Spirit Valley
Core Investment Area Plan
Project Status:
- The first phase of the planning process focused on gaining input from the general public.
- The second phase was geared toward assessing the business district's needs, seeking input from business and property owners, and proposing solutions. View a summary of this effort here [Archived Document].
- City staff are currently compiling a list of recommendations from the first two phases and will be making them available to the public in March.
- Find a list of Spirit Valley Core Investment Area Plan Committee members [Archived Document].
- View an overview of the planning process, Spirit Valley history, and demographic data here.
- Provide your name and email address in the Comment Box below to be added to our email list for notification about upcoming sessions.
Project Overview:
Spirit Valley’s rich history, active community, and existing economic infrastructure provides a solid foundation for a comprehensive visioning and planning process. This initiative aims to guide public and private investment in the district with a goal of fostering a vibrant and thriving neighborhood center. Below is a project timeline and map of the study area.
Study Area:
The focus of the plan is Spirit Valley's Core Commercial Area, defined by the triangular junction of Grand Ave., Central Ave., and I-35 (highlighted in green on the map). The surrounding neighborhoods and residential streets constitute the overall Study Area (highlighted in blue on the map). The Study Area boundaries are 48th Ave. W., 8th St., Cody St., Keene Creek, and the St. Louis River.
Project Timeline:
2024/2025 Timeline
Community Engagement Options:
City Planning staff will lead an effort to gather input from community members, work with the plan committee and public to evaluation options, formulate recommended actions into a plan, seek approval of the plan by the public and decision makers, and empower stakeholders to implement the plan.
Spirit Valley Days:
We enjoyed connecting with so many people at the Spirit Valley Days car show and vendor fair in 2024 and again in 2025. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and taking the survey.
We hope people enjoyed the West Duluth trivia game and “then-and-now” photos at our booth.
Spirit Valley Strolls:
On October 2 and 3, 2024, Planning staff conducted walking tours (Spirit Valley Strolls) of the business district where we heard from 30 residents and businesses about their impressions of the physical conditions in the business district. Thanks for all of your great observations and ideas.
Community Meeting #1:
Thank you to all who attended our first community meeting December 3, 2024, at City Center West. There were good discussions around the tables culminating with each table reporting their top 5 responses to the question "What would make Spirit Valley a more vibrant neighborhood center?" After each participant placed their 6 dots on the top ideas some trends emerged. Addressing the Kmart site and improving pedestrian and bike facilities ranked high, followed by identifying housing sites to support the business district, improving parks and youth programing, and enhancing the community's cultural traditions.
There will be another Community Meeting in the fall to consider alternatives that bring about a more vibrant neighborhood center in Spirit Valley. Send us your name and email address in the Comment Box below if you want to be added to the email list for notification of upcoming meetings.
Business District Focus:
In March and April, 2025, we met with business and property owners to learn about their experiences and identify tools that will bring more activity, sales per square foot, investment, and visitors. Our business district revitalization consultant, Michele Reeves, hosted a workshop to teach the building blocks of successful mixed-use districts. Reeves has almost 20 years in the private sector working in real estate development, business consulting, public sector real estate consulting, and marketing to help districts perform better economically.
She also guided a conversation with our business and property owners to identify their priorities for the area, now and into the future.
Reeves presented the findings from this business and property owner focused effort on May 5, 2025. View a summary of the presentation here [Archived Document]. The presentation included:
- Zoning and code approaches to encourage what the district wants to see,
- Economic programs for the private sector that result in district-wide impact, and
- Aspirational examples of adaptive reuse and new construction from around the world.
Vision Statement:
The Plan Committee crafted the following vision statement for the plan:
Spirit Valley is a vibrant place to live, work, play, grow, age, and thrive. The cohesive commercial district intentionally supports the surrounding neighborhoods and residents through economic opportunity, walkable streets, active storefronts, and public gathering spaces that all foster meaningful connections.
Spirit Valley Days 2025:
August 2025 - City Planning sponsored a booth at the Spirit Valley Days vendor fair to connect with community members and get input on the plan. Participants at the booth were given the opportunity to cast two votes for the following priorities for plan implementation (listed in order of greatest vote tallies):
- Bring more businesses to Spirit Valley
- Make walking more pleasant in Spirit Valley
- Build more housing in Spirit Valley
- Bring the Cross City Trail through Spirit Valley
- Increase services like trash pick-up and snow removal.
Participants at the booth reviewed options for street reconfigurations and voted in favor of modifications to better accommodate pedestrians and cyclists.
Strategy Research and Drafting:
September-December 2025 - Planning staff presented to the Plan Committee findings of the recently completed Housing Needs Assessment and worked on a SWOT analysis to consider Spirit Valley's Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Strategies were subsequently developed to address items in the SWOT analysis.
Based on input from the Vision Statement and SWOT analysis, Planning staff presented research to the Plan Committee on creating walkable districts from Jeff Speck. Speck is a city planner, urban designer, and Harvard-educated architect with a 30-year career. He is co-author of the best-selling book Walkable City and author of Walkable City Rules, 101 Steps to Making Better Places. The committee reviewed examples of walkable districts around the country for ideas to incorporate in Spirit Valley.
January 2026 - Planning staff and the Plan Committee considered options for incorporating walkability and placemaking strategies in the study area.
Recommendations Review-Approval:
February-March 2026 - Formulate recommended actions and hold a public meeting.
April 2026 - Forward the plan to the Planning Commission and City Council for approval. Finalize the plan and begin implementation
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