Lake Elmo Old Village Master Plan
Lake Elmo, MN

The Old Village of Lake Elmo is a unique small town amidst the sprawling suburban landscape east of Saint Paul. Intent on preserving the rural nature of their community, the City placed stringent guidelines on residential developers in the broader community, requiring half of developed land to be retained as open space and insisting on linked trail construction to be a part of each project.

CLOSE Landscape Architecture+, Design Forum and Robert Engstrom Companies were retained by the City following an agreement with the Met Council to accommodate 600 new units of housing in and around the Old Village over the next several years. The team created a plan that extends the character of the historic core village seamlessly into the surrounding landscape, creating a pedestrian and bicycle-friendly pattern of streets and blocks that connect existing and new neighborhoods to local and regional recreation amenities. The plan also envisions the transformation of a heavily trafficked rural highway into an urban "Main Street" within a revitalized downtown core. A major greenbelt will surround the town, maintaining the distinct edge that has become the icon of this community.