urbanMSP

In the name of incrementalism, I think it would be great if Walgreens rebuilt at the NW corner of 66th and Nicollet -- the actual corner, next to the sidewalks. They're smart people; I'm sure they could find a way to do a drive-thru even with sidewalk frontage. That corner of the parking lot is larg...

The recent F&C story on 66th Street states the bulk of the construction work is slated for 2017, finishing up in 2018. The project won't even go out to bid until spring-summer 2016, with prep work commencing in fall 2016. I guess I was under the impression that heavy work would begin 2016 and w...

Approved http://m.bizjournals.com/twincities/blog/real_estate/2014/12/minnetonka-approves-35m-apartment-project-near.html Good to see. Surprising nobody here (by my cursory glance back) criticized the fact that the building is surrounded on all sides by parking lots. Do we just accept that this is ...

This road is super wide already and there's hardly ever any traffic on it. Surely 3 lanes would have been sufficient with street parking!! Grr!! You might be thinking of the section west of Penn -- which does have less traffic, and is hugely wide right now, and also gets the worst speeding. That wi...

The shoreline vegetation is actually an important part of their function in the water cycle. Ultimately these are an important part of public infrastructure in that they keep all of the pollutants that are essential to the classic suburban way of life (primarily lawn fertilizers and pesticides, whi...

I retract my earlier statement. Here's the pond in question: https://www.google.com/maps/place/3385+119th+Ave+NE,+Blaine,+MN+55449/@45.1871304,-93.1855798,230m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x52b32149b0bfaa9b:0x6349a53a90bdedf5. Only one side fronts a public street, and it seems to be screened from that s...

Surprised that anyone wouldn't know the purpose of the ponds. I literally thought they were called "stormwater ponds" or "detention ponds". I think the fairest system to have some level of public ownership, and public access -- like make it park land, with a trail encircling it, ...

Going to Southtown I can park more or less right in front of the store I'm going to; going to Southdale it's a bigger production than I like between walking across the huge parking lot and then across the mall. Seems like the ideal setup, then, is what the Penn/American plan envisions, and what's a...

I have gone to Southtown for Schuler Shoes, though. However, I am definitely going to Schuler Shoes despite it being in Southtown, not because of it. I'd probably much prefer the new Highland store, although Southtown is closer.

I don't buy my groceries at Target either, but I also find the Penn/American Target really odd given proximity to Southdale Target. Southdale Target and Richfield/Cedar Point are much more crowded, but other than that they seem newer, nicer, more offerings. And I find the Southtown BB&B's proxim...

I agree that we don't necessarily celebrate modern Scandinavia much, but I'd say that is pretty common. A lot of people have ties to Scandinavia, but through their great-grandparents, so their culture is tied to Scandinavia as it was 100 years ago. We do not have many ties to modern Scandinavia. Th...

Richfield City Council approved Concept 4B between 35W and Penn tonight, in a 3-2 vote. Mayor Goettel and the Ward 1 rep, Pat Elliot, voted against the widening. Both spoke strongly in favor of a trial 3-lane design (temporary restriping to see what would happen). A great idea, but the political wil...

The Richfield City Council will be considering approval of Concept 4B between 35W and Penn tomorrow night, as well as a "low-impact" design (no dedicated bike space) west of Penn. The 35W-Penn section will be controversial, since it involves taking the 18 homes. There are 5 council votes (...

Is there any plans to build a bike trail next to 35w between downtown and uptown? the space does exist however the sound barriers are not in places that would allow it to be built easily but perhaps when they are replaced in the distant future the space could be used? Given the air pollution of bei...

Another highlight: a Nancy Thorvilson complained that their neighborhood deserved to be treated better than Richfield: "I don't think you can compare the Richfield Lennar site with this site. There's a whole difference in valuation of the residential housing, as well as the density of the housi...

The video is interesting, particularly shameless points for some parent shoving their middle schooler up to the mic to talk about the asthma concern she has regarding the 100-some units' cars. Yet, oddly, parents were not concerned with buying a house adjacent to 30,000 ADT France Ave: http://edina....

Hah, this: Some Council members and Mayor Jim Hovland, who expressed support for the multifamily proposal, drew comparisons between this site and one at 6725 York Ave. to the east of Southdale Center, where earlier this year the city approved a six-story development by Lennar Multifamily at the site...

Late word was that it was approved conditionally. Haven't seen reporting what the conditions are. Interesting. I like the result of it being approved, although I do not like the process matter of the city council ignoring the recommendations of staff and a unanimous vote of the Planning Commission....

"[citing] the project's abrupt transition from to single family residential homes to the west" I should think that multi-family housing would be a better way of transitioning to residential than a medical office building -- especially since their proposal included townhomes adjacent to the...

New story on the proposal to take homes in the reconstruction process. The article unfairly makes it seem like bike lanes and sidewalks are what are driving this, not the dedicated left turn lanes. Really? It didn't seem that bad to me. Except this one line: "The homes will make way for a rebu...