Chester Gardens - Duluth, MN

[HuskyGrad]

I wanted to share this mix-used development that was recently completed in Duluth. Seems to be very well designed and built. Definitely looks like it has been there years.
http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/conten ... -passersby

[jbraski]

You beat me to it, HuskyGrad! I was going to post this as well. I absolutely love this idea, concept and design. It really feels like it would blend into that neighborhood well. I hope Duluth can continue this trend and bring some more housing/mixed use into the Hillside neighborhood closer to downtown. The buildings could vary between 3-6+ stories (depending on location). Great job Duluth!!

[FISHMANPET]

That is really great. We should be building things like that all over Minneapolis. I wonder what's stopping us here, land values, local opposition, fear of local opposition? It sounds like the developer barely made it out solvently, so it's not as easy as people think it is to build stuff, and if it's barely on the edge in Duluth, maybe it's not possible here.

[grant1simons2]

Lack of developers wanting to build like this and when they do they fail.. Badly

[MNdible]

Yes, if you're reading between the lines in the article, it's pretty clear that the folks that developed this did it as a labor of love across the street from a thriving business that they own. They made the kinds of decisions that a regular developer (who was concerned about making some money at the end) would never have made, and the result is a beautiful building and a lot of debt that hopefully they'll be able to service.

[twincitizen]

I ate at Sara’s Table/Chester Creek Cafe this summer. Highly recommend! I did not notice this building, but it sounds like that was the intent. I definitely would have snapped a pic if it had stood out to me in any way.

[RailBaronYarr]

The cleanup grant awarded was $145,350, meaning the total cost of cleanup was just shy of $200k (or, if you look at it another way, 8% of the project's budget, which was obviously surpassed). It really is a good thing we give public money out to cover the negative externalities from the private market (which is exactly why it bothers me to no end when folks refuse to acknowledge the future economic impacts of current actions).

I agree with MNdible - this type of development is the stuff we rarely see from firms who only do development and aren't part of the community doing it at least partly out of a labor of love. With that said, this is also the way stuff used to be built for years. Call it vanity, call it neighborhood pride (or some combination), but local people with cash or access to financing would spend that little extra to make sure the structures they built were beautiful enough to draw people to the area.

I wonder how well this would cash flow if zoning didn't prevent the 4th story. Either way, I'll be in Duluth over Halloween weekend, I'll try to swing by and take some pics.

[mnmike]

Highly recommend Sara's Table for breakfast!!!

[xandrex]

I hope Duluth can continue this trend and bring some more housing/mixed use into the Hillside neighborhood closer to downtown. The buildings could vary between 3-6+ stories (depending on location). Great job Duluth!!

It would be great to see the Hillside neighborhood redevelop, but I think it'll be a while still. The neighborhood has a (not completely undeserved) reputation that it will have to overcome.

This project is awesome and I wish we could see more like it (both in my hometown of Duluth and here in Minneapolis).

[RailBaronYarr]

As promised, I snapped a few pics of this place while up in Duluth for a weekend getaway. The sunlight and just a smartphone camera don't really add much visually than what you'd expect, I guess, but thought I'd post them here anyway. The thing really does blend in very well, my wife had no idea it was just built. All 4 sides had seemingly similar finish quality, which is rare (even for buildings like this from 100 years ago). Definitely a cool project. 1 of 3 retail spaces still vacant, though.


IMG_20141031_131224


IMG_20141031_135623


IMG_20141031_135612


IMG_20141031_135430


IMG_20141031_135409
(~half of the 13 spots in the parking lot. All were full at lunchtime on a Friday)


IMG_20141031_135321