urbanMSP

Am I correct in saying time-of-use metering for residential was not statutorily allowed until recently (2014? IIRC). That would explain the recent trial, which likely helped Xcel figure out a good rate structure. Of course, as solar becomes more widespread, daytime charging may be incentivized as we...

On one hand, this building meets the definition of looming. On the other hand,,,,

To be fair, the Nine Mile Creek route west of here is a total mess. Not just because it follows the windy creek, but also tons of snake points to cross roads. Really, a direct route underpass similar to the one over at York would be nice, but it it's not gonna happen. I'm guessing that, unlike many ...

Looks like The Suburbanist created a streets.mn forum account! In all seriousness, I'm not wild about this proposal but I don't think it's as much junk as others seem to. The number of units is frustratingly low, but parking wrapped with *something* is a good start, and I really get the impression t...

I think I've brought this up before, but.... why not just subscribe to a community solar garden? So far since February, my share has produced more energy than I've used each month. We'll see how my June-July bill looks since we've been using AC, but it may be canceled out by the better insolation. N...

http://kotaku.com/two-final-fantasy-xiv ... 1796692020

[thinking face emoji]

Worth highlighting that their own records show that South St Paul saw just 5 calls a month to their 5 “registered housing with services” buildings. To call this an economic issue is........

I think both sides of a minor disagreement are guilty of using the same circumstance as evidence for why their preferred outcome is better. Sidewalks are fine because parking access is rare, but also there'd be many issues pushing that traffic to alleys. The reverse is true for me. We can't each hav...

Making alleys with any sort of significant commercial access traffic one way would eliminate, what, 95% of the conflicts? I don't really think surface lots in urban areas (especially a place Eat Street, with well-used on-street parking as well as significant walk/bike/transit patrons) see as much ve...

Yes, suggesting Nord Haus' very expensive 10 penthouse units prices cater to a totally different type of person than David Greene was definitely the One And Only Solution to housing affordability for all. Glad that's how you read that conversation as well.

I would say that a post bemoaning how expensive brand new units are in a different part of town and comparing them to the cost of your living situation (which, btw, does not mirror actual SFH pricing in your neighborhood now) is somewhat knee-jerk and in a different context (say, a neighborhood org ...

On that subject, I've used the not-yet-officially-open ones on Washington a bit and the ones on Portland and Park and pedestrians standing in them while waiting to cross the street is a real issue. Are we missing a design element that's supposed to help with that? Or will pedestrians figure it out ...

Most of my disagreement with your post comes in the last two paragraphs, which aren't really germane to the Nord Haus project itself. I will say, it is interesting to hear you tout homeownership and the value of gaining equity (which is only had when land values rise, without which depreciation + fi...

One reason is the large number of curb cuts on Eat Street. People aren't just making lefts at intersections. The best thing about Nicollet is that but for maybe 2 block faces (east side of the 2000 block and the northern third of the east 2700 block, plus maybe you could count the Whittier Clinic b...

I like having this conversation time and again. People are at different places in their lives with different spending priorities than you. They'd rather not spend (or they don't have!) the $20-40k required to make a down payment on a $400k+ house (there are none listed in the Wedge for under $400k r...

I thought a separate thread from the Valleyfair one would be worthwhile. http://finance-commerce.com/2017/06/just-2-cpm-buys-shakopee-apartment-rental-sites-for-nothing/ Minneapolis developer CPM got a sweetheart deal for a collection of lots in downtown Shakopee, including the extant city hall loca...

I'm not sure the extent to which most office towers in downtown received much subsidy (whatever that term means), or if they've on-net paid it back since being built and paying millions in property taxes (plus corporate/income/sales taxes generated by the businesses inside). But if we're going to ac...

I really hate taking this position, mostly because it's impossible to make it without having lingering negative feelings about other good projects we've already done, but $1+ billion is too much for a streetcar with mixed traffic segments. I'm sorry. We need to get our costs under control if we're g...

The sales tax is incredibly regressive: https://itep.org/whopays/minnesota/ - statewide sales/excise taxes hit the bottom 20-40% income quintiles far harder than property taxes do as a share of income (yes, this particular analysis lumps excise and business sales/excise taxes passed on to consumers ...