St. Louis Park - General Topics

Twin Cities Suburbs
Multimodal
US Bank Plaza
Posts: 714
Joined: March 4th, 2016, 7:55 am
Location: Oh, no, the burbs!

Re: St. Louis Park - General Topics

Postby Multimodal » June 2nd, 2020, 9:06 am

Not much in the way of urbanism. Is there a drive-thru at this bank?

Why do we tolerate state highways going through our cities? Kills all possibility of having real neighborhoods.

Mdcastle
Wells Fargo Center
Posts: 1207
Joined: March 23rd, 2013, 8:28 am
Location: Bloomington, MN

Re: St. Louis Park - General Topics

Postby Mdcastle » June 3rd, 2020, 8:37 am

Is the Galaxy Drive-in on hold, due to COVID-19?

If Micro Center moved, would they choose a smaller space? Large space, low rent, plenty of parking… seems like a dying breed in well to do first ring suburbs.
I don't see Micro Center choosing a smaller space. Especially not if the rent is higher and especially not if there's not lots of free surface parking. A lot of times the store is packed at it's present size. And the size is part of the attraction. Live in Chaska and need a new laptop? Drive in and there's 50 of them on display for you to try out and see how the keyboard feels? Need a 9 pin to 25 pin RS-232 adapter for a 30 year old POS system today? Drive in from Oakdale and grab one off the shelf. Live in Bloomingon and want to build an AMD gaming system? Drive in and talk to someone knowledgeable and walk out with the parts, at prices that are competitive with ordering online. It wouldn't surprise me if they lost money on motherboards and CPUS and stuf competing online, considering how excited they are to be sure you have every cable and accessory you could ever possibly need.

Presumably we tolerate state highways in the suburbs because people in the suburbs don't like to be stuck in traffic, that means Hennepin County doesn't have to pay to maintain highway 7, and it makes it easy for people to drive to Micro Center. In fact even Highway 7 as wide as it is was too congested for people's liking so we started building interchanges.

Multimodal
US Bank Plaza
Posts: 714
Joined: March 4th, 2016, 7:55 am
Location: Oh, no, the burbs!

Re: St. Louis Park - General Topics

Postby Multimodal » June 14th, 2020, 10:02 am

I don't see Micro Center choosing a smaller space. Especially not if the rent is higher and especially not if there's not lots of free surface parking. A lot of times the store is packed at it's present size. And the size is part of the attraction. Live in Chaska and need a new laptop? Drive in and there's 50 of them on display for you to try out and see how the keyboard feels? Need a 9 pin to 25 pin RS-232 adapter for a 30 year old POS system today? Drive in from Oakdale and grab one off the shelf. Live in Bloomingon and want to build an AMD gaming system? Drive in and talk to someone knowledgeable and walk out with the parts, at prices that are competitive with ordering online.
Live in Eden Prairie and need a new laptop? Take SWLRT and there's 50 of them on display for you to try out and see how the keyboard feels? Need a 9 pin to 25 pin RS-232 adapter for a 30 year old POS system today? Take SWLRT from Hopkins and grab one off the shelf. Live in Minneapolis or St. Paul and want to build an AMD gaming system? Take the Green Line and talk to someone knowledgeable and walk out with the parts, at prices that are competitive with ordering online.

Think how much Micro Center would save not paying for the land & maintenance for a parking lot.

Mdcastle
Wells Fargo Center
Posts: 1207
Joined: March 23rd, 2013, 8:28 am
Location: Bloomington, MN

Re: St. Louis Park - General Topics

Postby Mdcastle » June 14th, 2020, 3:40 pm

So MicroCenter is conceding the person from Oakdale and Chaska's business to Amazon? And the people from Eden Prairie who are too scared or otherwise unwilling to ride a bus or light rail to Amazon? Doesn't sound like a winning business model to me to have a regional type store only, the only one in the region accessible to people able and willing to ride transit regardless of the overhead of having a parking lot.

Judging by the people I see in Microcenter and the products the store sells, the patrons seem to be above average wealth. There's a substantial overlap between people of above average wealth and those unable because of where they live, or simply unwilling to ride transit. I've spent thousands of dollars at Microcenter but if they didn't have a surface parking lot I'd never go there again and just order everything online.

