University of Minnesota - News & General Topics

[FISHMANPET]

That triangle will never be developed. Access (pedestrian and otherwise) would be a huge pain in the ass, and also it's a drainage inlet.

[RailBaronYarr]

That triangle will never be developed. Access (pedestrian and otherwise) would be a huge pain in the ass, and also it's a drainage inlet.

I don't know much about the drainage requirements about the given site as I'm not a planner or civil engineer, but it seems like the surrounding area has far more permeable surface than many urban areas.

As for pedestrian access, there's already a sidewalk encircling the entire thing. Students used to cross there all the time, and there are crosswalks currently in place for both corner directions at 2 of the triangle points and one at the last (meaning the only ped access gap is crossing University at the eastern tip).

It's .33 acres of land right in the middle of everything and near the stadium. You would think a building would have no problem filling the ground level with 2 bar/restaurants. I dunno. I know it's owned by the U and designated as a "Natural Resource Area" by their 09 master plan. Probably will never change. If so, it's too bad as no one will use an open green space like that for recreation because it's surrounded by busy streets. They WOULD sit outside at a bar patio though.

[Unity77]

Axiometrics Inc. has ranked the top 10 markets for student housing construction and the U of M ranks 9th in the U.S.

Ranked by number of beds planned or under construction

01. University of Southern California: 7,390 beds
02. Texas State University: 5,423 beds
03. University of Oregon: 5,285 beds
04. University of Central Florida: 5,007 beds
05. Arizona State University: 5,006 beds
06. University of Kentucky: 4,449 beds
07. University of South Carolina: 3,815 beds
08. University of Missouri: 3,553 beds
09. University of Minnesota: 3,358 beds
10. Florida State University: 2,990 beds
Source: Axiometrics Inc.

[woofner]

Rejoice! Cam Gordon's newsletter this weekend had the following item about one of my least favorite vacant blocks
(I'm not sure what it has to do with Motley):

New U of M Physician Buildings Being Planned in Motley. The University of Minnesota, UM Physicians, and UMMC Fairview are developing a predesign for an Ambulatory Care Center on the site of what is now a surface parking lot on the north side of Fulton Street, between Ontario and Erie Street.
To learn more you are invited to attend a Community Information Meeting Tuesday, March 12, 2013 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. The meeting will be held at Dinnaken House Great Room, 900 Washington Avenue SE (between Ontario and Huron Blvd)

Also this item about one we've already heard about:

New U of M Building on Riverside Ave. The Office of Community Relations at the University of Minnesota will host a community meeting to share information about a new building being planned for in the West Bank campus. The University is developing a predesign for a U of M recreation facility on the site of what is now a surface parking lot on the north side of Riverside Avenue, between 21st and 22nd Avenues S. The meeting will take place on Monday, March 4 at 6 p.m. in Room 1-142 Carlson School of Management, 321-19th Ave. S on the University of Minnesota West Bank campus.

(I'm not sure if I should be posting this here or in the University of Minnesota thread)

[twincitizen]

Pretty weakly written article, but I think the argument is true. Most traditional undergrads (18-21) do not get off campus enough to explore the cities around them. Then again, it's pretty hard to drink anywhere away from campus if you aren't of legal age. I know as a freshman living in Comstock back in 2001, I believe I rode the city bus exactly once...to a Limp Bizkit concert at Target Center
http://www.mndaily.com/opinion/columns/ ... -dinkytown

[RailBaronYarr]

Pretty weakly written article, but I think the argument is true. Most traditional undergrads (18-21) do not get off campus enough to explore the cities around them. Then again, it's pretty hard to drink anywhere away from campus if you aren't of legal age. I know as a freshman living in Comstock back in 2001, I believe I rode the city bus exactly once...to a Limp Bizkit concert at Target Center
http://www.mndaily.com/opinion/columns/ ... -dinkytown

I'd say it's not all that true... The Metrodome was constantly full of UMN students for Twins games (most specifically on Wed cheap tickets/dollar dog nights). I see pictures of my sister and tons of her friends in St Paul for things like the Red Bull Crashed Ice, etc. Many students living in fringe campus neighborhoods would frequent bars (example, Riverside bars, Seven Corners, Washington Ave in downtown bars, Como bars, etc). I also saw tons of college kids down at Nokomis in the summer when I'd go with my friends. Finally, I went to a good number of concerts in college in Mpls (Muse, GWAR, Incubus, Dragonforce, a few others), and Tool in St Paul and there were plenty of UMN kids riding the bus with us.

But put it the other way.. the things kids not 21+ can do in our cities... how do they get there without cars, quickly, and cheaply? Other than the 16/50 direct to either downtown it's tough to get anywhere of value for college kids. Tough balance between finding the things you really like to do on campus while you're there and enjoying the cities.

[MNdible]

I also rode the 6 and 3 quite a bit when I lived near campus.

And it doesn't take a transit expert to figure out that once you've taken a 50 downtown, you have the entire transit system at your fingertips.

