City of La Grande seeks public input for potential improvements to Jefferson Avenue Corridor in downtown La Grande
By Garrett Christensen on Monday, November 6th, 2023 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
LA GRANDE – (Release from the City of La Grande) The City of La Grande and its consultant (Stantec) are working together on a plan for the Jefferson Avenue corridor in Downtown La Grande with the goal to better activate this corridor and to make the entire Downtown area feel more cohesive, functional, and vibrant, including exploring new uses, improvements to the roadway, and general area conditions to support future redevelopment.
The concept for this project began in spring of 2022 when Baker Technical Institute (BTI) received a grant to work with students at BTI and EOU’s Sustainable Communities program, to identify and assess brownfield sites in Baker City and La Grande. The City worked with BTI and their lead consultant (Stantec) to identify a number of projects in La Grande mostly along the Jefferson Avenue Corridor.
The grant also included funds that could be used for a broader area wide plan. “Since most of the sites we had identified as part of the project were clustered along this section of Jefferson Avenue it made sense to look at how the entire corridor might redevelop” according to City of La Grande’s Economic Development Director, Timothy Bishop. “The timing for this project also made sense given that there were a number of properties in the corridor that were preparing to change ownership and potentially redevelop, and this was an opportunity to identify a vision for how Jefferson Avenue might redevelop”. In addition to the award-winning recent redevelopment of the former Eagles Lodge which now houses Brick Yard Lanes Bowling Alley, several other properties have recently changed ownership including the True Value Hardware store which is now Appliances and More, the former Napa Auto Parts store that has been purchased and is being redeveloped by K Voelz Winery, and the former Millers Lumber building has recently sold and been rezoned for future development.
Funding for this planning process is part of the grant through BTI. Bishop noted that it’s very helpful to have the planning part of this process funded through the partnership with BTI and having a plan for this area will be extremely helpful as we look for resources to implement the potential improvements that come from the plan.” The City is working with La Grande Main Street Downtown’s Economic Vitality Committee on the planning effort and several members of the Main Street Board of Directors are also on the steering committee.
The City held a public meeting in October that included a walking tour of the corridor, and is now conducting an online survey to help guide this planning effort. The Survey will be live through November and is available at the link below.
For more information contact Timothy Bishop, City of La Grande Economic Development tbishop@cityoflagrande.org or 541-962-1308
General Community Link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/JeffersonAWP_public
