White Bear Avenue's Kickoff
Planning for the Future
Click on the photo's below to view pictures.
l to r: Brian McMahon, Gopher Kicker-Dan Nystrom, Scott Venne, Deb Johnson, Valarie Neisius, Melinda Coleman, Andrew Nath, Patricia James & Jack Burke
Students from Hazel Park Middle School Academy are assisting with the Kickoff
l to r: Dan Bostrom, Senator Randy Kelly, Gopher Kicker-Dan Nystrom, Ramsey County Comm. Victoria Reinhardt & Marv Koppen
l to r: Scott Venne, Valarie Neisius, Deb Johnson, Gopher Kicker-Dan Nystrom, Jack Burke & Andrew Nath

White Bear Avenue--Building Upon a Rich Tradition

For well over a century, White Bear Avenue has been a very good place to do business. It has historically served as the neighborhood "Main Street" to many communities in the St. Paul and Maplewood, and continues to be one of the most successful commercial corridors in the region. Today, it is a six mile long arterial road connecting I-94 on the south to I-694 on the north, and crossing Highway 36 at mid-point. It has very strong traffic counts, ranging from 18,000 to 30,000 average daily trips. The Avenue is well serviced by mass transit with bus hubs at Hillcrest Shopping Center and Maplewood Mall.

White Bear Avenue has a rich history of retail activities that has adapted to changing economic times. At the turn of the century, businesses served the immediate residential neighborhood and clustered around intersections convenient to streetcar stops and other generators of neighborhood activity, such as churches and schools. These commercial intersections were focal points of daily life for their neighborhoods. By the middle of the century, the automobile dramatically transformed shopping patterns, and White Bear Avenue responded. The Hillcrest Shopping Center developed, building one store at a time, set back from the street with expansive parking. It successfully catered to the consumer needs of the surrounding 1950's suburbs. Shopping patterns continued to change, and 25 years later, the Maplewood Mall was built further north on White Bear Avenue. Within the last several years, yet another retail emerged, the "Big Box", and a new cluster was built around the Highway 36 intersection.

Today, White Bear Avenue offers a very diverse mix of retail opportunities. It is home to locally owned stores, such as Big Steer Meats, Little Oven Restaurant, Funky East Side Antiques, Bachman's Florist. It has national franchise outlets such as Caribou Coffee and Walgreens. It has neighborhood malls such as Hillcrest Shopping Center and Mogren's Corner, and a regional shopping centers such as Maplewood Mall and the Home Depot/Cub Node.

Managing Change
Successful retailers understand that change is an inevitable part of the business. To help plan for the next century, three major studies have  recently been undertaken. The White Bear Business Association and the City of Maplewood, with in-kind support from St. Paul, retained close Landscape Architecture to do a corridor planning study for White Bear Avenue from I-94 to I-694. A second Study, a retail market analysis by Maxfield Research, Inc. was funded by St. Paul and Maplewood. A third effort, a Small Area Planning Study for the St. Paul portion of White Bear Avenue, has examined traffic and land use issues, and has issued a report which has been recommended to be included in the City's Comprehensive Plan.

The three studies recognize the historical and contemporary strengths of the White Bear Avenue retail corridor, but all conclude that planning and cooperative efforts are necessary for continued prosperity. Copies of these studies are available at the Hayden Heights Branch Library at 1456 White Bear Avenue. The Close Corridor Planning Study is also on-line at www.wbaba.com. This brochure summarizes the findings of the three reports.

Excerpts from the Close Report
The story of White Bear Avenue is one of diversity and change. It will continue to evolve in the future, but focused and directed change can restore and revitalize those elements that historically made the Avenue a welcoming place for those who live and work nearby.

The vision for White Bear Avenue describes an active thriving street. Traffic will continue to move through the corridor, but the design treatment at the edges of the road in the St. Paul section will focus on calming the traffic and creating a much safer and more inviting pedestrian realm. Sidewalks will be wider, where possible, and boulevard strips (between the sidewalk and curb) will contain well-tended landscaping (or decorative paving in commercial areas), new trees, as well as historic lighting, improved signage and comfortable transit stops. Street crossings at all the major nodes are designed to make the intersections safer and more attractive.

In Maplewood, the Avenue will become much more park-way like, less defined by the parking lots and mix of land uses...and more defined by the landscape elements and lighting. Boulevard trees (in double rows where space allows), new lighting, large masses of scrubs and perennial at key intersections, combined with framed views into the "natural" pockets along the road will create a much more beautiful driving experience.

The Concept calls for re-developing the gateway bridges as major features in the corridor. Redesigned concrete walls and piers, railings and lighting can combine to create more meaningful, elegant and engaging pieces of public infrastructure.

Signage
Visitors to White Bear Avenue are bombarded by a cacophony of signs. With their dissonant colors, shapes, heights, and lettering, the Avenue's signs lose their readability and function. Business owners and residential neighbors alike have concluded sign guidelines are necessary to improve the Avenue's character...A good sign system will contribute to the friendliness and legibility of the community.

Hillcrest Shopping District
One of the most difficult challenges is to reposition older shopping areas to maintain economic viability. The three consultant reports, and additional studies by the White Bear Avenue Business Association and City of St. Paul, closely examined the future of the Hillcrest Shopping Center.

With the increasing development further north in Maplewood and especially with the success of Maplewood Mall, Hillcrest has had difficulty attracting quality tenants. It is composed of  large, deep rental spaces, which are neither expansive enough for contemporary "Big Box" retailers or small enough for intimate, locally owned shops. Architect Bob Lunning, of Hokanson/Lunning/Wende, has developed a series of short and long term redevelopment options. The long-term proposal calls for the demolition of Hillcrest in its entirety and the redevelopment of its site for a mix of uses. Free standing retail structures, possibly owner occupied, are proposed along White Bear Avenue. Behind these new structures would be a pedestrian promenade, connecting to larger three story mixed-use buildings.

The retail market analysis by Maxfield Research, Inc. recommended a reduction in retail space in the Hillcrest area of  30,000 to 40,000 square feet. Consolidating existing retail within a smaller more compact space would make a more pleasant shopping experience. The city of St. Paul has also received architectural proposals for a considerably expanded residential mix in the Hillcrest area. By increasing the population density, and selectively reducing the surplus retail space, the commercial sector will be greatly strengthened.

Because shopping streets such as White Bear Avenue continually evolve in response to market trends and simply to remain fresh in shoppers' minds, the buildings on the Avenue will necessarily change to their image over time. As this occurs, these remodelings and new buildings need to respect the Avenue's rich Architectural character while incorporating the best of contemporary retail design to create a festive, connected shopping experience that adds to the sense of community.

The White Bear Avenue Small Area Plan
The Small Area Plan Task Force looked at land use, zoning, and urban design issues and made twenty nine separate recommendations. It urged that funding should be sought for street reconstruction beginning in 2003, and made recommendations for adding left turn lanes at Old Hudson Road, Minnehaha, East Seventh, and Maryland. Because of continuing hazardous conditions at Ames Place, it recommended that it be turned into a cul-de-sac. Other major recommendations include a special signage district,. and a Hillcrest Redevelopment District.

Recent White Bear Avenue Initiatives
October 17, 2000

Organizational Contacts
White Bear Avenue Business Association: 651-501-8794
E-mail Address: wbaba@aol.com
North East Neighborhoods Development Corporation: 651-771-6955
Maplewood Office of Community Development: 651-770-4562
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