urbanMSP

Maybe they'll replace the Wildcat parking lot that was taken for the stadium.

The u's contribution to the great sprawl effort is more than fulfilled by the umore park development.

Looks like at least one of these parcels is in the path of the grand rounds missing link. Assuming that this area will continue its trajectory towards high-intensity development, it may make sense to reserve some of that parcel for park or public square.

Moved up 435 spots since 2009 on Forbes "Best Colleges" list to 108. Makes it the most improved.

http://m.bizjournals.com/twincities/mor ... 136&r=full

Just makes it even harder to get into

Just makes it even harder to get into

That's *good.* Minnesota needs a highly competitive public university. Being part of the BIG and the CIC, the U should be a premier instutitution.

It's also a research university. Its days of having a focus on undergraduate education are long gone.

Well David I still need to get in, but I'm going into the school of design so I hope it isn't that hard

Protip: Lots of people who didn't go to "premier" universities are very successful.

But... it's a big school and I like it.

Freely available Daily article with map.

http://www.mndaily.com/news/campus/2014 ... university

Both of these are vacant lots, and not particularly attractive ones: https://flic.kr/p/owEkzp

The Daily article worries me in that the University is talking about decommissioning old buildings as a good thing. That's how the beautiful buildings on the Knoll are disappearing.

There are some very ugly old buildings.

The most immediate plans for decommissioning don't involve the demolition of historically significant buildings.

In fact, the main goal is to combine the renovation of Eddy Hall with the decommissioning of Williamson and Fraser halls. Williamson Hall would be demolished and its footprint converted to green space. Williamson Hall is a deteriorating disaster that interferes with views of the beautiful old buildings nearby, including Jones, Folwell, Nicholson, and Pillsbury halls. This decommissioning deserves a Hurrah! Fraser Hall would also be decommissioned, but as I understand it this wouldn't entail the demolition of the original structure. Fraser would be mothballed, though it'd be a pleasant loss if the ugly additions to the original structure got chopped off in the process.

This was a on the 2012 Capital Request list, but I believe the project has been pushed off indefinitely as other projects have been pushed up the U's priority list. Here's a link to the request: http://govrelations.umn.edu/capital/eddy.html

They already culled their historic buildings a few years back. RIP Music Education, Norris, & Wesbrook.

Yeah, their actions of the past five years don't lead me to particularly trust them when they say thing will just be mothballed. That seems to be the precursor to in a decade saying "Oh, we have no use for it, let's tear it down to save on maintenance costs!"

Also, Williamson never bothered me that much. Granted, I have a higher appreciation for Brutalism than most people, but I find it relatively unobtrusive being primarily underground. Also, I didn't have to work in it. Peik, however, can disappear immediately.

The U has put in a lot of money to renovating some of their oldest buildings, though. Think Nicholson, Folwell, etc. all renovated in the last 10 years or so.

Williamson disappearing would be great for the area... as long as they keep the tunnels that it was the most convenient access to.

Yeah, I've certainly ragged on the U in the past for knocking down some buildings that I'd wished they'd kept, but... a clear-eyed review would show that they've done a pretty impressive job of maintaining and updating a vast stock of historical buildings, including some that at first blush would appear to be functionally obsolete.

We need to remember that their primary function is as a research university, not a museum for historical buildings.

Williamson disappearing would be great for the area... as long as they keep the tunnels that it was the most convenient access to.

Bet they won't. Despite that the tour guides continue to talk up how great the tunnels/skyways are, the University appears to be against the system. STSS doesn't have a connection. Physics and Nanotech doesn't have a connection, even though Akerman was remodeled just a year before. The new wing of Admunson doesn't have a skyway to Keller, even though Keller has exterior hallways in that section and the buildings are only 10 feet apart. Northrop was intentionally disconnected from the tunnels during the renovation. You can still get to the garage via tunnel, but the doors leading into the building are now locked, or were when I tried soon after its opening. Kinda sad really. It was a cool feature of the campus.

I work in Physics and Nano, and I believe the building cannot have tunnels because some labs require complete vibrational isolation. Some of the pilings on the west side of the building go down quite far (into the bedrock) to achieve this.

But I agree with you - the Gopher Way is a lot better as a recruiting tool than it is for actually getting around campus.

When I tried Northrop from the tunnel I thought I was able to get in, though that was sometime in May, so things may have changed.

But no, it's not a very good way to get around, except for certain quick trips (eg. from buildings on the west side of the quad to pick up a book from Walter). Even those are useful enough, though, that I hope they keep at least the present system.

A makeover for Pleasant St: http://finance-commerce.com/2014/07/u-o ... nt-street/ (locked)

Anyone have more information on this?

https://pdf.yt/d/dBdZ5GSwz9nW-Vcb

tl;dr
construction will start next year