urbanMSP

This is 10 feet shorter than the RBC tower and 2 feet shy of the last numbers we had for the Gateway project. It's really interesting to see high rises in this area, NE and the U of M. This city is becoming so dense! I wonder if there is a listing of high-rises per capita for US cities?

So, without giving away too much information, is this plot of Minnegasco land (the one south of the River Road) also part of the critical infrastructure, or could it potentially be sold off?

Has anyone done a sketch up model of this? I would love to see what the massing would look like from across the river, and numerous other locations, it's so hard to imagine when I'm near the site.

I’ve missed the 3D model views of projects. I’d like to see the skyline view from the Dinkytown Greenway or bridge, maybe from 10th Ave bridge...

Our friends at Skyscraper city have some:

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthrea ... 905&page=5

It looks so insane from 35 crossing the river.

The tower looks great.

The base looks very badly out of scale.

^ True, but isn't the thought that the two parcels will likely get redeveloped into buildings with max height of about 70 feet? If so, this would then fit in nicely.

Noticed that the interior dimensions for the 14th floor are 5 feet wider than the 9-13th floor, but the GSF for both floors are the same. Very odd- assume just a CAD typo. Overall, very impressive (honestly, quite shocking, but in a in a good way).

F&C on the partnering of Ryan and the “starchitect”.

https://finance-commerce.com/2018/04/ho ... ondo-plan/

The river view sold the architect on the opportunity.

This is an experiment using Flyover in Apple Maps. I wanted to get a perspective of what the view might be from the proposed Eleven. I felt that the views to the east and south east might be as fine as the views west and north. After zooming around in Flyover at about the identical heights at the Carlyle top floors, I think this shows a decent video of the views that will be available when Eleven is done.

Click on it to watch the video.

Flyover at Eleven condos by Eric Anondson, on Flickr
There was a little bit of drift during it but it came out looking nice. I added a small bit of stabilization.

With the property sandwiched between two private properties, Eleven’s developers are applying to have their driveway access on the Parks’ roadway.

http://www.startribune.com/minneapolis- ... 488952411/

The Parks Board is really resistant. They point out that because the Dinkytown Greenway doesn’t pass through to 11th, users would pass on the sidewalk in front of Eleven and a driveway makes the trail use less safe

Ah yes, because nothing says safe trail-like experience like a couple thousand commuters using the parkway as a shortcut around Washington Ave congestion. I'll buy the MPRBs argument when they put diverters in to block through vehicle traffic from passing the Guthrie.

The sidewalk in question (on the south side of the parkway) actually ends before it can reach 13th avenue. Anyone using this sidewalk would be stranded mid-block. A new driveway+raised crosswalk would be an upgrade overall considering that this is not currently a reasonable route for anyone.

The sidewalk in question (on the south side of the parkway) actually ends before it can reach 13th avenue. Anyone using this sidewalk would be stranded mid-block. A new driveway+raised crosswalk would be an upgrade overall considering that this is not currently a reasonable route for anyone.

Wow. Yeah the Park Board doesn't seem to generally consider non-trail sidewalks to be a critical parkway function. As you point out, this is a dead-end. Much of W River Road doesn't have a sidewalk at all on non-river side.

I would actually be more resistant to the idea of building a raised crosswalk solely to serve this building than the driveway cut. Put a better crossing at 11th.

Apparently the Park Board is considering a full three-way stop at the intersection of the Parkway and 11th, so hopefully that happens sooner rather than later.

So, presumably, with a fat enough check in tow, the Eleven folks could purchase an easement from one of the neighbors, and perhaps build out a larger, purpose-designed driveway? If it works on a temporary basis, it can probably be made to work on a permanent one, too. My first reaction was, this is a silly issue, but I have to say, it appears there's a solution for all, it's just that it will cost a bit more of the developer's money.

Pardon me while I play a mournful tune on my extremely small violin.

There are very obvious solutions to this problem, and they involve the developers paying the owners of the Padilla and the Red Cross buildings for access or ownership of part of their parking lots. They could extend the Dinkytown Greenway through the lot and provide access to their own building in one move. This is something they can afford, and the Park Board shouldn't let them off the hook.

Also, the West River Parkway should be closed permanently.

That was mentioned in the story. It would require a permanent private easement. I think it said that emergency responder’s access is worsened in that scenario.

I wonder if there could be a way to get a slimmer easement on both the private properties on each side for a pass through one way that would make emergency access easy? In on 11th and out on 13th, or the reverse...

The Park Board would definitely have more merit putting forth a safety argument if they actually put in ways to slow down traffic through this section, but I think I side with them on this. If there was no alternative, fine, we can talk. But there is with easements, so why add an unnecessary conflict point on a parkway (which also will make it more difficult to eliminate traffic from the road in the future if so desired).

I do not understand the emergency responder access argument. It would be...a driveway. How does the fact that it's an easement make a difference? There's no doubt still going to be doors facing the parkway, so it shouldn't be a big deal if a fire truck or ambulance even just stops in the parkway.