urbanMSP

No matter how this building is designed, it will always look "hulking" when compared to the holder buildings on the block. Keep in mind, this plot of land is only about 1/4 of a usual blog. Yes, we've only see a small corner of one of the design images, but I think they are doing a good jo...

All in all, the building looks OK, but I'm still not sure how the neighborhood wasn't able to influence how the building meets the street. There is nothing here that enhances the community since there's no retail component that will draw the community in.

Love the detail they've shared, but I was hoping for a deeper public space with the structure wrapping around it on three sides. It's nice that there will be a nice set back from the street, but the excess public art and landscaping really seems to close it off from the street.

There's a big difference between expanding to a new market with low brand recognition and moving into the heart of cities with smaller stores. The issue with Canada is that they were competing in a new market with nearly zero brand recognition. yes, people will stop by a new store to check it out, b...

I understand the feeling of getting an inferior building when we see other proposals for the same brand in other cities, but who are we to judge? I know we care about the city and how buildings integrate into the surrounding neighborhood, but do we really think that the developers are simply trying ...

We actually have tickets and plan on going for the three year old's birthday next month. But to be clear, this shouldn't be compared to the old ice castles that have gone up. This is a private investor who builds ice castles in a few different cities each year. And they do just leave the hose on to ...

The reason we don't have any of the old hotels is because of the way old hotels were originally constructed. Hotels that were built in the early 1900s has very small rooms with low ceilings and only a few bathrooms per floor. This is why they were not preserved and converted to apartments or used fo...

I'm excited to see this project get under way. It'll be nice to have one of these lots filled in and have more people living directly on University on this end of town.

I think what most people don't get is that developers want a need constructive criticism. If we're going to give feedback and talk about how we don't like the way the building meets the sidewalk or the choice in design materials we should do so by proposing subtle variations which make the project b...

There are a lot of bland conversions, but i think most of us here would be happy if they modeled the project after this https://farm7.staticflickr.com/6038/627 ... 4f44_n.jpg

It looks like they are going to do an amazing job on this project. Can't wait to see how the building in brought back to life. It'll be nice having a boutique hotel on this end of downtown.

Wow. I really wasn't expecting an announcement like that. There's really no need for those speeds, but they could come in handy if you're running a small business and have 15-20 people on the same network. But it would still be overkill. I know a few people who would be willing to pay the $400/month...

Even if that was their reasoning, I don't think they'd actually say that. And has there been any proof that it's city officials actually preventing anything from being taller? It seems like developers are the ones who keep IDS sacrosanct more so than the city. There's a reason that our three tall b...

I would think there must be a better reason than just another offer. I am sure Code42 signed a contract with Ackerberg and I doubt they breached their contract just because they got another offer. Doubtful. Breaching a contract simply means there's a penalty to pay. If they have another offer on th...

Same here. I think someone added an extra zero at the end and everyone in the media has simply reprinted the original number without questioning it. I think 10 shops is a good number of this development. Most projects that do have retail at street level only have 2-3. If/when this project gets built...

I'm all for the skyway being open later, but I don't think there's much incentive for many of the businesses to stay open late. Yes, it would be nice for those who live downtown or work afternoon of evening shifts, but there's simply not enough demand to make it financially feasible. Let's not forge...

This is great news. I'm a bit surprised that Trader Joes would choose this side of downtown, but I guess the other affluent corners on the downtown area already have grocery stores. I'd imagine this store will get a lot more car traffic than most other grocery stores that are close to downtown since...

Late Spring is memory serves me right. We should probably see marketing materials and a website pop up after the first of the year. It's not a high-visibility project, but the developers shouldn't have any issues filling the building due to its location.

To bring it back to this project: is a skyway a requirement as part of the RFP? Slightly more general: Are the skyways more vigorously defended by business leaders, DT office workers, or city staff/politicians? I am honestly curious because as someone new to this particular topic. It has clearly be...

We already have skyways across Hennepin and Washinton. I despise what the skyways have done to this city's street life as much as the next guy, but being connected to the skyway system is a must for new developments like this in the core of the city. It's a "perk" for those who work in the...