urbanMSP

I recently got a 12-mo. subscription to this service. I had tried once before to do a 24-hr sub but the machine defeated me. With the RFID card, it's just a breeze. The iPhone app is spot on (including a 30-min countdown and a station locator showing your current location). The bikes are really quit...

I have to say I agree with jet that this doesn't strike me as awful, and my first reaction was positive. Could it be exemplary? Sure, but as it is it's above average for buildings downtown. Not everything can be the new Mozaic. Sometimes a bit of function has to prevail over form...

Still, I don't see a problem with this building. Looks nice to me and it's not like it's single-story or anything. Lack of retail - yeah, that's a shame. Hopefully they reconsider that part of it.

Looks good, but yeah I wonder what happened to the towers proposal? Anyone good at estimating what 250,000 sq-ft looks like?

Some of the PDF's renderings still show the residential, frontage residential buildings on the north end of the towers. I think we need more info.

Also does the 19ish floors shown nix the possibility of the increase to 361-foot towers?

I think the renderings aren't entirely consistent - it looks like the residential building that was added is attempting to match the lower floors of the towers but they weren't consistently rendered. I'd make it at least a story taller to hide the jail, though, as others have said.

Yeah, I don't think this project has parking because someone told Magellan they had to. I think it has parking because a large percentage of people moving downtown still want to own a car and this area of town is incredibly tight on parking with most buildings around having neither underground nor o...

Well, I found the studies that I was looking for. http://156.142.40.9/Weblink8Public/0/doc/10601/Page58.aspx (pages 42-59) Looks like Plymouth's policy required 75% of local residents, of which they got only about 60% at the time. I called the city attorney, though, and he makes it sound like the mo...

If not a grade separation, perhaps a raised crossing with a lot of signage along with stops for cross traffic? I.e., discourage driving but allow for crossing during times of severe need?

I was reserving judgment on this project until I had seen and experienced it. It's really nice. It just has a nice feel as you walk around it, lots of tables, lots of glass and most of the time you aren't looking up beyond its facade to notice it's not a skyscraper. Is it perfect, no. Is it a huge b...

This has to be close to topping out. Anyone have a current count?

Dead end two of them and an over-under bridge for the third? That couldn't be completely out of realm of possibility, could it?

Is anyone else a bit bummed that they're not taking this opportunity to remove the remaining at-grade crossings on the Greenway? I have to believe that this is a good time to consider removing the last awkward "speed bumps" on this stretch of the trail. Then again, that would certainly add...

Well, that does seem to be the biggest complexity and transactional difficulty - the city wants to lower the speed limit but technically it can't, so it's puts s*** in the middle of the road. Roads like Bryant Ave S north of Lake St. have humps, and I do have to admit it's absurd that road is techni...

That's outstanding! I remember this being basically right on the trail, maybe across the tracks. Anyone know if there will be direct access to the trail-grade?

They can maybe zoom out a bit or pan up? Again, a good problem to have!

Thanks for the reply! No, don't worry about hijacking - I basically know my odds are nigh impossible. Nevertheless, I think there is a dearth of studies done on the effectiveness of bumps and humps and much like the FAA's silly cell-phone prohibition, I almost feel that it's planned ignorance. Howev...

Stick construction is starting to go up on the middle parcel. Excited to see this one finished.

Also, about that site plan - am I reading that correctly that the promenade north of the Greenway will stop short of Phase II? That wouldn't make any sense, would it?

Well, I take it there's not going to be a panacea as I'd hoped. Apparently there's one resident on this street that dictates what everyone else will do. I'm toying with filing for an injunction against the City of Plymouth, but that would be a very long process. What I really would like to do is get...