2020 Progress in the City of Jordan

With 2019 behind us, I wanted to reach out to help inform the Jordan community what the City has recently been up to and highlight an opportunity for you to help guide Jordan’s future. In March, the City of Jordan will be distributing its annual community survey. Your input is more valuable than you might otherwise think. I encourage all residents to please take the time to provide input. The City Council and Staff will closely review the input receive as it develops community goals for the next 5-10years.

To provide more background as to why this input is so important, here is a summary of recent accomplishments by the City based in public input we have received:

Trail Connection Progress in Jordan

Each community outreach survey the City receives back; we hear from more residents wanting more trails in Jordan. A majority of our residents wanted it and the following are happening:

• 2020: New pedestrian crossing of CR 61 (Aberdeen Ave) between Bridle Creek and Stonebridge to promote safe access to Grassmann Park
• 2020: New trail along 190^th Street from CR 9 to Timberline, thanks to a $65,000 grant the City secured from the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community
• 2020: New trail along Hwy 21 from the Sand Creek Bridge to Mill Street
• 2020: New sidewalk along Seville Dr from the new CDA development to Creek Lane
• 2021: New sidewalk along Seville Dr / El Dorado Dr from the new CDA development to Creek Lane (completing the loop started in 2020 along these roads)
• 2021: New trail along Creek Lane, from Hwy 282 to Triangle Lane
• 2021: New trail along Hwy 282, from Mill Street to Lydia Road
• 2023: New trail along Hwy 21, from the Sand Creek Bridge to Sawmill Road.

Aside from meeting residents’ desires for these trails, the City has attacked these needs in a way that doesn’t attack the City’s budget. The vast majority of these facilities are being funded by grants or other agencies resulting from coordination led by the City.

These new trail and sidewalk connections are only the start. The 169/ 282 / 9 interchange project will bring a new web of connectivity across Jordan’s Highway 169 and Sand Creek barriers. The City is continuously reviewing the few trail connection gaps remaining in the City

Progress in Jordan’s Parks

Over the past five years the City has added numerous affordable improvements in Lagoon Park. In 2018 the City added a new splash pad, which has clearly been a splashing success. A new concession stand was added in response to public input on the need for snacking options while residents enjoy Jordan’s most popular park. Boat rentals launched in 2018, new play equipment went in for our youngest residents, and a new hockey rink took shape in the center of Lagoon Park for increased winter park usage.

A new dog park on Sawmill Road has been a barking success since its installation in 2017, following years of searching for an acceptable location. The City worked with MnDOT and a property owner to get a new archery park installed in the formerly underutilized Hwy 21 wayside rest area.

In 2019 the City began replacing outdated park signage and aging neighborhood park equipment. The City also added two new neighborhood parks; both adjacent to the Wexford Square Townhomes.

Finally – have you heard about the new Grassmann Park? A first of its kind in the nation, the park features:

• Two ninja-warrior style challenge courses, complete with a timer scoreboard and connectivity options for nationwide comparison on your speed
• A multi-use field for baseball, softball, football, and soccer
• A multi-use trail around the entire park for walkers, runners, and young cyclists.

Roadway & Utility Progress in Jordan

Hwy 21 Bridge Project: MNDOT is completing a bridge reconstruction project on the two Hwy 21 Bridges starting in March. During the project development process, the City worked with MNDOT to:

1. Widen both bridges to accommodate a new bicycle and pedestrian trail
2. Install a new trail in 2020 from the Sand Creek Bridge to Mill Street, passing by the historic brewery
3. Plan for a continuation of the trail in 2023 from the Sand Creek Bridge to Sawmill Road, when the intersection at Sawmill Road will also be improved.

MnDOT’s Hwy 21 project will require a temporary road closure with detours for around 10 months, which is the painful side of this progress. During that time, the City is working with downtown businesses and developing a new downtown summer series of community events to increase downtown foot traffic. The City can’t do this along though, and are encouraging you help to support our businesses as well. Please be mindful to shop local and support our strong downtown!

Hwy 21 / Sawmill Rd / CR 66 Roundabout: The City has long desired improvement to this intersection, particularly for those Jordan residents turning onto Hwy 21 as part of their daily morning commute. The City has led discussions with MnDOT, Scott County, and Jordan School District regarding installation of a new roundabout. The project is currently scheduled to be constructed in the summer of 2023.

Creek Lane Roundabout: The City has been successful at acquiring grant funding in the amount of $1.81M to help complete this project. The project will reduce congestion on Creek Lane at Hwy 282 and improve the safety of the intersection for all users. The work will be started and completed in 2021.

