Minnetonka Area – General Topics

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VacantLuxuries
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Re: Minnetonka Area – General Topics

Postby VacantLuxuries » August 14th, 2019, 12:22 am

Seems financing for quite a few projects is struggling. Is there something going on that needs investigation and reporting?
Probably the investor/leisure class realizing that the bigly economy isn't going to be around much longer and getting more stingy with their investments.

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Re: Minnetonka Area – General Topics

Postby Anondson » September 9th, 2020, 9:20 am

Another apartment proposed in walking distance to the Opus LRT station.

https://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/ ... tonka.html

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Re: Minnetonka Area – General Topics

Postby Anondson » October 14th, 2020, 7:36 am

After a previous abandoned proposal that had a lot of affordable units, a new proposal for a LRT adjacent site in the Opus business park.

https://finance-commerce.com/2020/10/lr ... ent-pitch/

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Re: Minnetonka Area – General Topics

Postby alexschief » October 14th, 2020, 8:59 am

Almost nothing in the Opus area is conducive to transit-oriented urban design, but there's a lot of space available and you don't have to worry about NIMBYs, so it'll be interesting to see what goes there.

I would hope that Minnetonka will insist on new development creating new pedestrian pathways through this site, and building new sidewalks, because I doubt many people will willingly walk in circles in tall grass to reach transit. The rendering, of course, does not show any pedestrian accommodation. Almost all transit riders start and/or end their trips as pedestrians. The two modes are directly linked.

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Minnetonka Area – General Topics

Postby Anondson » October 14th, 2020, 9:25 am

It’s difficult to see, but just to the left out of the drawing frame is a trail that tunnels under Bren Rd, and follows up the left side of that building up to the station. The trail continues west to the restaurants and shops along Shady Oak and Red Circle.

There was going to be a parallel trail tunneling under 62 to the LRT tunnel linking to the Optum campus but I think that was dropped in the cost cutting phases of SWLRT.

The trail network around Opus kind of nice considering the roads are motor vehicle exclusive.
Image

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Re: Minnetonka Area – General Topics

Postby Tcmetro » October 14th, 2020, 10:34 am

OPUS was originally built on the philosophy of having separate road and ped networks, like Greenbelt Maryland and Milton Keynes UK.

It seems a lot of the office buildings are aging and there is redevelopment pressure (as seen by other residential projects that have gone up). I hope the city can reform the road network to a more traditional two-way system with sidewalks. The way it is laid out now is not amenable to a light-rail centered residential neighborhood.

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Re: Minnetonka Area – General Topics

Postby nordeast homer » October 14th, 2020, 10:43 am

I imagine this will not be the last of this type of development in OPUS. You're right Tcmetro, there are a lot of aging buildings that are ripe to be taken down and replaced with residential.
Because of the size of some of the businesses in this area I wonder if you will see a shuttle going through OPUS connecting with the LRT stations?

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Re: Minnetonka Area – General Topics

Postby Korh » October 14th, 2020, 6:36 pm

I know the drivers at my work have an old rumor that the circles where partly designed by some European drifting team but most take it with a lot of salt and the rumor probably started with some of said drivers messing around during their high school days.
As for the circles themselves, I don't think the city will change them into two-way streets, they had a chance with red circle when they replaced a bride and had it as a temporary two-way, but it went back to a one way afterwards. I would argue that it might be a better investment to give the trail network more TLC since its can be faster then driving sometimes. Although the current trail network is a bit rough from personal experience, some sections desperately needs to be repaved and you can get turned around if your not familiar with the network.

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Re: Minnetonka Area – General Topics

Postby Anondson » October 14th, 2020, 7:44 pm

Business Journals has another view of it.

https://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/ ... tonka.html

You can better see the trail that passes under Bren and goes to the station.

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Re: Minnetonka Area – General Topics

Postby alexschief » October 15th, 2020, 6:24 am

There is a plan for pedestrian and wayfinding improvements in the Opus Park, and the existing trails are a fun resource. But a serious transit-supportive walking grid they are not.

What I'm saying is that, each of these developments is an opportunity to think about what more connections could be made and how something approaching a grid could be created. Each developer in this area should be asked to contribute a new section of trail or sidewalk.

