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Winona

Posted: September 13th, 2013, 10:29 am
by mulad
There was a fire in downtown Winona this morning on the block containing Blooming Grounds Coffee Shop, a block west of Merchants National Bank. The area is a historic district.

And I hate to be snarky with an event like this, but I think this is the first time I've ever heard the term "cockloft"...

http://live.mprnews.org/Event/Firefighe ... nona_blaze

Map of area:


Re: Winona

Posted: September 13th, 2013, 12:03 pm
by MNdible
Hope they're able to repair these buildings -- Winona has some great historic fabric.

EDIT: Looking at the pictures, it's clear that a number of them are total losses.

Meanwhile, here's the deal with cocklofts (which I had also never heard of).

Re: Winona

Posted: September 13th, 2013, 3:08 pm
by woofner
You have to log on to get to the cocklofts on that link above. http://youtu.be/m1agaZinJHg

Man, fire investigation is wizardry. How do you do a forensic arson investigation on a building that was cleared with a backhoe?

Re: Winona

Posted: September 13th, 2013, 3:17 pm
by MNdible
Hmm. It was free this morning -- perhaps they noticed the sudden spike of interest in cocklofts?

http://youtu.be/SKm5xQyD2vE

Re: Winona

Posted: September 13th, 2013, 3:33 pm
by FISHMANPET
Weird, I found that link on my own independently and I didn't have to login.

Basically, a cockloft is an attic that's not separated my firewall. So all these buildings had a common attic-type space (technically not an attic because it's not supported by triangular rafters) in which the fire could spread.

Re: Winona

Posted: September 13th, 2013, 4:05 pm
by seanrichardryan
http://goo.gl/maps/hVrtU

Looks like it was three storefronts, those that are not red brick in the streetview.

Re: Winona

Posted: September 13th, 2013, 5:32 pm
by mulad
Sometimes sites will let you see something for free a few times if you come in off of a Google search.

Re: Winona

Posted: February 6th, 2015, 7:24 am
by mattaudio
Another fire destroys a classic downtown building of the traditional development pattern. http://m.winonadailynews.com/news/local ... touch=true

Re: Winona

Posted: July 17th, 2015, 1:10 pm
by bubzki2

Re: Winona

Posted: December 14th, 2015, 8:49 am
by masstrlk67
MPR story on development in downtown Winona.

http://www.mprnews.org/story/2015/12/14 ... evelopment

Re: Winona

Posted: March 28th, 2016, 4:41 pm
by matthew5080
The Winona bridge project is likely to go $30 million over the initial plans.
http://www.postbulletin.com/news/local/ ... 0ce85.html

Re: Winona

Posted: April 28th, 2016, 5:33 am
by Mdcastle
Options for the Bridge:
1) Do the project as originally planned: $30 Million over budget
2) Do a quick fix for a 20 year design life; remains fracture critical and weight restrictions likely: $19.5 Under to $5.5 Million over budget
3) Demolish the old bridge, deal with building a second span when traffic volumes warrant in 2038: $25 Million under budget for now.
4) Demolish and rebuild the deck truss approach segments with modern concrete, keep the through truss river span: $21-$23 Million over budget.
5) Convert the old bridge into a bicycle pedestrian facility (bicycles and pedestrians would likely be restricted to a 10 foot or so trail on the bridge rather than the full width), deal with a second span in 2038: $3.5 -25 Million under budget

My take: Even though there's a protected bicycle trail on the new bridge, let's rehabilitate it into a non-motorized facility. I've always thought it was dumb that the plan was to dump four lanes of traffic into a single downtown intersection. In 2038 lets evaluate the situation and maybe consider building a second bridge at a different location, maybe to line up with Huff Street or else as a bypass for the town; A lot of the traffic using the bridge is going to parts other than downtown so it doesn't make sense for them to have to drive through it.

Re: Winona

Posted: April 28th, 2016, 8:42 am
by mattaudio
Monte thanks for this info. So the demolish expense is roughly equivalent to the low-end estimate to rehab the old bridge for bike/ped use? And the high-end estimate to adapt the old bridge for bike/ped is $21.5 million over the cost to demolish? Seems like universe of rational responses boils down to these two options - demolish or adapt for bike/ped - and some further digging should be done to determine which one is the better course of action.

Re: Winona

Posted: April 28th, 2016, 9:35 am
by Mdcastle
Yes, maybe a more clear way would be to state what each cost would be from the baseline of zero dollars instead of the baseline of what the budget is:

Original Budget:
Full Rehab $35 Million

Current Estimates:
1) Full Rehab: $65 Million
2) Quick Fix: $15-$40 Million
3) Demolish: $7-$10.5 Million
4) Demolish and replace approach spans, rehab river span: $55-$57 Million
5) Bicycle / Ped Facility: $10-$30 Million

Cost of a second new span: $50-$70 Million in today's dollars.
http://www.dot.state.mn.us/winonabridge ... ment-5.pdf

I agree that it makes sense to either demolish it or adapt for bike/ped at this point.

Re: Winona

Posted: November 9th, 2016, 12:04 pm
by mattaudio

Re: Winona

Posted: May 16th, 2018, 3:01 pm
by mamundsen
Any guesses what could be brewing in Winona?

https://www.twincities.com/2018/05/16/w ... t-mystery/
WINONA, Minn. — Southeast Minnesota officials aren’t sure why an Indiana company has spent more than $3 million acquiring property in their area.

Rock LLC has bought six properties in Winona since December, including a stained glass studio and a lumber site, the Winona Daily News reported. In some cases, the company paid more than four times the estimated market value for a parcel.

Local officials haven’t had much contact with the company and aren’t sure what it plans to do with the land near the area’s interstate bridge.

“We have a standard set of questions, and right off the bat, they were asked what their plans were,” Hacken said. “They said ‘We’d rather not say, but it’s going to be really cool.’ That’s what my employee was told.”

Re: Winona

Posted: May 25th, 2018, 2:45 pm
by Anondson
Turns out it’s because Fastenal is expanding and wants to build more offices in downtown Winona.

https://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/ ... -home.html

Re: Winona

Posted: May 25th, 2018, 3:01 pm
by grant1simons2
So 100s of employees being added in Winona which will mean a lot more housing necessity for families. Already 1000s of new jobs planned for Rochester. Sounds like we may need some trains folks.

Re: Winona

Posted: May 25th, 2018, 3:32 pm
by mattaudio
You can buy a house in Winona for like $75,000....

Re: Winona

Posted: May 25th, 2018, 3:41 pm
by grant1simons2
I was just trying to connect our outstate development resurgence (Winona, Roschester, Duluth and Red Wing)

JUST BE AN ALLY MATT.

Also the houses are cheap now but like... that stock will get sucked up fast and we both know it.