Bloomington - General Topics

[Tcmetro]

This area is already a dead zone outside of rush hour traffic (which is all cars, not pedestrians). I would hope that new office developments in Bloomington are guided to areas with higher mixes of residential and commercial uses (Penn and American, South Loop, 98th/35W).

[Mdcastle]

RBCU Credit Union addition is done. Looks like a nice, modern commercial building

[Mdcastle]

Bloomington Facebook chatter is that Taqueria las cuatro milpas took over the old 1st Wok location today and hope to open within a month. Their Facebook page is apparently in Spanish but they do note they're opening a new location with a "spacious parking lot". I've thought about checking out the Tacqueria across from Menards numerous times but I've never, ever been able to find a parking space there.

[HiawathaGuy]

Bloomington Facebook chatter is that Taqueria las cuatro milpas took over the old 1st Wok location today and hope to open within a month. Their Facebook page is apparently in Spanish but they do note they're opening a new location with a "spacious parking lot". I've thought about checking out the Tacqueria across from Menards numerous times but I've never, ever been able to find a parking space there.

That's fun, I look forward to checking it out. Andale Taqueria across from Menards is really good - they were featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, and for good reason! If their lot is full, you can park on one of the adjacent side streets and walk a block. The Mercado is fun place to visit too.

[DanPatchToget]

There's a proposal for 15 townhomes on the northeast corner of Penn & 86th Street. I believe the single-family home on the site has been demolished. Of course some people in the surrounding area are very against it, saying it will increase traffic, destroy the residential character of the neighborhood, and increase water levels in Lower and Upper Penn Lake.

[Anondson]

15 townhomes.
Increase traffic.
Of course they think this.

What ruins the water surrounding the lake are all the mono crop lawns right up the water.

[Mdcastle]

Smack Shack opening a branch in Bloomington replacing the old Fudruckers at France and I-494

https://www.startribune.com/smack-shack ... 600040988/

"While the North Loop is a great area to be in, getting there and parking can be a challenge." said [co-owner Josh] Thoma. "Having something that wasn't downtown is going to be a valuable addition to our company. This is a great location, right off the freeway, with a big parking lot. We're excited."

There will be an oyster bar, along with a showy lobster tank and lobster boil. Pulltabs, too. As for the menu, "It will be about 90 percent the same as the North Loop menu, but it will probably have some unique items,"

[uptownbro]

Sick plans to start construction on there new 100 million dollar US HQ by MOA this spring

[Anondson]

https://finance-commerce.com/2021/04/si ... -near-moa/

[MNdible]

SICK PLANS, DUDE!

[mplsjaromir]

Germans do not care how their names are perceived in English. DUNGS Combustion Controls is another one.

[Didier]

Schwing

[Mdcastle]

68 Unit Affordable Housing complex proposed to replace a small 1960s vintage office building at 80th and Old Cedar. 86 parking spaces. I have no opinion on the idea of building apartments there, but the building itself is the "random pallets of Home Depot remainders" style of exterior finish I hate with a passion.

[Mdcastle]

In the least surprising news ever, a developer wants to build mixed use instead of offices in the southeast corner of American and 30th,



The initial phase, BCS 4, is 425 units, 622 parking spaces, 20,000 square foot retail. Apparently they have a grocery store interested for 14,000 square feet. BCS 5 will be 250 units, 6000 square feet retail and BCS 6 will be 250 units. The city ordinance minimum of 9% will be affordable.

The abundance of resident amenities will include a lobby and leasing lounge, work from home
lounge, dog washing station, fitness center and studio, club room, activity “Base Camp,” sky
lounge amenity spaces, resort style pool deck with an outdoor kitchen, and additional outdoor
amenity and open space. The building will offer its residents on-site management, enclosed
parking, private storage lockers, and one guest suite for resident visitors

This residential community will offer various unit types for its diverse tenant profile, tailored to
residents in search of flexible living with strong connections to the outdoors. Unit sizes will
range from 540 square feet to 1,500 square feet and unit types will range from studio units to
large 3-bedroom units and walk-up units at ground level. This variety in housing types will help
to accommodate a variety of household formations, sizes and incomes

I'm assuming "dog washing station" is the new "granite countertops" in that it sends a signal to people they should expect to pay a lot more relative to an place without a dog washing station.

[Anondson]

Nice filling in the South Loop station area.

[Mdcastle]

Two interesting notes from the planning commission meeting last night:

A presentation of a consulting report for the parks system. Bloomington is at the extreme low end of cities in spending on parks, and the recommendation is to double it. The community center we all thought was dead due to NIMBYism, the pandemic budget woes, and a change in mayor is back to life. The report noted we have too many outdoor ice rinks, tennis courts, and softball fields, and not enough indoor recreations space and inclusive playgrounds (we have none of each) and dog parks and skate parks.

The idea of redevelopment of the area around Portland and I-494. As one planning commissioner noted (paraphrasing a bit) "We'd all like nice and shiny new mixed use buildings here instead of the dumpy strip malls pushed way back from the street. But I walked by the strip mall yesterday, and there were 17 retail spaces and 17 shops filling those spaces, and they're all valuable to the neighborhood. We have affordable housing policies and protected industrial areas, why not affordable retail policies. How do you reconcile these ideas? I don't know, and maybe you can't"

Maybe you can kind of nibble away at affordable retail and put up some shiny and expensive buildings here and there and maybe there's another place for the displaced tenants to move (certainly not in the new development with what rent they charge, but maybe a dumpy strip mall nearby). But between the redevelopments in place in Richfield and now proposed on Lyndale in Bloomington and on Portland in Bloomington and Old Cedar in Bloomington pretty soon we're going to get to the spot where there's not enough of it.