Search found 129 matches

by luigipaladio
February 20th, 2020, 1:55 pm
Forum: Minneapolis - Downtown
Topic: Root District - Farmers Market / Royalston Station
Replies: 81
Views: 56762

Re: Root District - Farmers Market / Royalston Station

In the material on the panel that studied the A,B,C ramps, I see that there is a suggestion that workforce housing could top the B ramp and that the structural framing of the three ramps makes this kind of modification possible. They envision some urban farm space and solar arrays as possibilities a...
by luigipaladio
February 20th, 2020, 1:18 pm
Forum: Minneapolis - South, Southwest, and Uptown
Topic: Vision Loss Resources Redevelopment - Lyndale & Franklin
Replies: 48
Views: 40310

Re: Vision Loss Resources Redevelopment - Lyndale & Franklin

Go for it, Lisa! This project is another ESG dip into the boring, mundane and worse. POO-POO may be too kind for this one. Sad, because this is a great location that could have taken a much more interesting project, perhaps something using the curve potential at the north end of the lot and stepping...
by luigipaladio
February 15th, 2020, 1:00 pm
Forum: Minneapolis - North, Northeast, and Southeast / University of Minnesota
Topic: Northeast and Southeast Minneapolis - General Topics
Replies: 964
Views: 339711

Re: Northeast and Southeast Minneapolis - General Topics

Thanks for the photo postings today, Matt. Were you on the Wells Fargo tower or the Capella? It really is astonishing how much these views have changed already and how much more they will be changing in the next year or two. I was out of the state from 2000 to 2011. There had been modest changes to ...
by luigipaladio
January 8th, 2020, 12:56 pm
Forum: Minneapolis - Downtown
Topic: Downtown Minneapolis - News & General Topics
Replies: 2027
Views: 782819

Re: Downtown Minneapolis General Topics & Development Map

Both of these buildings are handsome artifacts of their period. We’ve lost the very best from this time, but one or both of these could be worth saving if they are handled well. Perhaps either a park or a slender new building could take over the parking lot.
by luigipaladio
January 8th, 2020, 12:48 pm
Forum: Suburbs
Topic: Southdale Area - Edina
Replies: 797
Views: 242887

Re: Southdale Area Development - Edina

It looks like this drawing is simply a demonstration of relative volumes on the property to be developed. The block representing the tower appears to be nineteen or twenty stories rather than fourteen so either the drawing is an error of the note about it being a fourteen story tower is an error. In...
by luigipaladio
January 8th, 2020, 12:39 pm
Forum: Saint Paul
Topic: St. Paul RiverCentre Ramp RFP
Replies: 13
Views: 7819

Re: St. Paul RiverCentre Ramp RFP

“Ugly” is too kind for the Port Authority/Treasure Island proposal. This would be a colossal eye-sore. The project at the top of the page is in the same category as this beast - tasteless architecture that would be a setback for downtown St. Paul. The Mille Lacs proposal is dazzling - but perhaps, t...
by luigipaladio
December 31st, 2019, 3:27 pm
Forum: Suburbs
Topic: Columbia Heights - Hilltop - Fridley - Spring Lake Park
Replies: 41
Views: 25352

Re: Fridley - Columbia Heights - Spring Lake Park

It seems that the only way Alatus can pull off any project is with heavy duty subsidies. $43 million for a six story apartment building with city hall on the main floor sounds like nearly half the cost of the building. It will be interesting to see if Columbia Heights can actually get Alatus to foll...
by luigipaladio
December 11th, 2019, 12:42 pm
Forum: Minneapolis - Downtown
Topic: RBC Gateway & Four Seasons - 37 stories - 519'
Replies: 2124
Views: 486728

Re: RBC Gateway (Four Seasons) - 37 stories - 519'

It’s great to see the elevator cores of the Gateway project rising above ground and all the digging going on across the street at the Harlem Irving project. The worst damage of 1960’s urban renewal is finally passing away. A walk or drive down Washington towards the West Bank is astonishing and ener...
by luigipaladio
December 11th, 2019, 12:34 pm
Forum: Minneapolis - Downtown
Topic: Alatus Residential Project - 228 South 12th Street (32 stories - ~348'/405')
Replies: 169
Views: 59131

Re: Alatus Residential Project - 228 South 12th Street (32 stories - ~348'/405')

Alatus and it’s failed projects is turning out to be one of the major development disappointments of the year. After tantalizing us with two well designed projects and then apparently abandoning both, it is hard to be interested in whether they will be able to pull anything of substance off. The Ard...
by luigipaladio
December 11th, 2019, 12:27 pm
Forum: Minneapolis - Downtown
Topic: Eleven - 1111 West River Parkway - 41 stories / 550'
Replies: 381
Views: 218396

Re: Eleven (Ryan Condo Tower) - 1111 West River Parkway - 41 stories / 550'

Way back when the towers of Cedar Riverside were under construction, there was a utopian plan for the area that included many more of the same style of towers edging towards the River and the West Bank Campus. There was also a plan to match the single condo tower that now stands above the bend in th...
by luigipaladio
December 11th, 2019, 12:10 pm
Forum: Minneapolis - Downtown
Topic: North Loop Green - Hines - 350 N 5th St(?) - 35 stories - 393'/418'
Replies: 200
Views: 158883

