urbanMSP

*popcorn eating dot gif*

I can't wait for this episode of WedgeLive

That surface lot was the most unpleasant place to park/hunt for parking. They might have been better off just relying on street parking at least from a convenience perspective. Not to mention the hole in the urban fabric it has created.

It kinda feels like St. Paul is in a weird transitional period of development politics, where a solid majority of the city council is broadly supportive of any dense development on transit corridors, lowering parking requirements, etc. But NIMBYs and neighborhood/business orgs seem stronger/louder than most of their Minneapolis counterparts these days. In Minneapolis, it has begun to feel that development opponents have mostly given up, and you just don't see strong/organized opposition anymore. I think this trend was in motion pre-'2040' debate/drama, but has only accelerated since approval of the 2040 plan. Development opponents in Minneapolis seem to not even bother anymore, perhaps with the exception of folks who literally live next door to a big project. And even then, their appeals to the PC/CC are pretty much ignored. In St. Paul, loud/organized opposition from residents and business owners who don't even directly abut a property seem more commonplace, even though the City Council is likely pro-development enough to approve just about anything.

Those of you who live in St. Paul, does that analysis ring true? Am I missing anything?

St. Paul has extreme and consistent NIMBYs of all ages and demographics. Oddly both in favor and against housing. Change = bad!

Too tall, too expensive, too cheap(?), neighborhood character!, too much traffic (it's already so bad!), blocks my view, blocks my sunlight, students ruin everything, I support density (just not here), kids will get hit by cars from the extra traffic/cars, people don't ride bikes or the bus, and so forth ...

Where will they/I park the F150? My garage won't fit it and I want to park directly in front of my house!

Parking, parking, parking.

Villager has a story up, along with a rendering: https://myvillager.com/2021/03/17/plan- ... s-on-grand

I REALLY hope they just didn't want to shell out the extra dough for a colored rendering, and aren't planning on building a monotone gray box

I'm guessing they're doing the standard finish of most buildings nowadays and when it's time, will go out and buy five or six different small quantities of leftovers Home Depot has on sale in order to get enough material to finish one building.

Here are some images from the presentation via @danmarstp https://twitter.com/DanMarStP/status/13 ... 8206246914
Front on Grand

Alley side

'Winter'

Those new renderings are stunning. But I'm sure someone will convince themselves it is really ugly.

Approval appears likely: https://myvillager.com/2021/07/21/commi ... -on-grand/

Planning Commission approved CUP and variances on a 9-1 vote. Up next is rezoning. https://www.startribune.com/st-paul-pla ... 600080916/

Rezoning decision pushed back a week, but lots of resistance to the idea from the Council
https://twitter.com/FrederickMelo/statu ... 3034576904

Any reason to think this would get different treatment from Mayor Carter as the Alatus project? I almost wonder with Noecker apparently now opposed if there might be a 5-2 supermajority to overrule the Mayor on a potential veto. Different neighborhood and circumstances, obviously.

Thought experiment: would the Minneapolis City Council even bat an eye at a project like this?

Rezoning approved on a 4-3 vote.
https://www.twincities.com/2021/08/18/d ... grand-4-3/

This is very good.

Happy to see this. Grand Avenue needs a ton more projects like this, there's no going back to the old half-urban/half-suburban retail model. The entire corridor has plenty of parcels that would be perfect for mid-rise apartments like this one.