282 Resurfacing Project: MnDOT is moving forward with resurfacing of Hwy 282 from Jordan to Hwy 13 in 2021. Similar to the Hwy 21 bridge project, the City has successfully sought out opportunities from an otherwise painful construction process. The City has worked with MNDOT to install a trail heading up the bluff from downtown. The new trail will connect sidewalks at Mill Street to Lydia Road, filling a long-desired trail connection need for the City. Better yet, 80% of the trail will now be paid for by MnDOT rather than local tax payer funds.

169 interchange: The City has been working jointly with Scott County and MNDOT for over two years on plans and designs for an interchange at 169/282/CR9. The next open house for the public on this process is February 20^th at 4:30pm at the Council Chambers. This is an extremely challenging area to design an interchange at with the Creek, the railroad, wetland, a few bridges and some of our current businesses built under more rural times. By the end of April this year the plans will be through the design and environmental study enough to apply for federal funding. We are currently working with the other agencies on grant applications. We feel our project has a great chance to be successful at achieving funding very soon.

Southwest Interceptor Sewer: Jordan has been a growing community for decades and market pressures will continue to push our community to progress. Recognizing the most basic, fundamental role of the City to have a functional sanitary sewer system, the City Council planned out a sanitary sewer improvement project in phases to match sewer flow demands while not increase the water and sewer bills to residents. We have some large debt coming off our debt rolls so we staggered the project to make our first payment in the year after our final debt payment was paid.

Housing Progress in 2019

Jordan welcomed 36 new homes this year, a number anchored largely by the new Lennar development and infill of existing inventory. The Scott County CDA is building 59 units of senior housing apartment in the 2^nd phase of their Brentwood Development. Being this is the Scott County CDA project these units will be very affordable to our seniors. Schrom Construction completed 28-unit rental townhouses in an affordable housing project.   The City is working on more developments including styles with smaller starter homes and market rate apartments.

Progress in Downtown Jordan

In 2013 the City developed its visioning document for downtown Jordan and the surrounding area, based on business and community member engagement. This guide for how the community can reinvest in and promote Jordan’s downtown core. Building from this vision the city has:

• Developed the Downtown Façade Grant program, resulting in over 20 building owner investments spurred by the City. These small incentives have improved the look and feel of downtown Jordan for the benefit of all who visit.
• The City completed a large replacement of its aging downtown street and utility infrastructure in the summer of 2015. Utilizing the downtown visioning and its advisory committee, the City widened sidewalks, added pedestrian friendly bump outs with planting beds, enhanced the pedestrian experience with new benches, garbage cans, and wayfinding kiosks, and planted of over 20 trees.

The downtown investments have helped attract some new businesses to downtown Jordan like Roets Jordan Brewery, Sassy Kat Boutique, Bluff Creek Boutique, Beauti Salon, Jaime Smith Photography, Delia’s All in One Authentic Mexican Restaurant and, coming this summer, Mousse Sparkling Wine. The City is very proud of the progress in our downtown and are working to continue to improve.

Redevelopment and Expansion –

Over the past four years Jordan has seen a significant expansion and redevelopment in the Triangle Lane commercial area. The City is thankful to have great businesses like Wolf Motors, McDonalds, and Holiday chooses to reinvest over $5,000,000 in the community. The additions of Taco Bell and Caribou Coffee have also changed the landscape of our highway commercial area and added to Jordan’s tax base. Available industrial lots have been dwindling down as well. The City is proud of this positive momentum and is excited for other similar growth opportunities on the horizon.

Progress Toward a Flood Control Solution

Jordan has been subject to flooding for decades and 2019 was no exception. This year the City finalized a preliminary design process for a flood control solution involving the construction of new certified levees along Sand Creek. Recently, the City has coordinated with the DNR to gain funding to implement the solution. The DNR has indicated that they have Jordan pegged to receive funding for the project beginning in 2020 and continuing over the next several years to get the project completed. The community has excited things to come toward finally solving this problem.

Public Engagement & Social Media Progress

If you’re a social media user, you likely have seen some of the posts by the City of Jordan or even interacted with us online. The City Staff takes great pride in community engagement, listening to what you think and considering how to make Jordan a more attractive place to live, work, and play. Over the past few years, beyond the same-old mailings and public meetings, the City has prided itself on pushing updates to Jordan residents and businesses via social media platforms that Jordan residents use. Rather than sit back and due the bare minimum a government must do, the City of Jordan instead wants to take information to the residents rather than assume residents will find it on their own.

2019 was a busy year in the City of Jordan with loads of progress. I want to thank the community for the opportunity to provide the future direction as mayor and am proud to live in a growing and successful community at the input of its citizens. I look forward to reviewing the input Jordanites provide on the upcoming community visioning survey process.

Sincerely yours, Mayor Tanya Velishek

(Please click this link below to take our survey.)

2020 City of Jordan Visioning Survey