urbanMSP

^^I spoke with a gentleman taking soil samples along the mall today, and he suspects the Birch (and other distressed plants) are not tolerant of all the salt used during the winter months. He added that they are not likely to thrive in such an intensely urban environment. I guess I'm not sure why th...

What's up with all the trees between 8th and 12th street? The vast majority of them look like they're dead or dying! I haven't been north of 8th street for awhile. Hope that's not happening up there. Really sad.

FENCES ARE UP!!!

THIS IS HAPPENING

The base and the crown look pretty good. However, the tower should really be about 10 stories taller to improve the proportions, and give the north end of Nicollet Mall a stronger place mark. The project has definitely swayed from the original intent of the RFP's

I think the ramp looks fairly discreet given its size. Yeah, the base could use a few more tweaks but it's already a very admirable design. I've lived near this intersection for over 30 years, and walked by it frequently. This project is a tremendous improvement for this long underutilized site.

The massing and facade is much improved from the earlier rendition of the proposal. The spire will look great at that intersection. Lovely project!

Glad Victoria's Secret is gone. Kind of a lame retail chain for that intersection. Uniqlo and Topman would be a much better fit.

I'm sure many of us "old timers" (who've been watching development in Uptown for decades) are undoubtedly super excited to see Arby's closing with this site moving forward, hopefully to a much higher density use. The triangular shape is perfect for something a little more ambitious and ico...

The biggest issue facing Nicollet Mall now is to get the many vacant store fronts filled with retail tenants. It's feels barren with all those empty spaces.

The developer is Interstate Parking. They're only doing apartments because they know a naked ramp won't get approved by the city. It's very poor land use/utilization of this property. The city should ask them to go back to the drawing board like they instructed KA with their original proposal a few...

Grant, isn't this property zoned for much higher density? Why would a developer worth its salt want to build just a 6 story stick built apartment building in the the CBD of a prosperous and growing city? ? Won't the city loose out on a significant amount of property taxes given the potential of this...

Wait, those brass columns were originally silver? Goes to show how much neglect has happened in the park and why preservation is difficult because so many people have perceptions based on current realities. It's never been about total restoration. Its been about respecting the original features and...

Thanks everyone for the kind words for Allen. He really enjoyed this forum and I'll miss his very spirited comments and perspective. He really loved living in our dynamic Twin Cities, and enjoyed watching it grow and evolve over the years. All of Allen's friends and family ( including myself) are st...

It's with great sadness I have to report that streets.mn forum blogger Wedgeguy died suddenly last Monday, March 21. As you all are well aware, he was very passionate about urban design and planning and was a big contributor to both this site and on Skyscrapercity. I knew him for over 25 years, and ...

If office is in the middle, what goes on top, hotel or apartments? If I was guessing, I'd say hotel goes on bottom, then office, then apartments up top. An unusual combination in Minneapolis, to say the least. I think your guess is pretty much on the mark. The residential component on the upper lev...

Will be a great addition to that neighborhood. This tower and The Carlyle will placemark each side of the Third Ave Bridge which should look very cool. It's too bad we can't get the residential developers on the other side of the river to come up with something of this magnitude and ambition, partic...

Really fun map of projects going up in the urban core of Denver. Similar development boom to what's going on in Minneapolis except with more small scale infill, some of which is very good:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mi ... xO8zRFSDQU

I love the SUV hanging out on the sidewalk.

And not a single pedestrian!

Fjällräven is a great fit for Uptown!

Wait til the pigeon smears take hold!

It could end up looking like one of Jackson Pollock's drip paintings But seriously pigeons are becoming quite a problem downtown, especially on Nicollet Mall.