From the Main Street Market to popular water skiing shows on Centerville Lake, the city has a positive vibe.
But Centerville wants to get even better. Mayor Nancy Golden and others in the city have goals of revitalizing their downtown.
“We are reimagining our downtown master plan,” Golden said. “This is the first time it’s been done since 2006 and we are engaged with a grant from the University of Minnesota as well as working with our planner Bolton & Menk. Our residents are very involved in this process.”
According to Golden, Centerville has had multiple open houses soliciting feedback from residents about what a future downtown should look like.
Said Golden: “They gave us all kinds of input on what they want to see and what they don’t want to see.”
Where is the Centerville city center?
These days no one is exactly sure where the Centerville city center is – which is why all options are in play regarding a future downtown.
“There are a lot of different definitions about where downtown Centerville is,” Golden said. “We have the opportunity now to redefine that and work with our residents to see what they want…We are also looking at possibly redefining where the center point of our downtown is. Will it remain at Centerville Road and Main Street or will it move south.”
Golden is hoping developers will want to build in Centerville.
“Our goal would be to have new businesses come in as well,” Golden said. “There’s been a huge desire for restaurants, coffee shops, an ice cream shop.”
Golden also has some other ideas for the city.
“I would love to see a rooftop bar on one of our restaurants,” Golden said. “I think that would just be fabulous.”
Creating a new downtown core in Centerville is not going to happen anytime soon, but someday in the future, the city could have a new look.
“This is going to be a long process,” Golden said. “It’s going to involve everyone’s input.”
