FM-2050 : A Future Vision of Fargo Moorhead: Life Is Much Better Downtown<br>Part II, Moorhead

I was driving over the Main Avenue Bridge yesterday and was happy to see how much of an improvement the City of Moorhead has made on their downtown. The East 4th Street Center is now open housing several businesses including the new home of Atomic Coffee. The Woodlawn Lofts are also finished with a new Moxie Java location as one of the tenants. The cornerstone building of this development is the Kassenborg Block. It’s a structure which has been around for approximately 100 years. It’s currently undergoing a restoration and will open with a new location for Juano’s and also some other high-end shops from what I’ve been told. Each of these developments also have apartments above them for people wanting to live downtown which is good for growth.

There is new steel going up for the Woodlawn Apartments on Main. These should have some pretty nice views of both downtown areas and also the Main Avenue Bridge. If I wasn’t so dead-set on Fargo I would consider taking up residence there. After these apartments are finished, the final leg of the development will be the addition of Woodlawn Condos, which promise to have even better views of the downtown and river. Finally a new 5 to 7 storey office building is plan for the space across from Atomic Coffee. I have mixed feelings on adding another building in that exact spot since it visually clogs the entrance to Moorhead, as you cross over the Main Avenue Bridge. That area right now has been opened up and I think might be better developed as a small park or perhaps water fountain. Then again, I haven’t seen the plans for the office building yet, so there is a good chance I might change my mind.

Here’s the site plan and what it’s supposed to look like when it’s completely finished according to the City of Moorhead website.

Now if you just pander your cameras slightly farther north along the same view you come across the view down below of the current US Bank Building and City Center rising from the middle of Moorhead Center Mall. The US Bank Building used to have an excellent restaurant on the top floor with really nice views. Now it’s been converted to office space and the building itself seems to have been neglected. It’s got a horrendous fire escape on the side of the building and it’s just bland. I think it’s about time that building came down.

I’m not going to touch the City Center on top of the mall. What I do think should happen with it is that they reserve an entire block downtown and build a new office tower in the future as the city grows. Move all services into that building once the new one is complete. Demolish the current city center. Renovate the Moorhead Center Mall below it so that it is a 3 storey in-door shopping center with higher end shops. Add another anchor to the eastern side of it. Add a second parking garage in place of the current elevated one on the north side. By the time it’s finished it should have 50-75 stores. When it’s finished call it the Woodlawn Mall or something else that has a ring to it, other than Moorhead Center Mall, “another great place to shop”.

I made an attempt at what I think Moorhead is capable of looking like in the future. I’ll try again later if I can get a shot of a good panorama. For now I’ll stick with this.