By: Mollee Francisco

When Dan Keyport left a technology job to pursue his love of fine wines, he knew he needed a location as attractive as it was convenient to be successful.

Though he looked at several strip mall locations, in the end, he settled on an old Chaska brick building in downtown Chaska.

With some help from the city, Keyport renovated the old Chaska depot and made it the home of his Dolce Vita Wine Shop.

“I’ve always liked old buildings,” he explained. “I grew up in one in St. Paul.”

Keyport got just what he wanted from the depot.

“It’s both an old building and on the busiest corner in the county,” he said.

Now, Keyport would like to see more complementary businesses find their way downtown. And he’s not the only one. The Chaska Area Chamber of Commerce is in the early stages of putting together a downtown business council that will be charged with the “discussion, planning, and implementation of downtown revitalization, business retention and expansion.”

Potential members met last Wednesday at Chestnut’s Restaurant. In total, some 25 chamber members from downtown Chaska were on hand to hear more about the concept of the business council.

“What do we want this town to eventually look like?” asked Neil Anderson, chair of the Chaska Area Chamber of Commerce board of directors. “How will we market it?”

“It’s going to be vital over the next couple of years to come up with a good plan, a good vision,” he added.

Les Dahlberg, chair of the council, said that they already have about 15 people interested in serving.

“There’s definitely a buzz of excitement right now,” said Dahlberg, as a fellow downtown business owner popped her head outside the door to express her interest in the council.

“I’ve got your number,” Dahlberg said with a smile.

The chamber will be looking to pare down the council to around six or eight members before they begin meeting some time next month.

“We’d like to see a mix of people and businesses,” Dahlberg said.

Dreams

So what do downtown business owners think would benefit downtown Chaska and their businesses?

“I’d like to see more restaurants,” said Keyport. “Particularly nice restaurants that would get people to come downtown at night.”

Having several destination points downtown is important to many business owners.

“There should be a uniqueness to businesses downtown,” said Dahlberg. “I think there is. I feel my store is a destination. I think many stores here are destinations.”

Sara Hanlon, owner of the Mill House Gallery, would agree.

“Big box stores and strip malls with franchise business is the same old, same old everywhere,” she said. “Small, independently-owned specialty shops are the main attractions (downtown).”

But even with a number of destination points, local business owners see a need for more.

“We want to create an energy, an excitement for downtown,” said Dahlberg.

Dahlberg hopes the business council will be able to do just that.

Keyport would like to see the city embrace its water sources.

“The dikes block the view now, but boy, if there were some sort of water attraction, some draw – like the lake is to Excelsior and the river is to Stillwater,” he said. “That might be just the anchor we need.”

And if he’s going to dream big, Keyport imagines a day when the railroad tracks behind his business are no longer in use.

“We could have a caboose sitting on the empty tracks with a coffee shop inside,” he said.

The Walnut Street Park-n-Ride would also make a fine light rail stop, he added.

Concerns

Along with dreams come concerns for the future, namely traffic.

“Heavy traffic does far more than make the streets of the old downtown a white-knuckle driving and high accident area,” said Hanlon. “The obscene amount of truck traffic is damaging, literally.

“The vibration alone causes continual damage to homes and buildings,” she added. “Mortar is shook loose from bricks. Stress cracks develop in both old and new buildings. Soot from smoke stacks on big trucks adds pollution to the air and that also lands on the exteriors of the buildings, giving them a dingy façade that darkens with each passing year.”

The Mill House Gallery, located along Highway 212, also suffers from rush-hour traffic, Hanlon said.

“Rush-hour traffic times leave many shops void of customers,” she said. “It’s not only about pulling out of heavy traffic to make a stop. It is also about trying to maneuver your car back into the traffic.”

If Hanlon is worried about too much traffic, Keyport has concerns about what less traffic will do to his business, also located along existing Highway 212, once the new Highway 212 opens to the north.

“That will be something of an issue,” he said.

Downtown business owners also have concerns over the future of parking in downtown Chaska. Mayor Gary Van Eyll, who sits on the city’s Chestnut Street Vision Task Force, has admitted that the future for parking along Highway 41 is grim.

Van Eyll has said that the changes the task force will be recommending for improving the roadway will likely include the removal of parking on the east side of Highway 41 to make room for medians and dedicated turn lanes at Second and Fourth streets.

“We will be impacted by people not parking out front,” said Dahlberg, who is located on the east side of Highway 41. “It’s certainly a convenience.”

But Dahlberg thinks the loss of parking will be manageable.

“I have access to parking right behind the store,” he said. “It will just be a matter of educating customers.”

Working together

Dahlberg isn’t sure just yet what priorities will pop to the top of the downtown business council’s list but he is positive that their group will have an impact on downtown.

“We can do more as a group than as individuals,” he said.

“An organization like this has a lot of clout,” Anderson told chamber members. “We are willing to advocate for business interests.”

One of the goals of the group will be to meet with city officials on a regular basis to share ideas for the downtown.

Keyport likes the idea of businesses working together. In fact, he’s been organizing business collaborations since he opened, working in conjunction with the Mill House Gallery, Linda’s Cellar, Mixed Company and the Peacock Inn, among others.

“I hope to do more,” he said.

The chamber hopes everyone will be on be on board to work toward bettering the downtown.

“There are cities out there that would kill to have a downtown,” Anderson said.

For more stories in our "What about downtown?" series, click here [1].