420 East Hennepin

Northeast, Near North, Camden, Old St. Anthony, University and surrounding neighborhoods
User avatar
Nick
Capella Tower
Posts: 2719
Joined: May 30th, 2012, 9:33 pm
Location: Downtown, Minneapolis

420 East Hennepin

Postby Nick » April 18th, 2015, 11:07 am

There's a "New Development For Lease" sign sitting at 420 East Hennepin, right in that little wedge where Central and Hennepin come together. The store there is also now closed. I'd heard from a friend a while ago that someone wanted to redevelop that into something mixed use-ish, though a land use application started last month only refers to a 5,000 square foot commercial building:

http://apps.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/PIApp/ ... 2924120131
Nick Magrino
[email protected]

grant1simons2
IDS Center
Posts: 4371
Joined: February 8th, 2014, 11:33 pm
Location: Marcy-Holmes

Re: Northeast (and Southeast) - General Topics

Postby grant1simons2 » April 20th, 2015, 5:07 pm


MNdible
is great.
Posts: 5989
Joined: June 8th, 2012, 8:14 pm
Location: Minneapolis

Re: Northeast (and Southeast) - General Topics

Postby MNdible » April 20th, 2015, 5:26 pm

Oh dear.

This is apparently what happens when you let civil engineers design buildings.

web

Re: Northeast (and Southeast) - General Topics

Postby web » April 20th, 2015, 7:13 pm

and let Architects design the civil engineering building at the u of m.........

User avatar
nBode
Union Depot
Posts: 348
Joined: August 20th, 2013, 3:25 pm
Location: University of Minnesota

Re: Northeast (and Southeast) - General Topics

Postby nBode » April 20th, 2015, 10:02 pm

I'm not even sure I can believe that's a real proposal. One story? There's no way this gets approved. "Store 2" only has access from a parking lot alley. This is one of the worst urban designs I have ever seen.

grant1simons2
IDS Center
Posts: 4371
Joined: February 8th, 2014, 11:33 pm
Location: Marcy-Holmes

Re: Northeast (and Southeast) - General Topics

Postby grant1simons2 » April 20th, 2015, 10:08 pm

Oh but it'll get approved.. They'll approve almost anything now. It's infuriating. I guess I can try to e-mail and speak opposed to this, but ugh, it doesn't work much.

Silophant
Moderator
Posts: 4470
Joined: June 20th, 2012, 4:33 pm
Location: Whimsical NE

Re: Northeast (and Southeast) - General Topics

Postby Silophant » April 20th, 2015, 10:36 pm

How could they not approve it? Don't get me wrong, it's awful and the developers should be ashamed about building something like that in a hot district like this one, but they're meeting all zoning requirements and not asking for a single variance. Just like with 401 Hennepin, the city has no leverage whatsoever to deny this.
Joey Senkyr
[email protected]

MNdible
is great.
Posts: 5989
Joined: June 8th, 2012, 8:14 pm
Location: Minneapolis

Re: Northeast (and Southeast) - General Topics

Postby MNdible » April 20th, 2015, 10:36 pm

Unfortunately, Grant, on what grounds would you propose that they not approve it? I'm sure that every member of the Planning Commission will grit their teeth when they do it, but the City Attorney will remind them that you can't deny approval of a project just because you find it deeply disappointing.

EDIT: What he said.

grant1simons2
IDS Center
Posts: 4371
Joined: February 8th, 2014, 11:33 pm
Location: Marcy-Holmes

Re: Northeast (and Southeast) - General Topics

Postby grant1simons2 » April 20th, 2015, 10:52 pm

Small area plan could be a possibility? I won't be trying hard on this one, but there's some that can be done.

lordmoke
Wells Fargo Center
Posts: 1331
Joined: June 8th, 2012, 1:39 pm
Location: George Floyd Square

Re: Northeast (and Southeast) - General Topics

Postby lordmoke » April 21st, 2015, 8:22 am

Somehow this is worse than what's there now. Jesus.

xandrex
Wells Fargo Center
Posts: 1384
Joined: January 30th, 2013, 11:14 am

Re: Northeast (and Southeast) - General Topics

Postby xandrex » April 21st, 2015, 8:37 am

At first I thought they were just showing a cut/preview of the materials on a single story. Then I saw the comments here.

Wow.

So bad. Could they at least ask them to make it prettier?

twincitizen
Moderator
Posts: 6368
Joined: May 31st, 2012, 7:27 pm
Location: Standish-Ericsson

Re: Northeast (and Southeast) - General Topics

Postby twincitizen » April 21st, 2015, 10:19 am

While we can't expect every single site to have 5 stories of residential above it, it's really disappointing that they couldn't include a story of office space above. Surely there's an insurance agent, small law firm, etc. that would enjoy the incredibly high visibility from all that traffic on Hennepin/Central, views on 3 sides, etc.

