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Northeast - General Topics

Posted: November 19th, 2013, 9:03 pm
by Nick
Lil' thread for non-whole thread worthy news/posts.

Re: Northeast - General Topics

Posted: November 19th, 2013, 9:28 pm
by mplsjaromir
A new brewery is planned on Central across the street from Holy Land. With the new The Mill NE opening and this establishment there will finally be a place to get a drink on the northern section of Central.

http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/n ... -with.html

Re: Northeast - General Topics

Posted: November 25th, 2013, 10:33 am
by lordmoke
The Mill Northeast opened in the former Porky's space on Central. The rehab of the building looks fantastic:
http://blogs.citypages.com/food/2013/11 ... ne_a_f.php

Re: Northeast - General Topics

Posted: November 25th, 2013, 11:08 am
by Wedgeguy
Thanks Nick for the update on pic from the NE. Not an area that I get thru very often. Good to see how things a progressing. I f I had a digital I'd do the same for the Uptown projects.

Re: Northeast - General Topics

Posted: November 25th, 2013, 11:21 am
by Aville_37
Is it me or does it seem like N.E. and Central are really starting to be up and coming areas. Great to see so many unique, smaller local businesses opening up that cater to the neighborhood.

Re: Northeast - General Topics

Posted: November 25th, 2013, 11:37 am
by Wedgeguy
They are becoming a new Lynlake area. Not quite Uptown, but like Lynlake it is a happening place. More people are moving in. More business are wanting to move in, especially independent business. I'm hoping With the A Mill, the second phase of Mill & Main, and the Stone Arch 2 that it will lead to the reinvention of Riverplace and St Anthony Main's retail sections.

Re: Northeast - General Topics

Posted: November 25th, 2013, 5:57 pm
by Nick
Counterpoint: Does anyone else feel like Northeast has an outsized reputation? Not overrated really, but I feel like people talk about it way more than they actually go to it. Northeast has been "the new Uptown" since like 2004. What's in Northeast? There are a number of not-terrible bars, e.g. Mayslack's, Elsie's, etc., but they're spaced in between single-family houses in a way that pretty much necessitates driving. There are a handful of nice stretches in St. Anthony Main, but that whole Hennepin/Central area is like 50% surface parking, Superfund sites, and otherwise abandoned buildings.

Honestly not trying to be a Negative Nancy about it, but like I said, I feel like I hear way more comments about Northeast being great than I do stories about actual things that happened there.

Re: Northeast - General Topics

Posted: November 25th, 2013, 10:54 pm
by David Greene
Honestly not trying to be a Negative Nancy about it, but like I said, I feel like I hear way more comments about Northeast being great than I do stories about actual things that happened there.
It's not the New Uptown and thank God for that. We don't need two Uptowns.

The Northrup King building is amazing as is much of the stuff around it. There are plenty of great restaurants and cafes around.

It's important to remember that Northeast is *big*. The Hennepin/Central area is really a very small fraction of the land area of Northeast. Northeast is home to Brasa as well as Sarah Jane's. The Ritz is there along with Jax and the Gasthof.

Northeast is not a homogenous area. It has neighborhoods that feel very different fro each other, from the hip & trendy to the gritty industrial to the relatively bucolic residential.

Re: Northeast - General Topics

Posted: November 25th, 2013, 11:15 pm
by Wedgeguy
NE is a big area, If you are talking the area around Hennepin, Central, and University I would characterize that area as similar to the Lynlake area. Not a lot of corporate retail and restaurants, but some. The rents are increasing and the residential population in the last 10 years has probably close to doubled.

13th and University is like Linden Hills in that it is a very small but vibrant area with Restaurants and a lot of the arts.

Central north of Broadway is becoming an Eat Street like Nicollet south of the freeway. With immigrant stores and restaurants catering to the diverse neighborhood.

Re: Northeast - General Topics

Posted: November 26th, 2013, 12:31 am
by Viktor Vaughn
Counterpoint:..
Your post got me thinking, anyway, what I do and don't like about Northeast.
There are a handful of nice stretches in St. Anthony Main, but that whole Hennepin/Central area is like 50% surface parking, Superfund sites, and otherwise abandoned buildings.
Yeah, 50% is about right. I feel like the neighborhood is half way built. There's a little stretch of boutiques, but not really enough to be a destination.There's way too much surface parking, but damn if I haven't been thankful for the Kramarczuk's parking lot more than a few times.

I hope Old St Anthony can get a few buildings out of this boom. Red20 replacing that huge parking lot will help a lot. But a few more projects like the Archive proposal, corner apartments, and especially redeveloping the neighborhood class five superfund site will really improve the cohesiveness and walkability.

