Page 20 of 25

Re: Lake & Nicollet Redevelopment (Kmart site)

Posted: February 17th, 2020, 1:13 pm
by MNdible
Withholding approvals because the city has a financial interest in breaking a lease is a sure way to get slapped with a lawsuit.

Re: Lake & Nicollet Redevelopment (Kmart site)

Posted: February 17th, 2020, 3:33 pm
by VacantLuxuries
Who said anything about breaking a lease? Lampert or his assignee can keep leasing for pennies on the dollar. But they don't get to make changes to a property that no longer conforms to the zoning or comprehensive plan without city approval. The land is now guided Transit 15 and Destination Mixed Use, which requires multistory development.

You can use it as is or you can conform to the zoning code, and the city is under no obligation to approve conditional use permits to keep the building around.

Re: Lake & Nicollet Redevelopment (Kmart site)

Posted: March 5th, 2020, 12:15 pm
by Daboink
Update from MinnPost, great news if true.

Re: Lake & Nicollet Redevelopment (Kmart site)

Posted: March 5th, 2020, 12:16 pm
by Nathan
Whoaaaaa crazy news from Lisa Bender about the reopening of the street!

https://www.facebook.com/39774522364296 ... 861214676/

Re: Lake & Nicollet Redevelopment (Kmart site)

Posted: March 5th, 2020, 12:57 pm
by Silophant
Okay, now's the time to start agitating to only reopen Nicollet to transit/bikes/peds. Nicollet's been just fine for fifty years without being a car sewer, no reason to start now.

Re: Lake & Nicollet Redevelopment (Kmart site)

Posted: March 5th, 2020, 1:16 pm
by SurlyLHT
Now that the store is toast...did anyone check to see if the bridge over the Greenway is toast like many of it's peers? Really hoping for something exciting to be built here.

Re: Lake & Nicollet Redevelopment (Kmart site)

Posted: March 5th, 2020, 1:30 pm
by Rube Dali
Nice Newsdump to announce the closure during the boy's hockey tournament.

Re: Lake & Nicollet Redevelopment (Kmart site)

Posted: March 5th, 2020, 1:37 pm
by alexschief
Wrote this on Twitter, but this site has immense potential. In the future, there could be three high-frequency transit services located around this site, with connections to both downtowns and beyond. The Minneapolis 2040 zoning for this site recognized this future potential and assigned it Transit 15 (building heights 4-15 stories). In any future RFP that the city releases, I hope they will aim high for density. I also hope they will preserve the diagonal right-of-way from Nicollet and the Greenway to Lake and I-35W, and demand future developers pay attention to the urban design of that passageway.

Image

In terms of the extension of Nicollet, I hope the city listens to Nick and does not extend Nicollet for cars. It should be extended for bus only, with generous sidewalks, a bike trail, and an improved Midtown Greenway connection on the north end. Then the Nicollet-Central aBRT should be fast-tracked, if potential with the accumulated tax district money, and the Nicollet Streetcar plan should be officially ditched.

Re: Lake & Nicollet Redevelopment (Kmart site)

Posted: March 5th, 2020, 2:57 pm
by Lisa I. RoadBot
I noticed a yellow line around the Nico Plating site with a diagonal dotted line through it....
i don't know what the thinking there is , but, I worked at Nico's sister company for 25 years, and they aren't going anywhere, ever, never.
They have put millions into updating, and remodeling, and they will be there long after we are all dead...

Re: Lake & Nicollet Redevelopment (Kmart site)

Posted: March 5th, 2020, 7:52 pm
by seanrichardryan
Everyone has a price.

Re: Lake & Nicollet Redevelopment (Kmart site)

Posted: March 5th, 2020, 8:28 pm
by UrbanMPLS
I’ve always thought Nicollet-Central would do well as LRT, especially with a tunnel between Lake and Lowry. Medtronic to Southtown, or something like that.

So bear with me: is there any chance they’d build a subway station here during this? Seems like if it’s ever going to happen, now would be the time.

