Take Two: Where Richfield Patch Is At

Richfield Patch has been steadily growing for four months and we plan to keep doing so. In order to do that, myself and a team of writers are currently working on a variety of stories.

Schools

Richfield Patch's Stefanie Carano is working a story about teen pregnancy rates in the Richfield Public Schools system. Have they gone up? Have they gone down? Is there no change? Stay tuned and find out what Patch has found.

School's social studies curriculum requirements are coming up for review at some point this year. Many think changes need to be made to include more diverse coursework and study. What will happen? We don't know, but we're looking to find out. Look for a story from Richfield Patch's Drew Miller in the near future.

The Minnesota State Legislature is still sitting on a bill that would mandate a statewide next year. Richfield Patch has written about the bill itself and gotten reaction from local teachers. While Richfield's legislative representatives don't believe it will pass, it is still a possibility. We will continue to follow this story as it progresses.

Redevelopment

When Richfield Patch launched we included a story about the current plans to remove the and replace it with a 90-unit apartment complex. Since then, several readers have asked for follow-up stories and we've been trying.

Currently the project is waiting for word on whether or not it has been granted funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Originally mall owners and the city were hoping to hear by January 2011, but it has been pushed back until May, according to John Stark, director of Richfield Community Development for the city.

This project is part of the larger project, which would revamp the entire northern stretch of Lyndale Avenue and around the Richfield Lake area. Two major pieces of the project are the vacant Lyndale Garden Center and Kmart spaces.

Good news. The Cornerstone Group, which owns the beautiful Kensington Park complex, recently received a signed purchase agreement from the owner of Lyndale Garden Center. This news is a huge step forward for the project.

While there is still some wiggle room until it becomes official, the city is holding a special work session at 5:45 p.m. March 21 at Richfield City Hall to talk about the Lyndale Garden Center space. Richfield Patch will be there to get the scoop on the new sale and how Woodlake Plaza fits in.

Sports

Now that the winter season for Richfield and Holy Angels sports teams are finished, we look toward spring. Stay tuned for previews, profiles and more.

There are so many stories to tell in this little-big town and I welcome you to send me your ideas to Caitlin.Burgess@patch.com. Stay tuned for the above mentioned stories and more from Richfield Patch.