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Product The next component of an economic development program is the product itself. In a similar fashion to a business taking their product to market, the community needs to look at itself as a product that is being bought, improved and resold over and over again. Enhancing the quality of the product works directly at improving the customer's satisfaction of the buying experience. Activities recommended for consideration in improving the product include: 7) Gateway Plan. Visitors to Arden Hills are often in the community before they realize they are arrived. It is easy to move from a neighboring community without realizing tha#one has entered Arden Hills. The paths along which one moves into artd out of ab unity are referred to as the gateways. Arden Hills would be well served by placing modern welcome signs at its gateway entrances greeting visitors and residents, 8) Way Finding Signage Moving throughout the community can be made.rxtore,effective through the addition of way finding signs. As their name implies, these signs help to direct travelers to specific destination points in the community such as;Gity hall, parks; shopping``districts, schools, etc. When incorporated into the design of461e gateway signeg , they add to the style of the community creating a greater sense of- sen that so `&one has arrived in Arden Hills. 9) Central Business District. The lack of a city,center is a.common°,challenge for modern communities. Many of these communities developod imilarly to Arden Hills, as a suburb from a larger metropolitan center. Once critical mass wa soon achieved and a community was formed by the first settlers. Since the "city" at that time was the larger metropolitan downtown, the focus on creating a'central business district did not exist. However, as the community grew the need for its own identity grew with it. As is frequently the case, the area fora city center was not zoned or planned in the process. Arden Hills has areas of higher retail and service concentration; however they were planned for vehicular transportation and have the look and feel of such a decision. A city center is more pedestrian oriented consisting of: a. Higher buildings b. Zero lot line development (front and side yards) c. Shared parking d. Parks (typically passive) e. Entertainment and dining venues f. Niche retail Areas like this do not currently exist in Arden Hills. This matter is further complicated by the fact that the "historical" city center/main street which many have defined as CR E has been "abandoned" by the construction of the new City Hall along CR G/96 1h Street Working Copy— Not for Circulation 3