User avatar
VacantLuxuries
Foshay Tower
Posts: 973
Joined: February 20th, 2015, 12:38 pm

Re: St. Louis Park - General Topics

Postby VacantLuxuries » June 15th, 2020, 8:24 am

I would also argue that if the selling point of Microcenter is talking to someone knowledgeable for computer issues, I've never gotten that experience. It's been mostly 'poorly trained sales staff hurrying to stick their employee sticker on a part I researched myself before I walk out of their section.'

Literally the only reason to go to Microcenter is if they have a sale on a part that is more competitive than Newegg's price. And that's getting rarer.

Multimodal
US Bank Plaza
Posts: 714
Joined: March 4th, 2016, 7:55 am
Location: Oh, no, the burbs!

Re: St. Louis Park - General Topics

Postby Multimodal » June 15th, 2020, 11:48 am

Judging by the people I see in Microcenter and the products the store sells, the patrons seem to be above average wealth. There's a substantial overlap between people of above average wealth and those…
… living in bright, shiny, new, expensive apartments & townhomes in Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) around SWLRT stations, the E Line, the B Line, etc.

Not to mention that just across Micro Center’s parking lot is the almost-ready Elmwood Apartments, 55+ for those well-to-do residents with lots of disposable cash for their tech needs.

Mdcastle
Wells Fargo Center
Posts: 1207
Joined: March 23rd, 2013, 8:28 am
Location: Bloomington, MN

Re: St. Louis Park - General Topics

Postby Mdcastle » June 15th, 2020, 12:08 pm

So how many people of above average wealth are going to be living in TOD around the transit lines compared to a McMansion in Eden Prairie. And how many of those people would refuse to visit Microcenter if they had a surface parking lot, compared to people from the McMansions refusing to visit Microcenter if they had to ride a bus.

User avatar
VacantLuxuries
Foshay Tower
Posts: 973
Joined: February 20th, 2015, 12:38 pm

Re: St. Louis Park - General Topics

Postby VacantLuxuries » June 15th, 2020, 2:39 pm

Considering much of the development will be market rate, I'm sure the majority of people living in the TOD will be 'above average wealth.'

The wealthy in the McMansions can go wherever they like. I feel like we've wasted enough time paving over valuable land in order to chase the fleeting attention span of the leisure class, let's start building cities around who actually lives here.

trafficeng985
Block E
Posts: 23
Joined: May 1st, 2018, 9:06 am

Re: St. Louis Park - General Topics

Postby trafficeng985 » June 16th, 2020, 8:51 am

Is the Galaxy Drive-in on hold, due to COVID-19?

If Micro Center moved, would they choose a smaller space? Large space, low rent, plenty of parking… seems like a dying breed in well to do first ring suburbs.
Opened yesterday!

karlshea
Nicollet Mall
Posts: 132
Joined: July 14th, 2014, 10:28 am

Re: St. Louis Park - General Topics

Postby karlshea » June 16th, 2020, 11:37 pm

I use that MicroCenter all the time and I'm in Stevens Square, but taking transit there would be ridiculous. It's an hour one-way at a
minimum, 40 minutes of which is walking.

What about my relatives in Edina (I know, lol)? It's either a 50 minute walk one-way, or a 1h 20m transit ride one-way (including a 30 minute walk) wrapping around the lakes in SLP.

I'm not sure they need a huge lot, but if there's no parking at all (or if street parking is impossible) they are going to lose a huge amount of their customer base.

I'm all for transit, but you can't wish away the reality of the system we have.

User avatar
VacantLuxuries
Foshay Tower
Posts: 973
Joined: February 20th, 2015, 12:38 pm

Re: St. Louis Park - General Topics

Postby VacantLuxuries » June 17th, 2020, 11:10 am

I'm all for transit, but you can't wish away the reality of the system we have.
Too true. And while the transit discussion here is less about the current transit to the site but more the currently under construction SWLRT, ultimately Micro Center is going to do what's best for its business and customers. Likely, once the owner of the strip mall decides to cash out and sell to a developer, Micro Center would relocate out of St. Louis Park to one of the suburbs mentioned in the hypotheticals in this thread.

