urbanMSP

Larking promises to be a decent addition to the cityscape on Portland and on Eighth. This design isn’t flashy but it does reference the KA block and the other taller structures nearby and to some extent, improves on them. Now if we could just convince the folks at Portland Tower to do something with that big yellow/tan stripe down the Portland side. It mars an otherwise attractive building. Back to Larking - KA has really made a good contribution to the neighborhood and it looks like this will be yet another.

Initially I hated the stripe, and while I still don't love it, photos like the one from bapster make me actually appreciate the bit of color it adds to the view.

Steel framing has begun for the bank portion of the development.

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Wells Fargo has moved in to their new digs. Yesterday evening the old Wells Fargo was blocked off and there was an excavator in the parking lot.

This is back at the PC next Monday, asking to change the previous glass balcony railings to metal picket railings.

Packet

Humorously, the staff recommendation still includes the boilerplate condition that "Per the original approvals timeline, all site improvements shall be completed by November 13th, 2020, unless extended by the Zoning Administrator", which seems... unlikely at this point.

Edit: It's now scheduled to open in 2022, according to this locked BizJournals article.

They always do that! Show glass in the rendering, and then switch to metal. The most recent one where I think it made the biggest difference (in a bad way) was 365 Nic.

This is under construction. They have been driving sheet piles all week.

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This is under construction. They have been driving sheet piles all week.

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And hauling out soil like it’s on fire. We ran out of excess sand at our Lake Nokomis job today, so I tried to sneak a truck into here to get a load of sand. He got out of there with it, but I’m not trying it twice.

This is under construction. They have been driving sheet piles all week.

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And hauling out soil like it’s on fire. We ran out of excess sand at our Lake Nokomis job today, so I tried to sneak a truck into here to get a load of sand. He got out of there with it, but I’m not trying it twice.

How does that work exactly? They just announce they've got fill and you can come get it if you have the right truck? Or is it more organized?

We approached them. They went thru a dirt hauling company (Shaw) to get rid of the dirt. We just stopped in and asked to throw a truck or two into the mix, if available. We’ll pay them for the material by the ton.
Moving dirt is expensive, not because of the cost of material, but because of the trucking. Normal is around $100/hour per truck.

Crane is up, though it doesn't look like it is at full height. Wonder if they need to keep it lower due to the HCMC helipad next door.

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Topped out from a few different angles.

I took some pictures from my hotel room last week. Neighborhood has a nice feel


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Housing in the neighborhood is a far cry from where it was in the aughts, but services are still lacking. Not a lot of retail (grocery, etc) options in Elliot Park

I think that a lot about when I think about the pros and cons of my neighborhood and having bought a condo and the sunk costs there. I feel like there are for sure people who bought $600,000 condos in Grant Park in 2006 thinking the area was going to look like Chicago any day now, and 15 years later they don't even have a grocery store, and the CVS closed.

Does a trader joe's 5 blocks away not count?

Does a trader joe's 5 blocks away not count?

It's 6 blocks

The downtown Target is also 6 blocks away, while Aldi, Whole Foods and Lunds are all just under 1 mile.

What percentage of the city has better coverage than that? Certainly some does, but not most.

That's for this building, but for the neighborhood, if you're on the north side of Eliot Park you are 3 blocks from Trader Joes, if you're on the southeast side you're 3 blocks from Aldi, if you're on the west side you're 5 blocks from Target. If you are smack in the center of it you are either a hospital or a university.

Is the CVS space still vacant? It's hard to believe that with all of the residential that's been added in this immediate area, somebody isn't ready to take another crack at this.

CVS is still vacant yes.

Personally I'm 9ish blocks from Trader Joes, 6ish from Target, 14(?) from Aldi (which I actually didn't know existed). Basically means I need to drive for any serious amount of grocery shopping (or look like a pack animal).

Target is fine but not the biggest selection of produce or anything fresh. I'll occasionally stop at Trader Joe's after a run, but serious grocery shopping ends up happening at the Quarry.

I hate to be negative but the downtown Target doesn't count anymore since it closes at 6.

From my perspective with the limited hours it might as well not even be there anymore.