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Re: Alatus St. Anthony Tower (Washburn-McReavy Site)

Posted: May 5th, 2016, 11:27 am
by amiller92
1. Does the concept of a historic district have value? That is, is it enough to just preserve the important historic buildings, or do we also need to control the new construction around them in order to give them a sympathetic setting?
There is definitely more than could be written, but I'm not sure I'm qualified or have thought enough about it to write it.

Because I would say I get the desire to declare a district where there is a high-concentration of what would otherwise be preserved individually anyway. Like, maybe the Warehouse District makes sense.

But then again, I'm not really sure why what's next to a given warehouse matters. If they's not a high enough concentration of actual historic buildings to retain the overall historic tone, then what does the district actually accomplish anyway? If there are, why does the occasional non-conforming building matter? And does building something new as a faux-replica really help?
2. Should this site be in the historic district? This seems to be the stronger argument, and the article lays out a pretty convincing case that it shouldn't be, but never actually says that the problem is that the historic district boundaries were drawn incorrectly.
I think this is the crux of the question, but I can't say it was drawn incorrectly, because I don't know what the thinking was at the time. What I do know is that how things stand now, it doesn't make much sense to include this block.

Where I would go farther today than when I was writing yesterday is to say this: these district guidelines are worthless if they allow the suburban-style townhouses across the street. A broken street grid and cloistered private homes do far more damage to the historical fabric of the area than would a tower on a quarter-block.

Re: Alatus St. Anthony Tower (Washburn-McReavy Site)

Posted: May 5th, 2016, 11:28 am
by amiller92
If it were up to me, I'd happily trade this (and probably a number of other blocks in the district) for protection of some gems like the Aveda (Masonic) building and some coverage north of University, where there is actually some historic fabric left.
Agreed!

Re: Alatus St. Anthony Tower (Washburn-McReavy Site)

Posted: May 11th, 2016, 6:16 am
by m b p
still working on the model...

Image

Re: Alatus St. Anthony Tower (Washburn-McReavy Site)

Posted: May 11th, 2016, 7:36 am
by Nathan
Looking good!

Re: Alatus St. Anthony Tower (Washburn-McReavy Site)

Posted: May 11th, 2016, 11:05 am
by twincitizen
Not actually related to this building, but the adjacent ramp is getting some very, very minor cosmetic updates: http://minneapolismn.gov/www/groups/pub ... 179844.pdf

This more or less confirms that the "Rampton" project is truly dead, or at least on long-term hold, otherwise they wouldn't be proposing these changes right now.

Re: Alatus St. Anthony Tower (Washburn-McReavy Site)

Posted: May 11th, 2016, 11:22 am
by acs
So, has this been appealed yet? A 10 day deadline means this has to be filed by Friday.

Re: Alatus St. Anthony Tower (Washburn-McReavy Site)

Posted: May 13th, 2016, 8:42 am
by acs
Update: Per Jacob Frey, an appeal was submitted and this will go to Z&P.

Re: Alatus St. Anthony Tower (Washburn-McReavy Site)

Posted: May 13th, 2016, 11:24 am
by Silophant
I wasn't too concerned, since I figured they had too much invested in the project to walk away that easily, but it's good to have confirmation.

Re: Alatus St. Anthony Tower (Washburn-McReavy Site)

Posted: May 13th, 2016, 6:18 pm
by TroyGBiv
My gut is that this goes thru as planned.

Re: Alatus St. Anthony Tower (Washburn-McReavy Site)

Posted: May 16th, 2016, 12:59 pm
by twincitizen
Unanimously. Not saying there won't be changes suggested or required as a condition of approval, but all indications are that Frey (strongly) supports the project. It would be highly unusual for anyone else to vote against it unless as part of some kind of weird protest vote. My money is on unanimous approval.

Re: Alatus St. Anthony Tower (Washburn-McReavy Site)

Posted: May 16th, 2016, 3:43 pm
by HiawathaGuy
Mpls. City Council should approve proposed 40-story condo tower
http://www.startribune.com/mpls-city-co ... 379462961/

Editorial Board.

Re: Alatus St. Anthony Tower (Washburn-McReavy Site)

Posted: May 19th, 2016, 3:23 pm
by twincitizen
http://finance-commerce.com/2016/05/ala ... ndo-tower/

Mark your calendars, kids!
Alatus' appeal of the HPC denial will be heard at the June 9 meeting of the City Council's Zoning & Planning Committee.
Even though many of us predict that the appeal will be granted (unanimously even), I do think this is one of those rare cases where it would be useful for "YIMBY" types to show up and testify in support of the project. Even if there is strong support for the project on the City Council, it would be good to provide "political cover" for Lisa Bender and Jacob Frey (etc), just to show the public that there is, in fact, broad support for the project.

Re: Alatus St. Anthony Tower (Washburn-McReavy Site)

Posted: June 6th, 2016, 10:36 am
by Anton
If you're too busy to testify, at least send an email to the members of the Zoning and Planning Committee. Too busy to write your own email too? I've got you covered!

http://www.mspyimby.com/alatus-towers/

Re: Alatus St. Anthony Tower (Washburn-McReavy Site)

Posted: June 6th, 2016, 12:36 pm
by grant1simons2
Word is that East Bank livability (the group with the petition) is going to appeal the decision to go ahead and demo the structures on site. So this is going to be a very interesting meeting.

Re: Alatus St. Anthony Tower (Washburn-McReavy Site)

Posted: June 6th, 2016, 1:17 pm
by Anton
So their goal is just to drag this out as long as possible? Will that appeal be filed before the June 9 Z+P meeting?

Re: Alatus St. Anthony Tower (Washburn-McReavy Site)

Posted: June 6th, 2016, 1:23 pm
by mattaudio
They can demo today if they want, right?

Re: Alatus St. Anthony Tower (Washburn-McReavy Site)

Posted: June 6th, 2016, 3:44 pm
by grant1simons2
Yes, same date according to the Marcy Holmes items of interest

Re: Alatus St. Anthony Tower (Washburn-McReavy Site)

Posted: June 6th, 2016, 7:43 pm
by grant1simons2
Appeal statement made by Alatus:

http://minneapolismn.gov/www/groups/pub ... 181066.pdf

Appeal statement for East Bank livability:

http://minneapolismn.gov/www/groups/pub ... 181075.pdf

Re: Alatus St. Anthony Tower (Washburn-McReavy Site)

Posted: June 6th, 2016, 9:46 pm
by EOst
Condition 9: The color and finishes of the proposed exterior wall materials shall be similar to that seen historically in the context. Specifically, very light and very dark colors shall be avoided, contrast between material colors shall be reduced, the contrast between brick and mortar shall be more subtle, and sheen shall be minimized to the extent practical.

Response to Condition 9: We request to have this condition eliminated. The proposed building design is contemporary and does not attempt to mimic historic buildings in the district. The design intent is to create a layer of details that help craft the building skin. The contrasting colors provide juxtaposition from the podium to the tower, and we feel that having contrast between materials will help to reinforce the design concept and show off its details. Finally, the historic district has many instances of lighter colored materials adjacent to darker colored materials and vice versa (e.g. the Red Clay Tile elevator next to the Pillsbury A- Mill).
Counterpoint: The black on the podium makes it look cheap.

Re: Alatus St. Anthony Tower (Washburn-McReavy Site)

Posted: June 7th, 2016, 5:05 pm
by go4guy
There are some updated renderings on www.tcyimby.com and the TCYIMBY Instagram page showing the updated renderings. Some of the changes include more units on 3rd, better texture of the limestone, and better quality facade on the back side with more windows. All items that the CPED staff recommended.