urbanMSP

Anyone have any insight on this fire?

http://www.startribune.com/building-on- ... 396460701/

Here's the building: https://www.google.com/maps/@44.9734621 ... 312!8i6656

It's the 3-story apartment building next door to the MinnMed dispensary. Those are the only 2 buildings that remain on this entire block downtown - it's the "Brian P Short" parking trust block.

EDIT: Strib added a photo:

Nicollet Mall smells like a campfire. Windows on the top floor are broken in. Didn't see any fire damage, but there was tons of smoke pouring out and water going in.

Oakwood apartments by Harry wild Jones. 1890s. A gem worth saving.

Oakwood apartments by Harry wild Jones. 1890s. A gem worth saving.

I don't know if they'll be able to rehab the building. There is a lot of damage.

The third floor is basically gutted, but the foundation still stands strong. Landlord said he thinks he can save it. I'll post some of my pictures soon.

Hope everyone inside is okay and has shelter to go to.

On the development side of things this fire would make my personal wish to relocate the building more difficult, or if they chose to incorporate these buildings in any new development, it seems like a fire like this would compromise the structure.....but I'm really not sure how that works

The conspiracy theorist in me thinks these fires occurring on highly redevelop-able sites smells fishy (similar to the site in N Mpls on Broadway).

If only the MinnMed dispensary next door were able to sell actual marijuana, instead of just pills and oils, Twitter would be rolling with "up in smoke" jokes right now.

I worked in the Campbell Mithun Tower for years and there has been talk about that lot since they torn down the Lemington... I have always wondered why it hasn't moved up the list for developers... maybe with the number of blocks being developed to the east will change the properties perceived value...

Oakwood apartments by Harry wild Jones. 1890s. A gem worth saving.

Absolutely. A Richardsonian Romanesque gem, designed by one of the few nationally-known architects in the city's history.

Obviously this is a pretty bad fire, but there are some buildings in Stevens and Loring that have seen comparable blazes and been rehabbed. We'll have to see, I guess.

19 photos seemed excessive, so here's a link to the album,

https://flic.kr/s/aHskF3ZuYm

I worked in the Campbell Mithun Tower for years and there has been talk about that lot since they torn down the Lemington... I have always wondered why it hasn't moved up the list for developers... maybe with the number of blacks being developed to the east will change the properties perceived value...

Oh my god! Sorry! BLOCKS!!!!!!!

I have two points to this photo, to show the extent of the fire damage to the roof of the 9th St apartment building (about half destroyed), and to show it's position downtown for those not familiar with it.

213 9th St S fire damage downtown Minneapolis 10-10-16 by Matt Bappe, on Flickr

Two other buildings of similar size were even more severely damaged by fire and are still with us: the ones housing Glueks and Maxwell's bars. May the fate of the Oakland Apartments be equally kind!

And may something better than surface parking be built around it.

From the sidewalk yesterday, it didn't look all that bad and someone was in one of third floor apartments, apparently collecting their things (I saw a guitar).

It's a solid brick building. Cost to rehab is comparable to demolition with insurance.

Unlocked: http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/n ... asn-t.html

Why Hasn't Anyone Developed this huge parking lot?

Seems like this is the new likely location of the fabled 1,000 room hotel somewhere down the line.

Seems like this is the new likely location of the fabled 1,000 room hotel somewhere down the line.

Or better, the fabled hotel & new office tower combined! (I love dreaming)

Unlocked: http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/n ... asn-t.html

Why Hasn't Anyone Developed this huge parking lot?

Seems like this is the new likely location of the fabled 1,000 room hotel somewhere down the line.

Now locked.

Guts:

The Shorts owned the land since the 1970s. Brian Short said he wants to sell, as do other parcel owners, but the two factors preventing development are that the office demand isn’t high enough to justify office towers and, with the addition of 1,000 hotel rooms in downtown, there isn’t enough room in the market for a mega hotel, which Meet Minneapolis leaders have desired.

That meshes with what one real estate source told me. The site is indeed one of the few remaining surface parking that is surrounded by office towers — Campbell Mithun and Oracle, in this case.

The city is in the middle of an apartment boom, but that site isn’t the ideal location for residential, said the source, who asked not to be named to protect business relationships.