city is not willing to replace the site with another factory where the worker’s skills could be utilized, then the least the city could do is create a development that would benefit these workers. If the city decides to build housing on this site, it should be affordable housing. It would be a shame to see luxury condos and retail stores in this area.

I think the most important factor to think about in terms of the development would have to be the employment issue. After the closing of the Ford Plant, there is going to be a need for new jobs and since the decline of the American industrial-level job market, it is going to be hard for those who worked at the plant to find new ones. If out-sourcing and globalization must take place in order for American companies to stay in business, then so be it, but I believe it should then be someone's responsibility to find new jobs for the American workers, who are left behind.

I think the most important thing to do when planning for this site and the new occupant of it (whatever that shall be) is to find some way to tell the story of the landscape (of the Ford Plant and whatever else there came before it) and to make that compatible to what is going to be there next. The Ford Plant has been a huge part of the Twin Cities history, including the Ford Dam, and how the Twin Cities has evolved and been shaped. I think that to lose this rich, significant part of our history would be very tragic indeed. Where is Dolores when you need her? I didn't recall seeing her name on the task force roster...

To me there are two important issues to deal with here that kind of go hand in hand. One reason that that area has remained as successful as it has over the years for Ford Motor Company, Highland Park Neighborhood and The City of St. Paul as well as the greater Metropolitan region, is because of it's mix of uses. The Ford site is an industrial use in a primarily mixed use surrounding area. In redevlopment, the city has encouraged a mix of uses and wants to maintain a certain job base in that neighborhood (though it will no doubt pale in comparison to the 1,900 that Ford employs). My fear is that someone will develop the area into a mixed use development in an area that may already be saturated with human scale commercial development and it will flop financially regardless of design and functionality.
The other issue here is tied into that one. I am very curious is the 125 acres that the Ford site is located on would be considered a Brownfield site. How much money and effort is needed to make this land useful again in the form of redevelopment?

I think that it is important to make the site work with the surrounding community and to put something there that is environmentally and economically responsible. But personally, I believe the most important factor would have to do with the possibility of creating employment that the Ford employees could get. This lack of employment will bring the area, and the tax base down regardless of how nice of a park or whatever is built. But, if some sort of business is put in there that has somewhat comparable skill and wage rates as the Ford plant, then all of the former Ford workers may be able to get new jobs. This will keep the surrounding community healthy and vibrant.

To me one of the most critical factors to keep in mind when determining how the site should be redeveloped is the spatial implications. The ford plant is located on the banks of the Mississippi River and Henry Ford chose to build his plant here due to the close proximity to the river for the use of hydro power. The 125 acre site has an 82 year history in the center of the Twin Cities within one of the most stable and economically strong neighborhoods of St. Paul. Therefore it is important to consider the surrounding properties that may be impacted by development scenarios. It is also important to take into consideration that the plant has been a vital community partner over the years to the community.
Besides for the location the aspect of the plant being an assembly plant of more than 7 million vehicles and the use of tunnels under the plant which connect to the river where some were used to mine silica sandstone for the production of glass and other tunnels were used to transport materials and products could lend itself to some interesting potential designs in the redevelopment process.

I agree with most people about the surrounding neighborhood as the most important factor. If some of 1900 workers live in the surrounding neighborhoods, is building new condos really the right idea because with unemployeed people, those people might have to move to find work; therefore more housing might not be the answer and creating new jobs might be.