The best thing the city could do for northeast's downtown (better than streetcars) would be to calm the streets at the junctures of Hennepin, Central, University, & 4th. This neighborhood is held back by fast, dangerous, four lane, one-way streets. Converting to two-way streets, adding excellent pedestrian amenities at the odd-angled intersections, and expanding sidewalks would really help this neighborhood become a place people want to be. I did notice they installed a large pedestrian island on the oversized intersection of Central and 1st Ave, so hopefully there's more to come.
It's important to remember that Northeast is *big*. The Hennepin/Central area is really a very small fraction of the land area of Northeast. Northeast is home to Brasa as well as Sarah Jane's. The Ritz is there along with Jax and the Gasthof.

Northeast is not a homogenous area. It has neighborhoods that feel very different fro each other, from the hip & trendy to the gritty industrial to the relatively bucolic residential.
Well said.

Re: Northeast - General Topics

Posted: November 26th, 2013, 12:47 am
by PhilmerPhil
The best thing the city could do for northeast's downtown (better than streetcars) would be to calm the streets at the junctures of Hennepin, Central, University, & 4th.
^This.

I've posted about this before, but the inappropriate streets in Northeast are really what hold the area back to me. I've ruled out looking for a house in Northeast, mainly for this reason. And while most egregious in the Old St. Anthony area, it's a problem for all of Northeast. There are wide, fast, dangerous streets bisecting the entire area--University, Broadway, Lowry, Hennepin, Central. To me, Northeast lacks the comfort and flow that draws me to South Minneapolis. Unfortunately, these roads are state and county owned, so major changes are unlikely in the near future.

Re: Northeast - General Topics

Posted: November 26th, 2013, 9:57 am
by mattaudio
It seems like a redevelopment of Surdyk's and that photography shop could go a long way towards making the near NE node more cohesive.

Re: Northeast - General Topics

Posted: November 26th, 2013, 9:57 am
by David Greene
The best thing the city could do for northeast's downtown (better than streetcars) would be to calm the streets at the junctures of Hennepin, Central, University, & 4th. This neighborhood is held back by fast, dangerous, four lane, one-way streets. Converting to two-way streets, adding excellent pedestrian amenities at the odd-angled intersections, and expanding sidewalks would really help this neighborhood become a place people want to be.
Yes. I have wondered about this for a while. How do you return E. Hennepin/1st. Ave. to two-way operation given the configuration of the bridges over the eastern channel? Don't those bridges pretty much dictate one-way operation of the streets?

Re: Northeast - General Topics

Posted: November 26th, 2013, 10:11 am
by Wedgeguy
Part of northeast's problem is that is was platted back in the days when street cars, not car, rules the world. There was not the need to move a lot of traffic. The fact of the rivers bend also does not help with the grid layout. Again we have some diagonal street layouts around the river's bend that makes things a bit strange. Because of the river, it is also kind of cut off from the rest of the city with limited ways over the Mississippi. It is part of why we have some many count and state road that we think of as street in the area. Where there is a bridge there is a county or state road involved.

Re: Northeast - General Topics

Posted: November 26th, 2013, 10:45 am
by FISHMANPET
I've got a friend that lives near University and 22nd Ave NE, and it's a pretty hoppin place. You've got plenty of restaurants and bars within a few blocks either direction on University, and you're a 10 minute walk from Psycho Suzi's.

Re: Northeast - General Topics

Posted: November 26th, 2013, 12:48 pm
by MplsSteve
One thing that could be done right now to help calm the busy streets in Northeast would be enforcing the speed limits. I can tell that it's not being done at all on University Ave.

Re: Northeast - General Topics

Posted: December 2nd, 2013, 7:02 am
by gray_marc
One thing that could be done right now to help calm the busy streets in Northeast would be enforcing the speed limits. I can tell that it's not being done at all on University Ave.
Speed cameras?

Re: Northeast - General Topics

Posted: December 2nd, 2013, 7:20 am
by MplsSteve
I thought the speed cameras were a great idea, but weren't they ruled unconstitutional here in Minnesota?

Re: Northeast - General Topics

Posted: December 2nd, 2013, 7:53 am
by mulad
That's true for stop-light cameras (at least as they were implemented here) -- I don't know about speed cameras.

Re: Northeast - General Topics

Posted: December 3rd, 2013, 8:09 am
by gpete
As mulad indicated, red light cameras were ruled unconstitutional because of HOW they were authorized by the Legislature. A simple law change would allow them to operate (and still comply with the Supreme Court's ruling). The Legislature tried to take up this issue last year, and it went nowhere.