The Walkway - (1312 West Lake Street)

[Avian]

Does anyone know how this new building will interact with Cheapo? Will it be built wall-to-wall or will the alleyway be reestablished? Currently the space that would be the alley is just parking.

According to the plan the alley will divide the two buildings:
http://www.ouruptown.com/2011/12/cowboy ... revisions/

[Wedgeguy]

Slim's is all closed up, the patio aspects have been demolished. I hope they are ready with the shovel on this one!

The windows are boarded up and there are several truck loads of sand and or dirt now on the parking lot in one corner I noticed this morning on my way to Rainbow. The dirt does not look like anything to do with a ground breaking though.

[seanrichardryan]

They had some kind of final closing motor-cross-rodeo. There were hay bales and a dirt track set up last week. My guess is that its remnants of that.

[Wedgeguy]

They had some kind of final closing motor-cross-ro
deo. There were hay bales and a dirt track set up last week. My guess is that its remnants of that.

Ok that would make seens. I knew nothing about the Slims closing, even with me living 6 blocks away. But I sure hope that they start to get the demo done soon so they can get into construction in the spring.

[John]

They had some kind of final closing motor-cross-ro
deo. There were hay bales and a dirt track set up last week. My guess is that its remnants of that.

Ok that would make seens. I knew nothing about the Slims closing, even with me living 6 blocks away. But I sure hope that they start to get the demo done soon so they can get into construction in the spring.

This will be a pivotal project in the maturation of Uptown into what is really becoming the second downtown of Minneapolis. Now, what really needs to happen is for developers to build some more office space and a couple smaller boutique hotels.

[Nick]

Ahhhh I'm so excited for this to get going.

[John]

Thanks for the photos. This project is really going to change the feel of Uptown in a huge positive way. And it gets rid of a cheesy bar and vacant lot in one swipe!

[PhilmerPhil]

John, do you think this project will have an impact on Uptown?

[seanrichardryan]

Second downtown is an exaggeration. Second entertainment district perhaps. Retail district for downtown to envy, definately.

[John]

Second downtown is an exaggeration. Second entertainment district perhaps. Retail district for downtown to envy, definately.

Well, maybe it's better to call it a "satellite downtown " or something. Needs more office space and a couple hotels to get to that point. It's definitely moving in that direction.

[min-chi-cbus]

How about "Uptown"? I think that describes it perfectly!

[John]

How about "Uptown"? I think that describes it perfectly!

Be nice. I'm old enough to be your father . Uptown it will always be!

[Didier]

Until Uptown is connected to downtown by something other than bus or car, it will always be at least somewhat flawed, in my opinion.

[min-chi-cbus]

How about "Uptown"? I think that describes it perfectly!

Be nice. I'm old enough to be your father . Uptown it will always be!

You're 58?

[Wedgeguy]

How about "Uptown"? I think that describes it perfectly!

Be nice. I'm old enough to be your father . Uptown it will always be!

You're 58?

Sorry min but John is a bit youngr than that.

[John]

Be nice. I'm old enough to be your father . Uptown it will always be!

You're 58?

Sorry min but John is a bit youngr than that.

I'm actually 52. And if you know any of the important pop culture history of Cleveland, I used to watch "The Ghoul" on Channel 61!

[mplser]

Until Uptown is connected to downtown by something other than bus or car, it will always be at least somewhat flawed, in my opinion.

I agree. I think the best case scenario for uptown transit is a midtown greenway streetcar ending at the SW line to connect to downtown. the "drive everywhere" types will never let a hennepin streetcar happen

[John]

I was on a 6 bus a few days ago at rush hour downtown heading towards Uptown and it was standing room only. With all the new residential construction in Uptown, there is going to be an ever increasing amount of commuters between the two areas along Hennepin Ave. They need to rethink the public transportation needs of this corridor and soon!

[twincitizen]

Any transit improvements on Hennepin will result in the removal of some on-street parking, which businesses and neighbors will fight to the death. The problem exists in business districts all over the city: there is actually plenty of off-street parking in scattered small lots, but it's all privatized and under utilized at different hours of the day. We need to force businesses to create SHARED parking plans and convince them of the benefits. Alternately we could ban on-street parking during peak hours where it would be most beneficial to faster transit.

In my bus experiences from Uptown to downtown, the most cumbersome part actually has nothing to do with Uptown though. Sure, the buses could skip a few stops and have some signal priority to speed things up. The real problem is automobile congestion in 1. downtown 2. the bottleneck to a lesser degree.

Granted, I ride the 4 and not the 6, so my experience isn't exactly the same. The bus moves along pretty good from Lake to Franklin, even while stopping every block. The lack of a bus lane through the bottleneck, too many stops and too much congestion downtown, beginning at MCTC, are by far the biggest sources of delays.

[seanrichardryan]

Shared parking agreements often come with easements. Everyone hates an easement, especially if property is to change hands or uses.

So, when is the ground breaking for this project?