Business View Magazine | March 2018

155 counts.“Where those 200-plus homes were located, has nowbeenmade into greenspace.Themost vulner- able homes are gone andwe were left with land that could also be a communityamenity.We went through a significant planning study in 2014,and since that time,we’ve received over $2million in parks and trails grants to improve that area along the river.So,we’re turning that disaster into an asset andwe thinkit’s important to the long-termhealth of the community.” That sense of creative resiliency–turning floodzone property into a nature-based communityasset–also happened to dovetail well withwhat the city’s resi- dents said theypreferred in terms of amenities.“Sixor seven years ago,the citydid a big communityoutreach onwhat theywanted,”recounts CityManager,Christina Volkers.“Our median age here is 29 years old.That’s a young community.Theywant trails,theywant walk- ability,and theywant bike lanes.So,we spent a lot of effort on creating that infrastructure.Andwe’vedone a great job; we received significant federal and state moneyand put a lot of effort into trails and parks.Our next wave is downtown development.Andwe feel like that’s taking off,now.” Graffeo elaborates on some ongoing projects de- signed to re-imagineMoorhead’s downtown.“The city