urbanMSP

I think that you raise a great point. Still, if the teams finally get the venue that's "right" for them, and if in the future we're able to do modest renovations and improvements to the venues rather than tearing them down and rebuilding from scratch, it may be sustainable long term. Hopef...

I don't think that the rendering should be taken to literally suggest that they're planning a parking lot. My sense is that they're intentionally being non-committal, but I wouldn't be surprised if we still saw a high-rise affordable housing project on the site, along with a number of active communi...

Welcome back, Tom! Missed your insights.

Wasn't trying to be snarky, but you seemed to be suggesting that nobody realized that they needed a bigger hotel. The master plan includes a location for a large, flagged hotel with meeting space, but they can't build that out until the access road is reconfigured and the post office is demolished. ...

I assume the above post was supposed to be in the Vikings thread?

Hennepin Avenue being what it is today, and even what it was around the turn of the century, it's pretty hard to believe a house like that was built in that location in the first place.

That's got Harvey Ellis written all over it! Based on the ages of the commercial properties around it, that house must not have lasted very long...

I also would love to see that parking lot developed - artist lofts/apartments? I imagine though it makes pretty good $$ being so close to the Basilica, the school, etc. I don't know -- it never seems that full to me, and it probably isn't commanding the pricing that a lot closer to the downtown cor...

From the Biz Journal : Associated Bank has selected Ryan Cos. US Inc. to redevelop its property at the corner of Snelling and Selby avenues in St. Paul. A new Associated Bank branch will be part of the mixed-use project at 176 N. Snelling Ave., which now contains a three-story office building with a...

I'd love to see the parking lot at Maple St. and Harmon Place (next to Loring Park and Joe's Garage) redeveloped. What a waste of a great site. That parking lot can't be that lucrative, can it?

This idea makes me want to just remove the ramps to/from Washington Avenue entirely and reconfigure 3rd/4th to handle traffic in all directions.

Yes, I'm not sure what it would take to achieve that, but I agree that we should continue moving in that direction.

Pretty sure this is the Currie Park Lofts, which has been sloshing around in pre-development FOREVER.

Good for them.

Looking at it critically, I don't think the bus tunnel is a bad idea, although I'd have a lot of concerns about it's execution. Unlike the theoretical Bottineau Underground, this would probably need to be a cut and cover tunnel, so it probably messes with all sorts of utility issues, and the vertica...

You guys know a lot about rocks.

Head full of rocks, story of my life.

Btw, I disagree that Nicollet Mall is a success for transit. It's definitely a success for pedestrians and urban design, but it's overcapacity at peak today - imagine what it was like 30 years ago when the buses on it had twice the peak hour frequency. No wonder transit took a dump in the last cent...

Just to clarify, the stone used at the WCCO building is a dolomitic limestone commonly called Kasota Stone. It's harder and more stable than regular limestone. Sandstone is a whole different animal, although (as you suggest) there was a lot of it quarried in the region, including some at closed quar...

AMC theatre left Block E because of a landlord-tenant dispute and that AMC would have liked to stay put. As I understand it, AMC had a lease that allowed them to operate there essentially lease free, as long as they weren't very profitable. So, it was a great deal for them and no wonder they wanted...

I vote for the cut and cover LRT idea especially between Lake/Nicollet and Central/Hennepin because it could interline Southwest via the Greenway continuing on to a line towards Rosedale someday.

That's under consideration, right?

In a word, no.

This outlet mall better be the best thing since sliced bread the way it's been talked up on this forum.