Focus Group

Downtown Bryn Mawr

Feb. 14

Neighbors attending:

Sally Aaron

24 Thomas Avenue South

Mpls, MN 55405

612-377-6238

sama2004@earthlink.net

Joe Carr

Bryn Mawr Chiropractic

402 Penn Avenue South

Mpls, MN 55405

612-377-3248

drcarr@brynmawrchiro.com

Karen Soderberg

Bryn Mawr Soap Company

286 Washburn Avenue North

Mpls, MN 55405

612-374-3613

karen@brynmawrsoap.com

Greg Lecker

2104 Laurel Avenue West

Mpls, MN 55405-2026

612-377-8915

glecker@michaudcooley.com

Facilitator: Claudia Egelhoff

Note taker: Vida Y. Ditter

Strengths of Bryn Mawr

Charming, secret gem in the city – feels really nice and tight in the neighborhood. Strength is the pride and community feeling of residents. Still feels diverse, not just a white suburb, there is some diversity, some color on the streets
As a high school student driving through the neighborhood, saw it as the neatest neighborhood next to all the parks. Then as an adult played at Bassett’s Creek Park. The neighborhood’s strength is the parks – neighborhood is centrally located with diversity of city, but is my escape into trees and woods – appreciates downtown Bryn Mawr, with its food, its coffee shop. Make use of the downtown businesses regularly.
Seemed like a small town within the city. Know all the businesses downtown. Downtown has certainly improved since my moving into the neighborhood in 1989.
Feels like home. Moved from Brooklyn to Bryn Mawr. Like the curvy streets, enjoy looking for the dead-end streets. Lots of parks. Like the activity in the downtown area. Makes me feel safer because there is so much activity. Very conveniently located.

Weaknesses:

Biggest downfall is no place to get decent food. Would like a place to buy fresher veggies in the neighborhood. Would like more choice in food to purchase. Lack of nearby groceries. Doesn’t like Bryn Mawr Market – all processed foods. Would be great to have a restaurant
Sometimes would like Classic Tailors to be open more convenient hours for working neighbors/usage by neighbors. The dry cleaning store is just not open at convenient hours for residents.
Don’t expect a whole lot from Bryn Mawr Market. They had results from a questionnaire the Business Association compiled last year. Suggestions for improving looks of and produce within the Market were forwarded to the owners – a list of folk would like to see improved.
Parking downtown is a hassle
Traffic on Penn Avenue is a weakness, both in volume and speed – so is Glenwood Avenue
People do not stop for pedestrians . Road is not managed well for control of speed and pedestrian safety.
Has issues with trash dumping in the neighborhood.
Lack of a restaurant.
Get more benches on downtown streets
Hours for some of the places in the downtown need improvement. E.g. Bryn Mawr Coffee Shop has cut back on hours and not open when most residents are in the neighborhood to use their services.
Downtown can really some dark spots (lighting) and it is scary.
Love to see empty space at corner of market building be occupied; need a Corner shop which could provide salads and soups
Concern about putting in a restaurant in the corner – concern about crime, concern about #s of people who would come into the neighborhood, concern that it could become a food destination for the city
SE corner of the Penn/Cedar Lake intersection is under-utilized. There is currently residential at that location – should be more retail.

What Issues Face Bryn Mawr in the future

Worry about Bryn Mawr losing its diversity. Bryn Mawr’s flavor changing as businesses and amenities grow. What will be the makeup of the neighborhood – is going to turn into a white neighborhood. Increase in housing values is gentrifying the neighborhood.
Gentrification happening as land values have increased. Bryn Mawr becoming increasingly double-incomed households. Are these new people to take an interest in this neighborhood. I know neighbors because of walking dogs.
Anwatin Woods development is a high end housing development, a gated community. Also , with Fruen Mill development, could be a problem with managing resources.
Am concerned at the marketability of businesses in the downtown area. Not enough interest by the neighbors to maintain a vital downtown.
Most of the neighborhood do not use the services of the downtown businesses. Most of my clients from outside the neighborhood When I lived across the street from my business, was broken into numerous times. Am safer outside the neighborhood. Business was never broken into.
Parking in the downtown area is a problem. Commercial area which is currently residential problem is keeping the quality of homes – parking could be tucked behind the homes – make sure new folk moving into the neighborhood become involved with the neighborhood.
Need gathering places in the neighborhood. Part of the problem with downtown area is that there’s not enough space for expanding – limited space in the downtown
Development on Glenwood would change Area 7 and Bryn Mawr downtown dramatically. Would make the downtown area more of a destination. Impact would be mostly positive.
Getting folk moving into the neighborhood involved requires outreach, dinners, meetings, etc.
Web site is up and running and use it as a resource. If you do a building project that needs a variance, would be very helpful if the website could provide the procedures for doing a variance – maybe more people would come sooner if they knew their project needed a website.
Finding people in the neighborhood who can provide services is hard – services like tax assistance, grant writing, who owns a given commercial building/rental building. Web site should be more of a portal. Also advertise where events are, like what’s happening at Cuppa Java – what art show this month?
Some of that info is in the phone book
More/stronger outreach to new folk in the neighborhood – who does what – how to become involved
Can draw people in more with greater publicity of our neighborhood’s events, e.g. Garage Sales – what are the resources in the neighborhood
Provide a forum where businesses, both home based and sited, can be showcases – create a resource bank with an accompanying brochure which has a map and addresses of the businesses in the neighborhood.
Make a resource book of those needing help and those who can offer it
Corner space – if nothing is going to happen soon, create an activity ceneter out of that space – set up an after school program for tutoring kids, a meeting place for seniors during the day – provide homework assistance, space in the route of many kids going home – have a game night for the kids, a movie night, etc. use the space. Could be a neutral meeting space that should be proposed to the building owners.

What can neighborhood association do to improve the neighborhood

Keep fair and balanced views of what’s happening all over the neighborhood.
Neighborhood association needs to be the fair and impartial guiding for the neighborhood.
Association needs to provide the over-riding, the neighborhood wide view of what is best for the neighborhood. As opposed to neighbors who advocate for their own little piece of the neighborhood and not for the good of the entire neighborhood
Bugle is no longer delivered to my house
Helping new people become engaged- as opposed to allowing folks to become increasingly self-interested
Better outreach from the BMNA to new home owners
New resident dinner parties – open houses at the coffee shop (first Monday of each month, all new residents are invited to meet the Board?)

HOUSING

More or less the same as the Phase I housing program. Increase opportunities to increase wider variety of home owners (moderate income people, not just poverty level) to receive benefits. Low interest financing. Assistance to get qualified designers to make home improvement – too many folk focus on how much the expansion is going to cost, but don’t include a price for proper design that enhances the building instead of detracting from attractiveness of the building. If loans made for qualified designers to make changes, would get a better end product for the neighborhood.
Wider range of income/low interest loans for maintaining
Like built in incentive to make people stay in their homes
Lottery were grants are given out – so not dependent on income or age
Assistance to rental properties to bring them to the same standard as owner occupied homes
Affordable housing – Habitat for Humanity house in the neighborhood. Neighborhood association would facilitate and find the land and would get the volunteers from the neighborhood to build the housse
Would like to preserve as many of the residences in the downtown when and if they are turned to commercial uses
Have/build a wellness center in the downtown area