Soo Line Building Apartments - (501 Marquette Avenue)

[IllogicalJake]

How is that the resident area is unsecured? That seems really weird.

The elevator requires key-fob to get above Floor 2. The 2nd floor DOES have units, but also behind key-fob doors.

24/7 front door coverage is provided. Occasionally there'll be gaps in coverage in the mornings or evenings, and all residents are emailed a notice about it. I'm rarely entering/exiting the building after 11pm, so I can't speak for overnight security, but they do advertise that it exists. They've also mentioned some problems with their security company and are consolidating from multiple providers to a single provider.

Again, they're working out kinks and the manager is keeping every resident informed of the process via email. She's not doing a perfect job, but seems to be doing everything she can to keep her residents happy.

[HiawathaGuy]

Good addition.

Brasserie Zentral's owners are opening a pet shop next door

[IllogicalJake]

Good addition.

Brasserie Zentral's owners are opening a pet shop next door

Great addition. Actually serving downtown residents and open reasonable hours. Even offering pet food delivery. Downtown needs much more of this!

[John]

Great news! Hope they sell some great laser toys for the kitties.

[at40man]

I am sorry but I am really disappointed with this project. Granted I haven't been inside any of the units, but the lobby/shared areas look really cheap and will be dated very quickly. Wish they would've gone with an elegant, timeless look. Simple, clean. Even fake plants!

I love the lobby you realize that dated means it has character and style... you realize that anything with art deco or baroque or retro features was " dated" but because it was different at the time it stands out and should be. dated isn't negative.

I've been meaning to comment on the lobby as well, and my recent walk through has made me want to comment.

I find the lobby absolutely hideous. It is incredibly tacky. It is completely disrespectful to the architecture of the building. It already looks dated. I agree that "dated" isn't necessarily a bad thing - some buildings are "dated" in the very best of ways -- for instance, Union Depot or the Rand Building. However, the Soo Line lobby is not dated in the best of ways, and will age poorly.

They had the opportunity to pay homage to the architecture and history of this stately and dignified building. They decided go for hip-and-trendy instead. This type of lobby is better suited to "luxury" apartments that are popping up like cupcakes in Uptown.

[MNdible]

I suspect that they may be looking at this lobby not as a timeless piece of architecture, but rather in the way that a hospitality operator might think about interior finishes -- knowing that they have a short shelf life and they'll need to update and refresh every five years.

[Andrew_F]

I was also taken aback the first time I went through the public spaces of the building. Disrespectful is a good way to describe it.

[MplsSteve]

Gaudy lobbies seem to be Village Green's thing. Take a look at their Randolph Tower Apartments in Chicago:

http://yochicago.com/is-this-chicagos-m ... bby/26203/

I suspect that they may be looking at this lobby not as a timeless piece of architecture, but rather in the way that a hospitality operator might think about interior finishes -- knowing that they have a short shelf life and they'll need to update and refresh every five years.

On the Randolph Tower website they actually describe it as a "Boutique Hotel Lobby"

[bus14]

I haven't seen the Soo Line firsthand. But from what's been said doesn't sound flattering. The Pioneer-Endicott in St. Paul, a similarly aged building and residential conversion looks amazing.





Is the Soo Line a historically protected building like the P-E is? Maybe that had something to do with it?

[MplsSteve]

Is the Soo Line a historically protected building like the P-E is? Maybe that had something to do with it?

The big difference is that the Soo line had virtually all of its original interior fabric removed long ago. Village Green may have done a tacky job, but they didn't destroy anything.

[at40man]

After seeing that Chicago link, I was curious about Village Green so I plugged them in to Google....

And this is what came up -- a framed portrait of Eminem on a foil leaf wall in Detroit. I feel nauseous.