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Re: Minnetonka Area – General Topics

Postby Anondson » October 22nd, 2020, 6:41 am

Doran’s proposal near the Opus light rail station is a lot of apartment units, taking over a portion of another proposal that failed to advance, but has a really bad trail. I mean really dumb, why bother.

https://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/ ... tonka.html

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Re: Minnetonka Area – General Topics

Postby alexschief » October 22nd, 2020, 6:56 am

An insane amount of parking, of course. I don't expect developers to overnight start building zero-parking buildings in this area. But I would hope that the light rail might be an invitation for some risk taking. Doesn't look like it with this project, but then again, it is Doran.

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Re: Minnetonka Area – General Topics

Postby QuietBlue » October 22nd, 2020, 8:11 am

It's less than two spaces per unit, so it's reasonable for the area. People will still need to drive to places and there's no street parking around it.

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Re: Minnetonka Area – General Topics

Postby Anondson » October 29th, 2020, 10:35 am

The abundance of development at the Opus Station is being noticed.

https://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/ ... pment.html

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mckilanowski
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Re: Minnetonka Area – General Topics

Postby mckilanowski » December 27th, 2020, 4:00 pm

I know the drivers at my work have an old rumor that the circles where partly designed by some European drifting team
I thought it was based on the Olympic rings?
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Re: Minnetonka Area – General Topics

Postby GILBball » May 13th, 2021, 12:20 pm

Big one proposed for Opus Station:

https://eminnetonka.granicus.com/MetaVi ... a_id=91779

With all the housing going in here, if they're not careful, they could end up with a real neighborhood on their hands!

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Re: Minnetonka Area – General Topics

Postby Anondson » May 13th, 2021, 12:32 pm

Nice.

A few years back there was the proposal too redevelop the entire north side of Red Circle Dr. from Shady Oak to Bren Rd E. There were some options that had taller towers.

That fell through. But Doran picked a piece of the strip and that proposal is moving along.

I’m glad there is a proposal to fit in a tower taller than 6-7 stories in the Opus station area.

I think it’s a better solution over all to have the Shady Oak to Brent Rd strip redeveloped in pieces rather than one monster block, even if these small parcels are still big monoliths.

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Re: Minnetonka Area – General Topics

Postby alexschief » May 13th, 2021, 12:38 pm

I'm a broken record, and yes I know that this location essentially mandates driving for almost all trips, but my eye still twitched a bit when when I saw 530 parking spaces for 345-380 housing units, directly next to an LRT station.

Development in places like this, as opposed to places with no transit access, is a good thing. But the term "TOD" compresses a lot of different situations. There's just a huge difference between development in the Opus area and development at a place like the West Lake Station, or even the Eden Prairie Town Center Mall, where you can actually access all your daily necessities within walking distance and then LRT is your ticket to greater regional mobility.

In contrast, Opus is essentially an auto island with an LRT station, where maybe you work in the Opus business park, but most likely LRT is just a niche transportation option and not something that anyone can practicably build a lifestyle around. In places like Sweden, where there are public housing towers at many metro stops, there's always a grocery store on the ground floor, hopefully more amenities like that can come to the Opus area if it will really start to gain residential density.

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Minnetonka Area – General Topics

Postby Anondson » May 24th, 2021, 3:51 pm

KA and Aeon cancel their proposal over criticisms that affordable and market rate were different buildings, and affordable would not have access to the pool, among other factors.

https://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/ ... ments.html

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Re: Minnetonka Area – General Topics

Postby Mdcastle » May 24th, 2021, 6:02 pm

I like these quotes:
"To me, segregating the housing is a much bigger sin that not having enough affordable housing,” said Joshua Sewall, the commission’s chair, during a review of the concept plan for the project.
I guess having to live under a bridge because there's no affordable housing is superior to living in affordable housing without a swimming pool. I get that we don't want to recreate Cabrini Green, but there's a lot entire complexes of affordable units around without issues...NOAH. If people feel entitled to something more than decent, basic housing, with swimming pools, dog washes, balconies, rooftop ameneity decks and granite counters they can pay market rates for it.
"Commissioner Alex Hanson said the buildings' residents, just by walking from the shared parking structure to their respective apartments, would “know exactly where [they are] at, financially, in life.”
Heaven forbid that people can't have the delusion that they're Jeff Bezos.


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