The next step in building a strong, vibrant Penn Central of Richfield Community

After the great success of last weekend's Open Streets at Penn Fest event, it's time to start taking the next steps in charting the future of the neighborhood. The monthly Third Thursday meeting was a chance to keep the momentum going with a lively discussion about Penn Fest and the neighborhood. Third Thursday is a regular meeting where residents, city officials and business owners gather to discuss the Penn Central of Richfield neighborhood. The most recent meeting was held this past Thursday, September 20 at Hope's Silver Spoon Restaurant.

Hightlights of the last meeting include:

• A strong consensus that Open Streets at Penn Fest was a huge success
• A strong desire for Open Streets at Penn Fest to return in 2013 on at least the same scale with the street closed, music, activities and more
• The need to seek and confirm major sponsorship for the 2013 Open Streets at Penn Fest should begin immediately
• There was a belief that there should be food vans at a future Penn Fest. They should be parked at the southern end of the festival to draw the crowd and not to compete with established Penn Central restaurants at the northern end of Penn Avenue
• There was a suggestion to set up a business block captain system to inquire and encourage future participation
• The Penn Fest booklet could group coupons together
• On non-Penn Fest topics, there was a discussion of the workings between the City and small business people regarding application of codes. It was believed the city does a good job, but there needs to be an understanding that business people may find codes complicated and confusing. Therefore, an effort to explain codes in a common language may be necessary to accommodate people dealing with these issues for the first time.

To get involved in future Third Thursday meetings, mark your calendar for October 18 for 6:15 pm at Davanni's on 64th and Penn. Third Thursday meetings alternate between morning and evening meetings to accommodate different schedules. The November meeting will be a morning meeting, December evening, January morning, and so on. Third Thursday meetings are your chance to have a voice in future Penn Fests and the community.

Events, Renewal and Positive Energy Are Future of Penn Central of Richfield

Exciting Developments Announced at April 19th Third Thursday Meeting

The monthy Third Thursday Meeting held on April 19th was filled with announcements about exciting positive changes headed for the Penn Central of Richfield area.

Highlights of the meeting include:

• Real estate professional Bill Wolfson described upgrades planned for the Arc's Value Village property. Improvements to both the exterior and interior of the building will be made through a private/public partnership between Wolfson's company, which owns the Value Village property, and the City of Richfield.  Exterior improvements include an upgraded of the parking lot and sidewalk.
• Gordon Hanson updated the group on the Avenue of Opportunities Open House.  The event will help market vacant storefronts and offices along Penn Avenue in Richfield. Prospectiive business owners are encouraged to tour the spaces available for lease on May 19, 2012 from 9 a.m. to 12 noon.  The First National Bank of the Lakes, 6613 Penn Avenue South, Richfield, will serve as the information center where entrepreneurs will come to get started.  Hanson reported that there has been an enthusiastic response from property owners about participating in the event. 
• David Gepner reported that Uncommon Sports Cards plans to move across the street to a space formerly occupied by a consignment shop.
• John Stark from the City of Richfield reported that interior and exterior improvements to the firestation will be made.  The fire department needs to remodel to accommodate female firefighers.  Exterior enhancements will be made as part of the same renovation.
• Tom Rublein updated the group about Penn Fest, which has been awarded a grant as part of the Open Streets campaign.  This means Penn Fest 2012 will be bigger and better, with a stretch of Penn Avenue closed for the event.  The closed street will be filled with activities such as live music, street hockey, a bike rodeo, sidewalk chalk art, yoga and more.  These items are for descriptive purposes only.  Actual activities have not been finalized yet.  It is believed that Penn Fest was awarded a $10,000 grant.  Area businesses are ancouraged to actively participate to gain visibility to potential customers.
• Flynn Rico-Johnson of do.town plans to organize a petition and letter writing campaign to support more pedestrian access in the Penn Central area.
• The Penn/Crosstown bridge deck will be reconstructed in 2013, which may offer an opportunity to create a "Welcome to Penn Central Gateway."
• Minneapolis will be renovating a Penn Avenue north of Richfield in 2013, and possibly be adding some bike lanes north of 60th Street.
• Mother Duck will be expanding by reopening their old location.  They will use this space for infants and toddlers.
• The wall in front of CVS will be stained soon
• Flowerama and Aida will be working on a joint coupon promotion - a great example of two area businesses working together.
• Richfield resident Kevin Klos has been working on a new Penn Central of Richfield logo, which will be unveiled soon.

Penn Central of Richfield Third Thursday Meetings reached a milestone on March 15th.  It was the 5th anniversary of these grassroots meetings to bring neighbors, business people and city officials together to discuss the future of the area.  And the 5th anniversary meeting packed in an overflow crowd.

