The City of St. Louis Park has been working with the residents, businesses and property owners of the Historic Walker Lake district for the past few years to find ways to revitalize the area, engage the community and attract visitors. These efforts include a small area plan, new street design, branding, and an activation plan.

Current and planned changes to the area

• St. Louis Park American Legion Post 282 recently opened on Walker Street.
• Sota Clothing renovated the Historic Walker building and opened its retail store in August 2018.
• SLP Nest opened its new location on Library Lane and will be painting murals on three sides of its building.
• The Block restaurant, currently home to Park Vacuum, is scheduled to begin construction May 2019, with an anticipated opening in late September 2019.
• Plans are underway to install a community-painted mural on the former Bike Masters building in late 2019.

Small area plan

In October 2018, the city selected Asakura Robinson to complete a small area revitalization plan and design guidelines for the district. The process is expected to take six months, and will include many opportunities to gather input from area businesses, property owners and neighbors.

Historic Walker Lake Small Area Revitalization Plan Draft posted May 22, 2019

Public meetings

• May 9, 2019 — A third neighborhood meeting was held to discuss next steps, learn about the implementation process and to get involved with the development of a business association.
  • Meeting presentation
  • Meeting recording - contact jmonson@stlouispark.org to submit comments or questions
• Feb. 5, 2019 — A neighborhood meeting was held to review the draft community-driven concepts, provide input on strategies and develop ideas for implementation.
  • Existing conditions report
  • Meeting presentation
  • Meeting recording 
• Nov. 14, 2018 — A neighborhood meeting was held to discuss the district's strengths and weaknesses and share ideas for the future.
  • Meeting summary
  • Meeting recording

Street design improvements

View more information of the street construction project for Historic Walker Lake.

Activation plan

In November 2016, the city was awarded a Moving the Market Grant from Hennepin County to help reactivate the Walker/Lake business area. With these funds, city staff worked with the businesses, high school and community members in the district to promote and rejuvenate the area neighborhood and businesses.

With the help of a focus group the area has been branded as "Historic Walker Lake".

The St. Louis Park Historic Walker-Lake Activation Plan was written to identify placemaking activities for the area and easy to implement steps to take over time to generate more activity in the area.  This fall the city will install wayfinding elements, including street sign toppers and banners, with the remaining grant funds.