Steering Committee Submits Final Grandview Plan

The final report and plan for the project has been released by the 52-member steering committee and now is going through public review.

The committee, which has been working on the project for nearly two years, will see its recommended plan go to a public hearing on Feb. 22. Public input will end officially on March 9 and the plan will then go to the Edina City Council on April 17 for discussion and a vote.

Called a development framework, the plan is not highly specific insofar as recommendations.

“It is more of a vision than a blueprint,” said Kevin Staunton, a Planning Commission member who has served as the chair of the steering committee.

“That is why we are having the period for responses from the community,” he added. “We want to hear what people think and we want to listen to their opinions. That is critical to this.”

The entire 67-page document is available online through the city's citizen engagement website. Readers can also submit comments about the plan through the site.

Grandview generally refers to the area between , Eden Avenue and Vernon Avenue (50th Street). Well-known landmarks in the area include , Jerry’s Hardware, the now-under-construction new Walgreen’s Drugs, the , the former city public works building and the school district's bus garage and lot.

Undoubtedly, several parcels of property will remain virtually untouched. Others, like the old public works site and the school bus site, are almost certain to be replaced if the plan is implemented.

The details of the plan still must be worked out and certainly will not occur until after the current phase is approved. The timeframe is still not set in stone, as the entire project could feasibly take up to 20 years to complete when factoring in all of the phases.

Financing also has yet to be worked out.

Edina Mayor Jim Hovland said the plan contains “remarkable aspects.”

“The consultants in the process took the vision and thoughts of the steering committee to put together the recommended plan, not the other way around,” Hovland said. “People in the community who I have communicated with seem to grasp that at this stage, the plan is pretty general and that the details are yet to come."

“I think the next steps will create a broader awareness throughout our community of what is envisioned for Grandview,” he said.