A number of business people introduced themselves.  Rich Huemmer of Uncommon Sports Cards described his business of selling sport cards, sports figurines and autographed memorabilia. Jim Andserson, manager of the new CVS store, said he has 32 years of experience in retail pharmacy operations.  He added that he likes to bring old family values of treating customers right to his store.  Bill Roase of Ralph's Shoe Service thanked the community for its warm welcome.  He likes his new location better than Southdale.  Business has been good, and people were even bringing in shoes before the store opened.   Don and Lori Swatala were on hand, reporting that their dog day care business is moving ahead.  Amy Mohamed of Aida expressed thanks for the warm welcome to the community upon the opening of their new restaurant.

Mike Eastling, Public Works Director for the City of Richfield, talked about the issue of crosswalks. The Penn Central of Richfield group has set enhanced pedestrian comfort and safety as a top goal. Mr. Eastling said the city is looking at the issue of crosswalks throughout the corridor.  According to Eastling, the issue is complicated because painted crosswalks can have the effect of creating a sense of safety for walkers while not increasing awareness for drivers. To improve safety, education and enforcement of laws is also required.  Eastling promised more study on this issue will be done.

Eastling also talked about the plans for a bigger Penn Fest celebration this year.  An application for a grant has been submitted to partner Penn Fest with an Open Streets event, an activity where a portion of the street would be closed to vehicular traffic and people would enjoy various recreational activities on the street. Jim Anderson spoke glowingly about his experience with events where people are encouraged to walk the avenue.  He said it is a benefit to businesses.

Gordon Hanson talked about the progress of hosting a business open house event where empty storefronts and office spaces would be open for touring by prospective tenants.  Plans are moving forward with a good reception from property owners and business experts.  The event will be held on May 19th, with First National Bank of the Lakes hosting as the central meeting location.  More details soon.

Tom Rublein is introducing a new activity called P.A.W.S. (Penn Avenue Walkers Society).  These regularly scheduled walks will encourage people to get out and walk along the Penn Avenue corridor.  More details to come.

Karen Barton of the City of Richfield summarized various development projects throughout Richfield.

Residents and business professionals met at Davanni's at 6345 Penn Avenue to get the latest news about happenings in the Penn Central of Richfield area. State Senator Ken Kelash, District 63, and members of the media were also in attendance, including Richfield Patch, the Richfield Sun Current and 55423.info.

Highlights of the meeting include:

• The landscaping project on the city's firestation, watertower and liquor store properties appears ready to move ahead.
• The Penn Avenue bridge over 62 Crosstown will be resurfaced next year, creating an opportunity to develop a gateway presence into Richfield. 
• Woof Central, a proposed dog daycare in the former Dave's Furniture World location, received a site plan approval from the City Council.
• Aida, a new restaurant in the former Taco Bell location, has nearly completed its interior renovations of the building.
• An update on the proposed business open house in the Penn Central neighborhood was presented.

A representative of the do.town campaign spoke about the healthy-living program being implemented in Richfield.  Instead of focusing on changing behavior, do.town works to make healthy living an easy choice.  It promotes actvities such as walking to school, taking a walk at lunch breaks and making infrastructure renovations that enhance active lifestyles.  The program attempts to reach people who live relatively inactive lifestyles.

State Senator Ken Kelash, who represents Richfield as well as a portion of southwest Minneapolis and northern Bloomington, updated the group on the state legislative session.  He spoke about initiatives for job growth, retraining and economic development.

The next Third Thursday meeting will be held at Hope's Silver Spoon Restaurant at 6700 Penn Avenue South on March 15th at 7:30 am.  It's a great chance get involved in the community at a grassroots level.

The January 19th Third Thursday Meeting was extraordinarily well attended with a mix of business people, residents, city officials and media.

Highlights of the meeting included:

• A welcome to Bill, Kay and Ron Roase from Ralph's Shoe Service, which is moving to Penn Central of Richfield from Southdale. Ron told how he ran the business years ago in the 50th and Xerxes area. Bill said he is aiming for a March 1st opening.
• An Introduction of Lori Swatala who plans to open a dog daycare and boarding service.
• Rod Johnson from the Richfield First National Bank of the Lakes briefing the group on his outlook for the economy in 2012
• An introduction of Amy and Ahmed Mohamed who plan to open a restaurant in the former Taco Bell location
• An update from Karen Barton from the City of Richfield talking about the landscape improvement grant available to property owners in the Penn Central area. She also reviewed pending city developments.
• A discussion about the need for a crosswalk at 63rd and Penn.
• A brief talk from Mark Plenke, the founder and editor of www.55423.info, a digital community news service.
• A review of why the once-proposed transit hub for Penn Central that moved to Southdale instead.