[RailBaronYarr]

Hopefully both of these projects address the neighborhood well, but I'll hold my breath as they're big, single-use type facilities by nature. It would be nice if the rec center didn't turn its back to Riverside and beyond. Either way it's good to start seeing surface lots being developed.

[transportationist]

MnDaily also tracks this at Developments around the U
http://www.mndaily.com/city/constructio ... s-around-u Mapping luxury apartment developments around campus.

[Nathan]

Apparently they need to follow Urbanmsp because they don't have a number of 'under development' projects like 301 walnut (sally's)...

[min-chi-cbus]

Is that techncally "under development", or in the planning stages?

[Nathan]

I guess I didn't realize there was a difference between in planning and in development.

[min-chi-cbus]

I guess I didn't realize there was a difference between in planning and in development.

construction vs. planning....sometimes I synonymize "development" with "construction".

[Mdcastle]

I was driving by the U today and I noticed all the student housing projects going up. So I'm wondering why the need?

Are more students wanting to stay in the area as opposed to driving?
Can the U dorms not accommodate all the people that want to stay on campus?
Are the U dorms unattractive to todays young people- are most of them the standard 4 walls, 2 beds and 2 desks with the bathrooms down the hall instead of the newer style where 3-4 people have their own bedroom and share a common area.
Is the housing cheaper than dorms?
Do the students not want an RA breathing down their throats?
Does private enterprise just see a market to compete with the U?

[FISHMANPET]

There are more students period, and there are plenty of students that would rather have their parents pay for a luxury apartment than live at home or something. And for those that are on campus, they'd like to be a lot closer, as according to Nick, these new apartments have made some of the far out houses around the University not as attractive to students.

[Snelbian]

There are more undergraduates, and more of them want to live on campus. This has been accelerated by the U's move towards having less parking nearby with the demolition of the largest parking lot without a replacement during stadium construction. The dorms have never been able to accommodate anywhere near all the people that want to be near campus and generally cater to first and second year students (two are ONLY for first year students). I know Pioneer and Yudof have some of the "newer" style of dorm, I'm not sure how many other halls do.

[RailBaronYarr]

Are more students wanting to stay in the area as opposed to driving?
I think, aided by the U, living on-campus has become more desirable since the mid 90s. On-campus events, the stadium, number of clubs, and continued congestion on freeways have all made close living more desirable
Can the U dorms not accommodate all the people that want to stay on campus?
No, and most university campuses across the country don't (I'd be surprised if any did, honestly). I don't think the U wants to do that, especially since a large chunk of students want to live in a place with a kitchen, option for parking, extra space for parties, and choice on price.
Are the U dorms unattractive to todays young people- are most of them the standard 4 walls, 2 beds and 2 desks with the bathrooms down the hall instead of the newer style where 3-4 people have their own bedroom and share a common area.
The U has a variety of dorm rooms. Even in Territorial and Frontier (freshman only dorms) there are rooms that have shared bathrooms (common area) and ones that share a private bath with the room next door (4 people to a bathroom). There are singles (Pioneer, Centennial, Comstock, and Sanford have them, I believe), 2 person rooms, 3-person rooms (standard and "suite), and 4-person rooms (standard and "suite"). I think the safety of being in a U-run building and the proximity to campus are attractive to some (first-year students being the major targets), but there are obviously other benefits and drawbacks associated with dorms.
Is the housing cheaper than dorms?
Not really, but it's hard to compare an apartment to a dorm in terms of amenities, personal space, location, etc.
Do the students not want an RA breathing down their throats?
I doubt CAs (The U has "Community" advisors, haha) are any more oppressive than apartment security/owners. The risk of being kicked out for alcohol consumption underage is a little higher in dorms than apartments, but that didn't stop anyone from doing it
Does private enterprise just see a market to compete with the U?
I don't think the U has ever really tried to, or been accused of, cornering the market for housing. If anything, relative to the size of the U's student body, the U was often accused of not having enough - part of the reason it became a commuter campus in the first place (my freshman/soph years there was not enough capacity in the dorms and many were put up in the Days Inn on University until spaces freed up from dropouts/etc).

Just my take.

[FISHMANPET]

I think asking that last question just means you don't really have any concept of how housing around a University work. While some apartments (like Melrose or whatever they call it now) tries to compete with dorms, the dorms aren't really trying to compete with private development.

And I've spent a fair amount of time in Territorial and Frontier, and I think it's all just halls and halls with bathrooms in the halls.

[RailBaronYarr]

And I've spent a fair amount of time in Territorial and Frontier, and I think it's all just halls and halls with bathrooms in the halls.

The whole North wing of Frontier (added on in late 90s or early 2000s) is all 2BR units with shared private bathrooms between them. My sister lived in one and I spent a good amount of time in there. T-Hall might not have any of these but I thought I remember them having it.

[Nick]

T-Hall's North wing doesn't have shared bathrooms, but the rooms are a little bigger than the regular size. Frontier does have shared bathrooms in the North wing.