Southdale Area - Edina

[mattaudio]

I went to Southdale last weekend, which is something I do on rainy days once or twice a year out of necessity only. I paid attention to the (mostly) one-way ring road, which seemed like a relatively inefficient way to get people into and out of the mall. Most other malls seem to have two-way ring roads. MOA doesn't even have a formal ring road, but instead is more of a grid of access oriented to the east and west parking ramps, with other connecting roads fronting the mall itself.

It seems to me that reconfiguration of Southdale's ring road could improve access and egress while also producing a framework that's more compatible with the type of dense outlot development we're already seeing.

[mister.shoes]

That makes complete and total sense to me, as they keep two-waying parts of it as development happens. Why not just change the entire thing? Especially because the current one-way sections are the same direction as the nearest traffic lanes. It's just as easy to make a series of right turns on France and 66th and York as it is to make those same right turns on the Southdale property. For that ring road to be more useful, it should go the other way. So: two-way the whole thing, I say.

[Anondson]

For the number of people who drive the one-way the wrong way thinking its a two-way, I think most wish it were. I believe it's not made full two way have to do with the ring road exits at stop lights onto France and on to York. Queuing at those lights would absolutely be problems, I'm sure Simon has no intent on spending the kind of money to do it right.

[Anondson]

County service center opens up at May 31st.

http://m.startribune.com/southdale-mall ... 378467341/

Court and library still at the old building.

[Anondson]

Construction wall came down. Service center getting last inside polish finished.

https://flic.kr/p/HkcHAU
https://flic.kr/p/HqJTsQ

[twincitizen]

If anyone ever sees that they're hiring Service Center clerks, please shoot me a message here or on Twitter. GF is looking to leave her current DMV job and slide over to a Hennepin County gig.

[Didier]

Has she ever been convicted of a felony?

[mattaudio]

Even worse: convicted of dating twincitizen.

[grant1simons2]

Minnesotans hate new Italian fine dining. Z Italiano closes at Southdale after 6 months

http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/n ... onths.html

[Anondson]

It wasn't much "fine dining" really, much more casual. It launched with little noise, and it filled a difficult space. It took the space pretty much exactly as California Pizza Kitchen left it, some new paint and plants.

[billhelm]

Ate at a crowded Cheesecake Factory on a Wednesday night a few weeks ago (my daughter's request) then wandered into the mall... there were maybe 2 tables occupied at Z Italiano. Not too surprised that they've closed.

[twincitizen]

Possibly the first or second worst location in the entire mall. Like it would make sense if that's where the food court was, but a restaurant otherwise in the middle of nowhere, in the "low rent" part of the mall....it was just a really terrible idea. Despite all the recent additions to fill the other awkward, out-of-the-way spaces (D&Bs, Hennepin County), Southdale just has a bad layout that produces too many bad spaces like this. It really does not look sustainable in the long term...

[Anondson]

Even if that space was allowed to open up an outside door to the delivery truck courtyard it could have made that space slightly more successful.

[min-chi-cbus]

It was probably really delicious and affordable but nobody wanted to go....

[mattaudio]

And what's strange about it, is that space is relatively new! Wasn't it built in the early 00s when they built that Cheesecake/PFChang wing?

[twincitizen]

Restoration Hardware looking at a flagship type store in Edina: http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/n ... wroom.html

My first guess is that this would be part of a previously-discussed Galleria expansion. RH currently occupies a corner space with a lot of room to grow (like outward, toward the streets).

My second guess is that they'll do a standalone development in the SW corner parking lot of Southdale (the water tower corner). This corner has previously been mentioned as a sit-down restaurant pad site, which (a) is underwhelming for the site, and (b) I question the demand for yet another full-service restaurant...this area is arguably overserved today (though many of the restaurants are bad, like Ruby Tuesday bad).

[Anondson]

My bet is on the four-story Galleria expansion. Though I could see a few other parcels being chosen and working well, like the SW Southdale corner.

[Nick]

(though many of the restaurants are bad, like Ruby Tuesday bad).

Outageous that a "moderator" would slander a good clean family restaurant on this, the forums 4th anniversary. You're snark is out of control

[seanrichardryan]

Hoped RH would do a nice urban building restoration liked they've done in other markets, alas their dull moneyed clientele reside in shithole suburbs.

[David Greene]

their dull moneyed clientele

Sums up RH very well.