I know this is a long shot (and I’m sure there are plenty of reasons it won’t happen), but it’d be nice to see some foresight here from the city/county/state. Hopefully they at least configure utilities to make it possible later on.

Re: Lake & Nicollet Redevelopment (Kmart site)

Posted: March 6th, 2020, 8:42 am
by HiawathaGuy
So bear with me: is there any chance they’d build a subway station here during this? Seems like if it’s ever going to happen, now would be the time.

I know this is a long shot (and I’m sure there are plenty of reasons it won’t happen), but it’d be nice to see some foresight here from the city/county/state. Hopefully they at least configure utilities to make it possible later on.
I'd say never say never, but I wouldn't hold my breath. There has been no planning of any sort around a Central/Nicollet LRT Line, so I cannot imagine any plans for a subway station here. I'd suggest we focus on the Midtown Greenway for rail first...

Re: Lake & Nicollet Redevelopment (Kmart site)

Posted: March 6th, 2020, 9:39 am
by SurlyLHT
I wish this happened a few years ago given that this boom may be fading a bit. I'll be okay with reopening the street and setting high expectations for an RFP and waiting even until the next boom if we have to given how valuable this location is.

Re: Lake & Nicollet Redevelopment (Kmart site)

Posted: March 6th, 2020, 10:23 am
by Blaisdell Greenway
Save the mural on the back of the building!!!! It's a battleship cruising down Nicollet while a man in a suit closes a door to the street. It should be relatively easy to save (build a frame around the cinderblock walls, cut to size and move) and place in the greenway. Important part of our history for us to reflect on.

Re: Lake & Nicollet Redevelopment (Kmart site)

Posted: March 6th, 2020, 1:18 pm
by fehler
"Open" means open to cars. Doesn't need to be a freeway, but there should be an allowance for autos, else why are we spending tax dollars on it.

Re: Lake & Nicollet Redevelopment (Kmart site)

Posted: March 6th, 2020, 1:52 pm
by BoredAgain
"Open" means open to cars. Doesn't need to be a freeway, but there should be an allowance for autos, else why are we spending tax dollars on it.
"Open" should be open to people. Cars are not necessary or required.

Re: Lake & Nicollet Redevelopment (Kmart site)

Posted: March 6th, 2020, 2:07 pm
by Silophant
"Open" means open to cars. Doesn't need to be a freeway, but there should be an allowance for autos, else why are we spending tax dollars on it.
Cars don't pay taxes, people do.

Re: Lake & Nicollet Redevelopment (Kmart site)

Posted: March 6th, 2020, 2:51 pm
by amiller92
"Open" means open to cars. Doesn't need to be a freeway, but there should be an allowance for autos, else why are we spending tax dollars on it.
To redevelop it and replace the giant empty, parking lots and former grocery store and otherwise poor land use.

Re: Lake & Nicollet Redevelopment (Kmart site)

Posted: March 7th, 2020, 9:59 am
by ko123
"Open" means open to cars. Doesn't need to be a freeway, but there should be an allowance for autos, else why are we spending tax dollars on it.
Yes. Reconnect Nicollet which is currently open to all traffic aside from the overwhelming success of Nicollet Mall. ;)

Re: Lake & Nicollet Redevelopment (Kmart site)

Posted: March 7th, 2020, 11:34 am
by Nathan
I don't think it's a great idea to close the street to automobiles. I'm a big fan of having as many open free streets for all modes as possible. I'm trying to imagine the congestion on blaisdell and 1st, and overly convoluted routes around the area if this would be. It would be a disservice to pedestrians and bicyclists on those streets. If this area is developed as dense as we're all hoping it will be, that would put so much pressure on the outskirts. I say keep everything south of 29th to 31st as a 2 or 3 lane very calmed small town feeling street for local traffic and continue to encourage through traffic to use the 1st and blaisdell one ways.

Also imagine telling the general public that the street is reopening after 50 years, and the city spent 10s of millions on it and then they can't drive it... there will be a lot of opposition, probably enough to make it not plausible.

We have better ways of calming streets and controlling traffic than being all like CAR BAD NO CAR.