urbanMSP

At first glance I thought this was just a reuse of the existing warehouse. Now I see/read that there is also a new 6 story component along 7th. I think the near by development and possible streetcar are strong factors in this finally happening. Good news for NE!

Awesome to see it including the vacant lot next door! this should be a no brainer too... but it should have been for a while...

Well, well, well...Lazarus only came back from the dead once, can we officially call this one a Zombie? Let's hope it actually happens this time!

Wonder if this will actually go through this time. My wife and I actually had a deposit down back in July 2006 for a condo at The Archive and still live in the area. Good thing we didn't keep waiting around for something to happen with the project!

Wait so how does that work? Did you just lose your deposit?

No, they had a certain date by which they were supposed to get deposits for a certain number of condos. They had quite a few, but not nearly enough, so everyone got their deposits back. But at the time we were pretty disappointed and had hoped that the project would be quickly revived. It wasn't, and eventually we found something else.

On the agenda for the 7th already. All variances recommended for approval:
http://minneapolismn.gov/www/groups/pub ... 122686.pdf

I've only been through this immediate area once or twice (I'm a South-sider, originally) and my initial takeaway from the area was sadness, including this block. I love love love adaptive reuse so I'm excited to see that here, and I'm excited to see the addition they also plan on putting into the development, but this area needs a whole lot of TLC IMO before it becomes a place I personally would find myself drawn to. It just seems like it's a bit on the outskirts of St. Anthony Main, and not close enough to the core neighborhoods of Central Avenue further up Nordeast.

Perhaps my notions are outdated though, and otherwise I really love this project and wish there were 100 just like it!

Min-chi-cbus, I think that Red 20 will help expand the NE area. This is the next one that will help extend the area.

It just seems like it's a bit on the outskirts of St. Anthony Main, and not close enough to the core neighborhoods of Central Avenue further up Nordeast.

Eh, it's really not that far out. It's only a block from Red20. Once that new development is done, I think it will really start to pull together St. Anthony Main with the fringes of the area.

I think a lot of it has to do with what RBY and others have been saying about this general area. The public realm leaves a lot to be desired. The current configuration of the streets, sidewalks and bike infrastructure need major overhauls to make this a place that attracts streetlife. I'm not drawn to linger and shop when something as simple as crossing a street is a daunting task.

Crossing Central at this address is awful; the only crosswalk is a fair way down the block, and cars really zoom through here. Hopefully if this development goes through, it'll prompt the city to look at some improvements here.

I love the fact that they want to add street-front retail or a restaurant. There's currently nothing to draw people to this side of the neighborhood. Once this development goes in, that should all change. It also look like the will be sand blasting the beige paint off the brick building to expose its original color. That alone will be a huge improvement.

I love the fact that they want to add street-front retail or a restaurant. There's currently nothing to draw people to this side of the neighborhood. Once this development goes in, that should all change. It also look like the will be sand blasting the beige paint off the brick building to expose its original color. That alone will be a huge improvement.

Fingers crossed on both of these counts. I think it will still be a tough pull to get retail to thrive here, and sandblasting painted brick can be a dicey proposition.

If the developers are seeking historic designation for the building (as the Strib article suggests), they will probably have to use chemicals or other less abrasive methods rather than sandblasting to remove the paint.

I noticed some fresh "For Lease" signage on this building today. It's been nearly a year without any news on this project, does anybody know if this is still moving forward?

I was wondering the same thing. I really hope we hear something soon. This isn't a massive project, but it will be a nice bookend to the neighborhood and could spur more development along the corridor.

Here is the Leasing page for the retail/restaurant portion: http://www.hoytproperties.com/index.php ... velopment/

I also found on the city website that in back in December the city council approved their request for a transit oriented development grant submission to the county: http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/www/gro ... 135021.pdf

Good to see that there's at least a little movement on this!