urbanMSP

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.

Northeast will never be Uptown. I've heard it called the new Lyn-Lake, but it's pretty rare that I've heard Uptown. Unless we're talking about some old, romanticized version of Uptown where everything was a little gritty.

I don't really know about visiting NE, but I think it's actually a pretty great place for living. I live in Marcy Holmes (technically SE, I know, but right by Old St. Anthony, so I'm close enough), and the neighborhood really is great for a young, single person. I have (almost) everything I need in one very small area: a grocery store (albeit expensive), bank, restaurants (both sit down and fast food), bars, a liquor store, and some specialty shops. I suppose I can't buy clothes in the area, but for that I can always visit a nearby mall or Uptown or one of the few places downtown. It also is just as close to downtown (closer for people in the Old St. Anthony area than many spots in Uptown or South Minneapolis), and because of buses needing to cross the river at limited points, there's quite a bit of transit (I can catch the 2, 4, 6, 10, 17, 25, 61, and many others in mere blocks from my apartment). And another great livability factor: affordability. I've wanted to move to another walkable neighborhood like Uptown or the North Loop for a while. One thing I've noticed is that if you want to be as close to the action as I am now, you either pay more or get less than what I have now. Sure, my price range is available, but Uptown's price-to-quality seems to skew similar units about $100-$300 higher.

As for poor streetlife, I don't think that most of Uptown outside of the Hennepin/Lake core area is particularly impressive either. Uptown is certainly more lively than any area of Northeast, but much of Hennepin is still comprised of single-story structures with lots of parking lots (and anything outside of the core Uptown area necessitates driving much of the time too).

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.

Why would Surdyk's, and the photography shop need to be redeveloped ? Surdyk's has been there a long time and is very popular.

^ http://goo.gl/maps/abKBL

I don't foresee any time in the future when Surdyk's gives up their parking lot. It's always full. I could maybe see the back part of the lot (behind the camera store) going if the camera store developed, but between the layout of entrances and the loading docks, I doubt its in Surdyk's best interest to sell/redevelop until land is too expensive to keep a parking lot of someone comes around with a REALLY good offer.

Since the block is >50% parking lot and three buildings for Surdyks, photo shop, and US Bank... there will likely be a time when the block is valuable enough to redevelop. If the current businesses stay, and if parking is still important for them, an inner parking ramp would be an option, just as it is for the block to the south.

This also has implications for the development of the Superior Plating block, which is across 1st from this block.

Somewhere down in a dark Northeast Minneapolis basement a former architect is distilling Norseman vodka for our enjoyment.

http://www.minnpost.com/line/2013/12/ar ... distillery

Craft Vodka is absurd.

I'd say there's a fair amount of "craft" involved in convincing people to spend $45 on a fifth of neutral grain spirit.

I'd like to pass along a few notes from the most recent issue of the Northeaster.

-Parkway Pizza has opened at 29th & Johnson replacing a short-lived sandwhich shop. Anybody been to the Longfellow location and care to comment on their pizza?

-The Rainbow on Central will be closing in early January. This is a few blocks north of the Minneapolis border, but is a huge blow to Northeast and the Heights. This is the only full service grocery store on the area's busiest and most frequent bus line. A Roundy's executive is quoted as saying they have other stores (like the quarry location) "five to ten minutes away" which is really only true if you have a car. Many of this location's customers relied on transit or walking and biking. All around sad news.

-And in end-of-an-era news, Northeast's friendly neighborhood titty bar has closed. Yes, it's true - the Deuce Deuce let its liquor license lapse due to money troubles and will have to apply for a new license to sell liquor again. Thus, they lost their grandfathered topless bar status and will only be allowed to get a class b license in the future, which does not allow nudity.

As someone who generally loathes strip clubs, I have to say I'll miss the 22nd Ave Station. This place was not a cattle-call style "gentleman's club", but operated much more as a neighborhood bar where topless women lent to the ambiance. The staff, dancers, and even regulars seemed to look out for each other like family. Trees were often passed around freely to friends and strangers alike. I'm of the opinion that it would be impossible to recreate a venue with anything like this sort of authenticity - once gone, it's forever lost.

On the other hand, I'm sure many in the neighborhood are pleased to see this era end.

I'm amazed that you can lose money selling beer and featuring topless dancers.

I'm amazed that you can lose money selling beer and featuring topless dancers.

You can lose money at anything if you're bad enough with money. Look at lottery winners.

-Parkway Pizza has opened at 29th & Johnson replacing a short-lived sandwhich shop. Anybody been to the Longfellow location and care to comment on their pizza?

Parkway may well be the best pizza in Minneapolis. Wonderful neighborhood asset and friendly owners/staff too. It's our go-to pizza place.

Great to hear Matt. I'll be stopping in soon.

The city is looking to offload 1401 Central NE. Previous office project never got off the ground. Here's the RFP.

Not sure if this info is readily available somewhere, but my feeling is that the city has gradually been selling off a very large inventory of land that was acquired by the old MCDA, at a time when the city's future was perhaps less clear. I also sense that the city isn't buying up very much new land to refill the inventories (perhaps with the exception of some tax-forfeited single family lots).

Obviously, it's great to get this land back on the tax rolls and being productive, but it seems that the city will be losing its ability to guide and spur redevelopment by meting out land.

Most areas of our city are quite healthy from a development perspective, despite the recent recession. I don't see why the city would want to hold on to land, especially in this location. They're not liquidating, and a RFP helps guide city interests more than if they auctioned it surplus.

The city is looking to offload 1401 Central NE. Previous office project never got off the ground. Here's the RFP.

That plot of land had a small 3 story on again-off again proposal for the last 7 or 8 years. It's about time they moved on.

Most areas of our city are quite healthy from a development perspective, despite the recent recession. I don't see why the city would want to hold on to land, especially in this location. They're not liquidating, and a RFP helps guide city interests more than if they auctioned it surplus.

I'm not suggesting that the city shouldn't sell this piece of land, or that the city should be holding onto land for the sake of holding onto land, just that having strategic land holdings has long been an arrow in the city's redevelopment quiver that seems to be going away. More of a historical note than anything else.

Anyone have a clue why MnDOT has a temporary easement on this property? Seems with the shape of the easement, something was being done with the railroad tracks, but wondering if MnDOT owns the adjacent land.

Yes, they're rebuilding the rail bridge over Central. We covered this somewhere...