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here to view the "Design Boards" |
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The Minnesota Design Team is a
group of volunteer Architects, Landscapers, Urban Designers
and Planners who are periodically available to use design and
community development principles to help rural communities develop
and act upon a shared vision of their future. They visited our
community this past June and left us with several productive
possibilities for improvements.
From
the MDT website:
The
MDT visited the Walker Area in northern Minnesota June 9 - 11,
2005. Located on Leech Lake, the City of Walker and four surrounding
townships have about 4,200 permanent residents and are experiencing
steady growth. The region, however, is facing an economic challenge
as the nature of its long standing, seasonal residential character
changes. With plentiful natural resources and area attractions,
the area provides year-round recreational opportunities and
is host to numerous festivals from Eel Pout Festival to Moondance
Jam. In addition to helping the community craft a vision for
the region, MDT addressed the following community issues:
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the
changing nature of tourism from resorts to seasonal residential
homes |
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downtown
revitalization |
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construction
of a potential bypass for Highway 371 through Downtown
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proposed
redevelopment of a historic hotel on the lake |
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resuse
of a state nursing home facility slated for closure in
2006 |
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integration
of four bicycle/snowmobile trails into the community |
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strategies
for diversifying the community's economic base |
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facilitating
cooperation between the City of Walker, surrounding townships
and Leech Lake Reservation |
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www.minnesotadesignteam.org
info@walkerareapartners.com
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