Summer Day Camps Fill the Lakeside Parks as School Lets Out

LHENA, the nonprofit that has represented the neighborhood since the early 1970s and keeps an office at 2744 Lyndale Ave. S., routes that work through the committee, formerly its Zoning and Planning committee, which reviews land use, development, infrastructure and transportation in the neighborhood. The committee is where the association hears from developers and residents on specific proposals, including a plan for 1301 W. Lake St., the vacant lot beside the former Calhoun Square, where BKV Group has presented preliminary development concepts.

The stakes are unusually high here. The Wedge, bounded roughly by Hennepin and Lyndale avenues, is among the densest and most renter-heavy neighborhoods in Minneapolis, which puts it at the center of the city's housing debates. A neighborhood built out in the streetcar era as dense, walkable and transit-served has a built-in interest in growth that reinforces those qualities.

A neighborhood vision carries no force of law; zoning and approvals run through the city. But a stated set of priorities gives developers, planners and council members a clearer read on where the organized neighborhood stands, which can shape what gets proposed and how it is received. Residents can weigh in through the committee as proposals come forward; LHENA lists its meetings and current development items on its website.

Editor's note: We could not independently confirm a standalone "Wedge Development Vision" document. This piece describes LHENA's actual development-review process and the live 1301 W. Lake St. proposal; we will update if the association publishes a formal vision document. [unverifiable: a finalized "Wedge Development Vision" document]