Re: North Loop Green - Hines - 350 N 5th St(?) - 35 stories / 393'

There is a lot to like here - which I find particularly surprising with ESG at the helm. There are a lot of interesting elements to this proposal, And at first it seemed odd that they were not more cohesive, but giving the different elements distinct identities and character fits the neighborhood an...
by luigipaladio
December 11th, 2019, 11:55 am
Forum: Minneapolis - Downtown
Topic: Thrivent HQ & Moment apartments - 500 7th St & 650 Portland Ave
Replies: 225
Views: 390205

Re: Thrivent Headquarters Block - 6th St and Portland Ave

I hadn’t seen the new Thrivent headquarters for some time and was surprised to see the vertical raised mullions they’ve added to the modest tower. The addition took the building from bland, blank box to a structure with interesting texture and motion. The property looks much better and the strong ve...
by luigipaladio
November 18th, 2019, 4:00 pm
Forum: Minneapolis - Downtown
Topic: 240 Hennepin Ave - 21 stories - 256'
Replies: 132
Views: 120928

Re: Harlem Irving and CA Ventures - 250 Hennepin Ave - 21 stories - 256'

Great to see some action finally happening here. Given the position of this building at the edge of the higher rise core of downtown, it will be a good transition to the 519’ across Hennepin and another good addition to the Washington streetscape. No this isn’t spectacular architecture, but it is cl...
by luigipaladio
November 12th, 2019, 5:00 pm
Forum: Suburbs
Topic: Eagan, Apple Valley, Burnsville - General Topics
Replies: 130
Views: 159741

Re: Eagan, Apple Valley, Burnsville - General Topics

The new hotel at Viking Lakes is topped out and rapidly getting enclosed. It’s most interesting feature is a series of two story glassed in spaces running up the north end of the hotel. They are planned to be winter garden spaces for meetings and other events. The meeting and dining spaces at ground...
by luigipaladio
November 12th, 2019, 4:50 pm
Forum: Saint Paul
Topic: Highland Bridge: Ford Site Redevelopment
Replies: 199
Views: 163692

Re: Ford Site Redevelopment

The visuals for this project are disturbing. While there are two apparent extensions of existing East/West streets into the site, this hardly constitutes a continuation of the city grid. The most disturbing aspect of the drawings is the interminably long stretches of apartments/row houses? - that ru...
by luigipaladio
October 16th, 2019, 2:18 pm
Forum: Minneapolis - Downtown
Topic: 240 Hennepin Ave - 21 stories - 256'
Replies: 132
Views: 120928

Re: Harlem Irving and CA Ventures - 240 Hennepin Ave - 23 stories - 256'

This is such a good addition to the Hennepin and Washington streetscapes. There will be a nice gateway effect for south bound Hennepin and a good continuation of the developing corridor along Washington. It has been a very long wait to see the devastation of the 1960’s urban renewal effort finally f...
by luigipaladio
October 16th, 2019, 2:09 pm
Forum: Suburbs
Topic: Eagan, Apple Valley, Burnsville - General Topics
Replies: 130
Views: 159741

Re: Eagan, Apple Valley, Burnsville - General Topics

The ten year plan for Viking Lakes is for a number of restaurants, commercial spaces and multiple office buildings all to go in on the campus. They also plan to build hundreds of additional apartment units on the site. The first renters will be pioneers however. As you say, it is a long way to any u...
by luigipaladio
October 15th, 2019, 9:01 pm
Forum: Suburbs
Topic: Eagan, Apple Valley, Burnsville - General Topics
Replies: 130
Views: 159741

Re: Eagan, Apple Valley, Burnsville - General Topics

The Wilf’s are apparently determined to signal that their grand plans for their Eagan campus are not just pie in the prairie. They have announced the first round of apartments for Viking Lakes and their Omni Hotel has topped out and is rapidly getting enclosed. A neighboring land owner has been told...
by luigipaladio
October 2nd, 2019, 8:41 pm
Forum: Minneapolis - Downtown
Topic: 240 Hennepin Ave - 21 stories - 256'
Replies: 132
Views: 120928

Re: Harlem Irving and CA Ventures - 240 Hennepin Ave - 23 stories - 256'

It is so good to see that this project is going to happen. It will be a great addition both to the Hennepin and Washington streetscapes. I suspect it will even help the Gateway tower make a more comfortable fit. The two towers will provide something of a true gateway for Hennepin . Bravo!
by luigipaladio
September 21st, 2019, 8:10 pm
Forum: Saint Paul
Topic: Seven Corners Gateway - Apartments & Hotel
Replies: 57
Views: 36860

Re: Seven Corners Gateway Site / Radisson Red

It is good to see this lot going away, but the design really does look suburban at this point. Does anyone know if the hotel is still slated to be a Radison Red. If so, I would have expected a bit more flare in the hotel design. At this point , both the hotel and the apartment belong in the burbs.