urbanMSP

Drury pitches 214-room hotel in Bloomington
*LOCKED*
Plans call for a nine-story, 122,398-square-foot Drury Plaza Hotel on a surface parking site at 3901 Minnesota Drive


Submitted rendering for 3901 Minnesota Drive (looking NW from W 78th & France Ave S.)

Ah, the Dreary Inn...

I was also struck by the awful branding. I don't care if that's the family's last name, it's too folksy sounding for a classy-ish location like France Ave. Perfect fit for the horribly bland design and color palette.

It appears this will be their first location in Minnesota, but I've seen a lot of them traveling. Locations.

Our first experience with Drury (in its hometown no less) led to the "Dreary" moniker. We've avoided them ever since.

I was also struck by the awful branding. I don't care if that's the family's last name, it's too folksy sounding for a classy-ish location like France Ave. Perfect fit for the horribly bland design and color palette.

It will be across from a Perkins, a Fuddrucker's, and a Bobby and Steve's. All paragons of sophistication.

But I've never liked the name of the chain either, honestly.

Anyone know much about "City Club Apartments"?
They're a multifamily housing development/management/ect company and they just bought the apartment complex I live in (they went around inspecting apartments and notices were left on doors). I didn't find anything helpful online, though I'm also not sure where I'd look.

The complex I live in was called "Village Park of Bloomington", now it's apparently called "Village Club of Bloomington". The street addresses for the respective buildings that make up the complex are 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 E 86th St, Bloomington 55425 (for reference).

Our rent went up by 20% from $1030 to $1245 per month for a 2 bedroom apartment when we renewed our lease last fall, and we're hoping this doesn't mean rents are going up again.

They're the ones that are now developing the Handicraft Building Apartments downtown, but that was the first I had heard of them.

The article in F&C talked a bit about this -- apparently, it's a 50% owner in Village Green who cashed out of that and started a new company with new partners.

I'm surprised those apartment buildings are still standing.

Also, the owner/partner, John Holtzman, was basically forced out of Village Green and took the fka Village Park Of Bloomington with him.

Out at the west edge of the 76th/77th/78th corridor, on the Bloomington side of the border, at the edge of the industrial area, 180+ senior housing units proposed.

https://finance-commerce.com/2018/05/op ... oomington/

Not much that’s walkable, but it is about 1/4 mile from a bus line, and sandwiched between Braemar Park and Hyland Lake Park Reserve.

Hom Furniture wants to expand. Possibly room to relocate Gabberts from Galleria.

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

On the southern fringe of the Greater Southdale Area’s, Drury Hotels buys a site for their first Minnesota hotel at the corner of Minnesota Dr and France.

https://finance-commerce.com/2018/08/dr ... minnesota/

(Unlocked)

Hom Furniture wants to expand. Possibly room to relocate Gabberts from Galleria.

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

That will be a little sad, since Gabberts is what started the Galleria.

Two-phase senior housing development coming to the Normandale Lake area. Phase 1 is a four-story 108-unit assisted living facility, and the second phase will be an independent living facility.

According to the staff report, this site was previously approved for a 10-story hotel, 10-story office, and parking ramp development in 2009.

https://agendasuite.org/iip/bloomington ... tails/6263

This seems like a weird location for this kind of a use.

The report mentions the reduced demand for office space since the original project was proposed, but I thought this particular area still had strong demand and was charging somewhat higher rates than other suburban office parks.

The problem with assisted living buildings is they act like black holes—people go in, never to be seen again. There’s never any interaction with the street.

Is there a concern that residents might escape? Are there different levels of assistance, such that some residents might want to interact with the public, hang out in a coffee shop or cafe, or hang out in a public park?

They feel like suburban malls or an enclosed Disneyland or, worse yet, a prison.