The Shoppes at Arbor Lakes Unveils New Streetscape
Increased parking is one of the perks of the new streetscape finished this week at the Shoppes at Arbor Lakes in Maple Grove.
This renovation is clearly something that shoppers will notice when visiting the “Central Plaza” area. Instead of a pedestrian only area, there are now 31 parking spaces for cars and trucks. Organizers say it means much better access to everyone going to the Maple Grove facility. Before construction, the area was open to just pedestrians.
“We didn’t have any parking in this area,” said Jennie Zafft, Arbor Lakes Marketing Director. “That was a big thing we heard from people. It was nice during the summer but when the temperatures got a little cooler, people just really wanted to be able to park right in front of their destination store.”
There is a ribbon cutting on November 14th to celebrate the new-look block.
Shoppes Streetscape to ease congestion
The “Shoppes Streetscape” parking spots should cut down on congestion. The new space also encourages shoppers to hang around the Shoppes a little bit longer. There are several seating areas, plus fire rings.
“Previously we had a fountain that we had to to winterize,” Zafft said. “The goal with this is we now have three fire features that we’ll be able to utilize year round. We felt like as a you’re walking from one block to the next, you could stop, kind of hang out by the fire, warm up a little bit.”
There are benches and chairs surrounding the hot spots and they spaced out up and down the Central Plaza.
With the holiday shopping crush fast approaching, the heat islands figure to be especially popular now that cold weather has gripped the Twin Cities earlier than normal.
