Fargo City Commission Approves Downtown Master Plan

Fargo's Downtown Infocus blueprint has been designed to provide recommendations for the next 100 years

FARGO, ND — The Fargo City Commission has approved the downtown master plan, which means change is in store.

“Downtown is great already and so this is really just about taking it to that next level,” said Nicole Crutchfield, a planning administrator with the City of Fargo.

Fargo’s Downtown Infocus blueprint has been designed to provide recommendations for the next 100 years.

“We’re already one of the top 10 downtowns in the nation, which is really great, but you have to continue the energy and the excitement to make it grow a bit,” said Fargo Mayor Tim Mahoney.

Whether it’s retail space, living accommodations, parking lots, green space, extra safety, public transportation or more community activities, people with Downtown Infocus want to expand it all.

“The plan tries to capture all of that,” Crutchfield said.

Crutchfield says the project is in place to create a more enhanced neighborhood but it’s also in place to build a prime destination for visitors.

“I think the number one common theme is how do we work together to reinforce and expand the experience of downtown,” Crutchfield said.

There has been exponential growth downtown in the past few years, but this plan has a different aim.

“A lot of times, what we do, is go street by street,” Mayor Mahoney said. “This gives us an idea to do the whole neighborhood and kind of figure out what we’re going to do.”

What’s one of the biggest needs for change?

“We have to develop growth off Broadway so we have to figure out what off Broadway is going to look like,” Mahoney said.

Krutchfield says the idea is for people to see something new and exciting each time they come downtown.

Open houses and focus groups will start to pop up in the area to get feedback from the community on what they would like to see.