, 
, 
, 
, 
Phase II of the “four corners facelift” project is underway on the northeast corner of Highway 75 and Main Street in Luverne.
Crews started last week in front of W-2 Quality Meats, digging up sidewalk and laying the groundwork for what will become an “entrance” to Luverne’s downtown district.
“The goal is to grab the attention of drivers and say, ‘This is a major intersection. Go east to Main Street,’” Holly Sammons said at a city meeting last year.
Sammons, director of Luverne’s Economic Development Authority, has been working with design committee members of LIFT (Luverne Initiatives For Tomorrow) on the four corners elements that complement the Loop trail, The Lake and other areas of town.
“We saw that we could touch multiple projects with continuity and cohesion through the whole community,” Sammons said.
The $35,000 flag corner features large Sioux quartzite boulders, which the city acquired from Julia and Burdell Kruse property they purchased last year in July on the west edge of town.
The inventory of boulders in their “Rock County Prairie Stone” was part of the deal, and those red stones will be incorporated in the city’s overall design plan.
“We found it to be the best use of our own resources to use these Sioux quartzite rocks,” Sammons said. “That pretty much says ‘Luverne’ more than any other design feature.”
She’s been working with affected businesses on the other three corners — Remedez, the Laundry Room and W-2 Quality Meats — to consider their aesthetic goals.
For the Laundry Room corner, grass and trees will be added at the corner and on the boulevards, with parking spots shifting closer to the building.
The Remedez corner will have only small changes, since those parking spots in front of the business are essential.
The W-2 corner will see the biggest changes, since LIFT considers the northbound traffic from I-90 to have the best potential for downtown business.
In addition to generous green space and landscaping, the W-2 corner will have a lighted sign and directional information for the downtown business district.
Property owners have agreed to grant permanent easements to the city, and in return they gain improved property that the city will maintain for them.
Sammons said the goal is for the boulevards to be complementary to the businesses, but not intrusive.
“We wanted something that tells people as they’re driving by, ‘The lights are on, someone’s home, you’re always welcome,’” she said.
Motorists from the north will see the W-2 corner signage as they’re coming down the hill, but Sammons said it’s the I-90 traffic that LIFT focused on as potential retail spenders.
Sammons said there isn’t a firm estimate on the cost of the W-2 corner improvements, but the sign alone costs $10,770, and city public works and utilities departments will provide in-kind labor and resources.