Faced with imminent development proposals, the Loring Hill neighborhood, one of downtown’s early residential districts, wanted to better define its unique character. Development concerns included building height and density, preservation of the public realm, parking and landscaping.
Cuningham Group, with SRF Consulting, led an extensive community participation process that included a neighborhood walking tour, focus group discussions, community surveys, a community kick-off workshop and two neighborhood summits to create a set of built form guidelines that identify the area’s distinctive character and its present-day sub-areas. These guidelines were coordinated with city staff before being presented to the Loring Park Board for approval.
The final guidelines graphically illustrated preferred building type, street frontage treatment, and landscape and architectural standards. The neighborhood will use these guidelines to respond to and influence the character of future development projects.