urbanMSP

Did anyone post this yet?

http://www.minneapolismn.gov/www/groups ... 209881.pdf



Intersting that the retail has a mezzanine and the current retailer is returning- from the packet:

'The first level will be dedicated to the furniture store, and mezzanine levels will be commercial
space available to small businesses on Lake Street.'

Always tough to see a good traditional old commercial building with great street frontage come down right next to a site with a big parking lot and a single story building...

I am surprised that a new development can make the numbers work for a furniture store as a tenant... I'm sure their existing space is dirt cheap and I'd imagine a furniture business is pretty sensitive to overhead costs.

Here's the CPC packet.

As for making the numbers work, the furniture store owns the property now and will continue to once it's done. I agree, I can't imagine that it would work if they were paying rent.

Not every retail space needs dedicated parking, but you'd think that a furniture store might be one that does.

I don't know much about this furniture store, but aren't most of them really just showrooms where stuff is delivered later? Seems like these types of stores would function perfectly fine without much, if any, parking.

That's true, but they're also not convenience retail that one would expect to be located conveniently and walkably in every neighborhood.

Furniture store looks to have moved out recently. This one seems to be moving along faster than some of the others nearby that were proposed around the same time.

Am I reading this right? http://minneapolismn.gov/www/groups/pub ... 218497.pdf

Old plans are dead: 7 story, 7,600 SF retail, 44 residential units.
New plans are coming: 3 story, 18,000 SF retail (furniture store + more), no residential units.

Compared to the old plans, this is a total dud. It uses maybe 2500 square feet of the ground floor (30ish% of the entire site) for FOUR measly off-street parking spots. A net gain of two parking spots since the curb cut prevents two on-street parking spots.

Mpls2040 has this as Community Mixed Use / Corridor 6. Why are they worrying about FAR variances right now? Wait until Met Council approves the plan, then go ahead and build a bigger building here.

What a downgrade. Sad!

Right. Is there a reason to speed through before the Met Council does the thing?
Is there even a need if it was already approved the way it was before?

This one has started construction.

I just now realized G&L stands for Grand & Lake. lol