Potential for downtown development unveiled at Clearwater open house

Clearwater residents received a sneak peak of what the village's business district could look like, Nov. 8, during an open house at the American Legion.

Bobbi Pettit, owner of Five Rule Rural Planning, along with other members of the planning team, shared concepts designed by architect Patrick Moore, an architect with Good Life Architecture, in Kearney; landscape architect Austin Arens, with RDG Planning & Design in Omaha; and John Zwingman, civil engineer with Advanced Consulting Engineering Services of West Point.

Drawings show potential ideas, including updated store fronts, a mural welcoming visitors to town and a greenspace and commons area along Main Street.

Individuals also had an opportunity to view infrastructure options.They identified likes and dislikes, based on photo options. That data will be used when a master plan is formulated for the downtown design.

During Monday's Clearwater Village Board of Trustees meeting, Pettit presented an update on community input and the planning process.

Pettit said, "When we think of downtown revitalization, we always thinking about pretty flags and candy-striped awnings and people holding hands, walking down the street with ice cream, but we don't think about drainage and storm sewer, elevation and sidewalks."

According to Pettit, the DTR project can be broken into three areas.

The civil side - engineering and infrastructure - is one part. According to Pettit, Zwingman has shot elevations of Main Street to determine street and sidewalk sections.

Streetscapes, including landscaping amenities, are a second part of the process.

Building improvements are the third component.

"The design professionals have been in town twice and spent a full day in Clearwater. They decided what they wanted to look at and put these designs together," Pettit said.