Creating a Master-Planned Community with a University Imprimatur

The University of Minnesota is pursuing its vision to create a University-founded, sustainable community of 20,000 to 30,000 on its 5,000-acre property 25 miles southeast of its Twin Cities campus.  This community, which will be developed over the next 30 years, will be distinguished from other master-planned communities through the seamless integration of University research, education and public engagement.  Utopia?  Definitely not.  This will be a community where people live, work and play – and enjoy a quality of life that is grounded in innovation in education, energy, health and wellness, arts and culture, diversity, environmental quality and amenities, technology, and transportation/transit. The development on the property currently referred to as the University of Minnesota Outreach, Research and Education (UMore) Park, will not be a University research park or feature University classroom buildings or labs.  It will be a destination – with distinctive neighborhoods, retail, arts and entertainment, an eco-industrial park for “green” R&D-based companies, commercial areas, the density to support transit options and about 1,000 acres of open space for parks, trails and wildlife corridors.  An adjacent 2,800-acre natural area offers a unique amenity for the new development. Residents, surrounding communities and private and public sector entities will participate in the research and learning that can add value to the region and help to foster a strong community fabric.  Current research collaborations, for example, are focusing on district ground-source heating and cooling, wind energy, groundwater assessments, and energy-efficient building design (including that for affordable housing).  Opportunities for longitudinal studies relating to human interactions on the landscape – from a predevelopment state – are significant. The University’s Board of Regents has approved the concept master plan for the development, and in October 2009 established a single-owner limited liability company (LLC) to manage planning and development of the property.  An academic mission advisory board has issued recommendations on engaging faculty and students in all aspects of planning and development.  Following a standard environmental review, amendments to the existing comprehensive plans of local jurisdictions, and selection of a master developer partner, the first phase neighborhood development would start in 2012-2013.