urbanMSP

So, shouldn't their repaving trigger a site plan review which should require landscaping around the perimeter of the lot? Hello, CM Frey, wasn't that one of your pet peeves?

Posing the question here is obviously rhetorical, but you should really email him (the intern that runs his email) if you feel that strongly.

Franklin Street Properties buys Plaza Seven for $82 million

http://finance-commerce.com/2016/06/fra ... aza-seven/

Kind of feels like a slap in the face spending $82 million on an already completed tower downtown when they could've spent that toward a new structure...

What's the deal with the Normandy Inn? Is it a normal hotel? Who stays there?

Every new Xcel employee is brought to Minneapolis for an orientation session at HQ. The ones from outside the metro are put up at the Normandy and bussed to 414 Nicollet for the sessions. I'm hoping they'll start using the newly adjacent AC Hotel once it opens, and that'll be the last straw for the Normandy to go under and get torn down. Probably not, though.

Franklin Street Properties buys Plaza Seven for $82 million.
Kind of feels like a slap in the face spending $82 million on an already completed tower downtown when they could've spent that toward a new structure...

Meh. Remember that they needed the other investors to help build the tower proposal, and their pulling out is what killed it. The plan if FSP had to finance the whole redevelopment themselves was to tear down the four-story building and build a six-story building in its place. I'm happy to see the existing building remodeled, hopefully restoring that atrium to its former glory, instead of that.

Have any of you ever actually been to the Normandy? It's actually quite charming.

The lobby looks really nice from the outside. Also the wife and I ate a the restaurant and enjoyed ourselves. This was a few years ago so I don't know if it is still on the menu but they had a fantastic milkshake.

Yeah, the outside of the Normandy is ugly...but the owners actually take very good care of the place and it is a decent hotel. It is actually #7 of 43 hotels in Minneapolis on trip advisor, so I don't think they are in danger of going under anytime soon. Just because it is a Best Western doesn't mean it is dumpy....Best Western is a chain of independent hotels that pay fees for the reservation system and advantage of being part of a name brand, basically. The owners have always kept it updated and it is well managed with good service.

I don't think the exterior is ugly, personally. Dated and a bit kitschy with the faux-Tudor thing going on, maybe, but not ugly. YMMV, of course. It seems to get a lot of use not just from tourists, but from business travelers as well.

Art Institutes closing Minneapolis campus in 3 years.

http://m.startribune.com/art-institutes ... 382579781/

http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/n ... nsion.html

Food carts are likely to be allowed in more areas of the city, with their annual fee reduced and made equal to food trucks. Honestly, this seems like such a no-brainer that I wonder how many other dumb restrictions like this are still on the books. Now, can we maybe legalize sidewalk news stands ala NYC?

So they're really considering conjoining the Fifth Street Towers? Seems like an April Fool's story... http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/b ... oftop.html

Looks like only the lowest levels from a screenshot I saw on Twitter. Like levels 3–6 only.

https://twitter.com/mspbjsamblack/statu ... 6746094592

Oh good. I was expecting a full-height, full-width connection. That picture on Twitter isn't bad at all.

Oh good. I was expecting a full-height, full-width connection. That picture on Twitter isn't bad at all.

And it'll be at least a bit more engaging to the street, since they'll have an amenity deck on top of the current skyway. And they're going to make the windows as transparent as possible so people can see in and out.

Not revolutionary, but better than the buildings are right now.

Are they also doing changes to the street level? I like the area at street level (all the flowers look nice), but it's not useful. I wish they had more areas to to sit and enjoy nice summer weather. Especially with the majority of food trucks moving over in that area, I really wish US Bank, and 5th Street would make their plaza's a little more inviting to pedestrians. There isn't nearly enough places to sit outside.

Some day I may actually write the inchoate streets.mn post about our lifeless downtown corporate plazas. For what it's worth, this one is better than many, although I agree with you about seating, especially during food truck season.

Anyone live in Laurel Village? From my office window it looks like they redid the top floor of the ramp (above CVS) to be an outdoor amenity space including GRASS! or maybe turf? That seems like a great way to compete with the new apartments.

Yep, I just got a email inviting me to the grand opening next Tuesday. Not only is it a grassy space, but the planters are set aside as a community garden of sorts. It would be pretty exciting, if I could grow anything without killing it.

... the planters are set aside as a community garden of sorts...

I hope this works out. The gardener/optimist in me sees this as a nice opportunity for residents. The realist in me knows from experience that shared garden space is usually either not shared, or quickly becomes a total mess. The cynic in me sees this as a way for the building to avoid paying for proper planting maintenance.

Anyway, the change overall sounds like a nice improvement for the building.

X-Games coming to Minneapolis.
http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/n ... adium.html

Does anyone know what's happening on the first floor of the apartment building formerly known as Symphony Place? First floor windows are boarded up. Could be a good location for a coffee shop or fast casual trying to get convention attendees.