It would be sad to lose for my own convenience (I don't find the staff helpful but it's nice to run in and out when I need something quick), but it would make zero sense to keep auto oriented uses like this along a major transit corridor if someone wants to build something denser and transit oriented.

candycaneforestelf
City Center
Posts: 30
Joined: May 7th, 2018, 8:56 pm
Location: Wright County

Re: St. Louis Park - General Topics

Postby candycaneforestelf » June 18th, 2020, 10:38 am

As an exurbanite, I use this MicroCenter once or twice a year specifically for electronics purchases in volumes I would not trust transiting on public transit, both physically and in cash value. A PC case box is very awkward to carry even if it's legitimately the only thing you're carrying.

Also, during the handful of times I've been there on a weekday over the years, it seems like it's filled with IT professionals who are specifically there to pick up parts they need that day. Sometimes that even feels like the case on weekends. Those cases are cases where they often cannot afford to be spending more than 20 minutes traveling.

MicroCenter, by nature of it being a regionally focused store, is not conducive to transit.

Anondson
IDS Center
Posts: 4644
Joined: July 21st, 2013, 8:57 pm
Location: Where West Minneapolis Once Was

Re: St. Louis Park - General Topics

Postby Anondson » January 11th, 2021, 7:57 am

New plans for the former Santorini site. https://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/ ... orini.html

schwinnletour
Metrodome
Posts: 68
Joined: July 27th, 2017, 9:36 am

Re: St. Louis Park - General Topics

Postby schwinnletour » February 11th, 2021, 11:13 am

St. Louis Park is taken the action of legalizing cannabis dispensaries:

https://www.hometownsource.com/sun_sail ... a293e.html

The majority of suburbs in Illinois post state legalization banned them within their borders so this is an interesting development for when the State moves forward with rec. legalization.

Anondson
IDS Center
Posts: 4644
Joined: July 21st, 2013, 8:57 pm
Location: Where West Minneapolis Once Was

Re: St. Louis Park - General Topics

Postby Anondson » April 19th, 2021, 8:53 am

Word is Roller Garden is closing for good May 8. Just got an email from them.

Family ran it for 52 years. Wanting to retire plus COVID sent them over the edge are their reasons.

Their email says the building is not being torn down. But not what will replace it.

Sad news.

DanPatchToget
Wells Fargo Center
Posts: 1642
Joined: March 30th, 2016, 1:26 pm

Re: St. Louis Park - General Topics

Postby DanPatchToget » April 19th, 2021, 10:04 am

Didn't take long for people to comment on a Facebook group that it'll probably be turned into apartments, because heaven forbid we build more housing when it's sorely needed. :roll:

Since it's pretty much confirmed that the building won't be torn down, what new use could they put in there?

Anondson
IDS Center
Posts: 4644
Joined: July 21st, 2013, 8:57 pm
Location: Where West Minneapolis Once Was

Re: St. Louis Park - General Topics

Postby Anondson » April 19th, 2021, 10:07 am

No matter what goes in it, there will be “concerns about parking!”

QuietBlue
Target Field
Posts: 579
Joined: September 14th, 2012, 8:50 am

Re: St. Louis Park - General Topics

Postby QuietBlue » April 20th, 2021, 12:33 pm

Which is funny, because the rink has been operating since before most of the current residents likely moved to the area, and the building has been around longer than most people have been alive, period. Yeah, on a busy night, there was a lot of street parking, but people should have known that when they moved to the area.

I am curious as to what will replace it.

Korh
Union Depot
Posts: 388
Joined: March 8th, 2017, 10:21 pm

Re: St. Louis Park - General Topics

Postby Korh » April 21st, 2021, 2:02 pm

Is it bad that the first thing I thought for a replacement was turning roller garden into an (indoor) beer garden.

Mdcastle
Wells Fargo Center
Posts: 1207
Joined: March 23rd, 2013, 8:28 am
Location: Bloomington, MN

Re: St. Louis Park - General Topics

Postby Mdcastle » April 22nd, 2021, 7:59 am

Strib reporting it will be a gymnastics arena.


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests