Building a new park on the former South High football field, reusing old industrial sites, and redesigning streets to calm traffic and encourage walking were the key ideas emerging from a recent community planning session in the Madison Square area. Another key idea involves redeveloping the intersection of Madison and Hall to draw more attention to the business district.
Lighthouse Communities, a non-profit housing developer, sponsored the two-day planning and community design session. Focus was on four primary areas, economic development, transportation, housing, and community health. It involved a wide range of participants, including more than 50 residents, businesses, and city staffers. Representatives from the Rapid, the local transit provider, also participated.
The session marked the beginning of a long-term reinvestment plan for the Madison Square district, a neighborhood undergoing dramatic and intense changes. Property values in the neighborhood, for instance, are rising 240 percent faster than incomes.
At the planning session, residents and civic leaders offered numerous ideas for improving the neighborhood. Key themes involved maintaining public green space, recycling underused industrial sites, and promoting a pedestrian friendly neighborhood and business district.
Source: Jeremy DeRoo, Lighthouse Communities, www.lighthousecommunities.org
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