During the recession, the City of Anoka bought up properties, prepared the land, and quietly waited for the market to come back. Fast forward to 2017, and Anoka is booming. The City has many features that make it a development destination. Residents are served by the Northstar Commuter rail line and Highway 10 provides east to west connections. The historic downtown core has dining, shopping, and business amenities. There are plenty of recreational opportunities in the Anoka Nature Preserve, along the Rum River and Mississippi River or in the city parks.
View of the Main Street bridge in Anoka
As a result of these features, among many other factors, developers are looking to Anoka to build housing and new businesses. This summer the town will see the construction of a wellness center, four separate townhome developments, a 44-unit senior coop housing project, and a new warehouse building in the Anoka Enterprise Park. The City was responsible for selling the land to enable these projects to occur. Two of the developments are made possible by platting unused portions of the city-owned Green Haven Golf Course.
Already underway is the expansion of the Vista Outdoors warehouse on Thurston Avenue and Highway 10. Another notable project completed in March of this year was the conversion of a vacant Kmart building on Highway 10 to the new Eagle Brook church. The project included infiltration basins in the parking lot islands and the addition of trees and extensive landscaping.
Future Eastview Meadows Townhomes on 11th Avenue
In addition to all the private development occurring within Anoka, the City is investing in its infrastructure. Two neighborhoods will receive street renewal projects and one intersection will be testing out a rare traffic installation: a mini-roundabout. It will be installed on 5th Avenue at the five way intersection that currently struggles to function properly. Only five mini-roundabouts have been installed in the state of Minnesota (Elk River, Shakopee, Savage, St. James, and Winona). The mini-roundabout features a smaller diameter than a standard roundabout to fit better into existing roadway widths. The design allows large trucks to traverse over the island to complete their turns, but maintains the continuous circular flow of traffic.
One of five mini-roundabouts in Minnesota
Another major project in the design phase is a reconstruction of Highway 10 through the city. Numerous traffic accidents, many resulting in fatalities, have necessitated the construction of overpasses at Thurston Avenue and Fairoak Avenue. The future overpasses will reconnect the neighborhoods currently cut off from each other north and south of the highway. The project includes the construction of Green Haven Parkway, a new road connecting to Thurston Avenue that will wrap around the north side of Vista Outdoors and through the Highland Park neighborhood. Phase I of the road is set to start construction this summer. One of the townhome developments likely to break ground this year is located along the proposed Green Haven Parkway with lots adjacent to Green Haven Golf Course. The entire road project will cost an estimated $78.8 million to complete. This investment is projected to reduce delays by up to 75% and crashes by 67%.
Anoka Solution Plan for Highway 10 upgrades
- Anoka is just one of many thriving cities in the metro area. Builders planning projects in the city are also working in White Bear Lake, Ramsey, Coon Rapids, and other suburbs. With the steady rise in city populations projected to continue, its imperative to plan for and design good projects. Anoka started back in 2007 when all they could do was plan and now they are reaping the benefits. They proposed townhome projects on underutilized sections of Green Haven Golf Course in the Greens of Anoka Master Plan and now are seeing them come to fruition. The development boom is great for cities, but planning for the impact is key.