Even in the context of a ho-hum single story retail building, it's extremely disappointing that they're building 19 parking spaces when only 7 are required. They could knock out that entire eastern row of parking (adjacent to the building) and simply build a larger building, benefiting both the building owner (more leasable space) and the city (more tax base, slightly).

EDIT: From the staff report, which addresses my above comment:
It is recognized that the one-story building is not in compliance with Land Use Policy: 1.12.5 which
encourage a height of at least two stories for new buildings in Activity Centers. During pre-application
meetings, CPED encouraged the applicant to consider a two-story (or taller) building on multiple
occasions. However, the applicant did not pursue this option. Given that there is not a minimum floor
area ratio requirement, the proposal complies with the zoning code requirements.
How the crap is there not a minimum FAR? Even if it was .5, that would dictate a larger building, as they are proposing a FAR of .3

EDIT2: Just popped off an email to staff, copying CMs Frey and Bender, basically stating the above.

twincitizen
Moderator
Posts: 6368
Joined: May 31st, 2012, 7:27 pm
Location: Standish-Ericsson

Re: Northeast (and Southeast) - General Topics

Postby twincitizen » April 21st, 2015, 1:24 pm

In addition to the Site Plan Review, which the city must approve (since the building meets code and is not asking for any variances), they are also applying for "Alley Vacation" of a dead-end alley which apparently exists on the site. The alley doesn't show up on Hennepin County's property map (looks like it's already vacated & incorporated into the site), but if you look at Page 22 of the PDF, you'll see what I'm talking about.

Does anyone know if the city has any obligation to approve vacation of the alley? Unlike the Site Plan Approval application, which only goes to the Planning Commission, the Alley Vacation application must be approved by the City Council. Any legal experts out there? Could the city technically deny this building by way of denying the alley vacation?

EOst
Capella Tower
Posts: 2424
Joined: March 19th, 2014, 8:05 pm
Location: Saint Paul

Re: Northeast (and Southeast) - General Topics

Postby EOst » April 21st, 2015, 2:07 pm

Just convince the HPC to declare it historic! Definitely one of the best representatives of its era of Minneapolis. ;)

xandrex
Wells Fargo Center
Posts: 1384
Joined: January 30th, 2013, 11:14 am

Re: Northeast (and Southeast) - General Topics

Postby xandrex » April 21st, 2015, 2:41 pm

While we can't expect every single site to have 5 stories of residential above it, it's really disappointing that they couldn't include a story of office space above. Surely there's an insurance agent, small law firm, etc. that would enjoy the incredibly high visibility from all that traffic on Hennepin/Central, views on 3 sides, etc.
There's no way it would happen, but the State Farm agent on the other side of this intersection (that dinky triangle lot by Holiday) would be a good fit. Would also allow for a small building or just a bit of green space with a (very much needed) improvement to the bus stop there.

Chava
Nicollet Mall
Posts: 180
Joined: March 29th, 2014, 7:24 pm
Location: NE MPLS

Re: Northeast (and Southeast) - General Topics

Postby Chava » April 22nd, 2015, 11:30 am

Looks about right for a new Dunkin Donuts, or a 7-11(they don't have those here, do they?)

grant1simons2
IDS Center
Posts: 4371
Joined: February 8th, 2014, 11:33 pm
Location: Marcy-Holmes

Re: Northeast (and Southeast) - General Topics

Postby grant1simons2 » April 22nd, 2015, 11:32 am

Well Dunkin is coming soon..

Chava
Nicollet Mall
Posts: 180
Joined: March 29th, 2014, 7:24 pm
Location: NE MPLS

Re: Northeast (and Southeast) - General Topics

Postby Chava » April 22nd, 2015, 11:36 am

Exactly. Slap that pinkish and orange sign on it, and it's ready to roll.

xandrex
Wells Fargo Center
Posts: 1384
Joined: January 30th, 2013, 11:14 am

Re: Northeast (and Southeast) - General Topics

Postby xandrex » April 22nd, 2015, 12:02 pm

If it was a Dunkin, I could at least get a coffee and two donuts while wincing at how horribly designed it is.

User avatar
Nathan
Capella Tower
Posts: 3695
Joined: June 1st, 2012, 10:42 am

402 E Hennepin Ave

Postby Nathan » April 23rd, 2015, 6:22 am

Single story retail building proposed here. Decent frontage to the street, but disappointing project overall.

http://www.journalmpls.com/news-feed/on ... arking-lot


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 25 guests