Dinky "tower" - McDonalds redevelopment

[trkaiser]

I'm pleasantly surprised by this and see it as a totally appropriate, nice step forward for that part of town.

[nBode]

It certainly is very very ugly.

[Bob Stinson's Ghost]

It certainly is very very ugly.

Looks very profitable.

[bapster2006]

The latest planning documents. Recommending to deny the site plan.

http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/www/gro ... 221901.pdf

[talindsay]

I'm most impressed by the staff recommended denial of the FAR, because they go to the trouble to (a) specifically call out the new Minneapolis 2040 plan and how this could have been made to comply with it; and (b) point to the massing of the building as a specific reason for not supporting the ten-story design, stating that setbacks to mitigate the appearance of bulk could have made the staff supportive. It's interesting, but appropriate that this critique falls under FAR - they recommend granting the 10-story height variance, and denying the accompanying FAR since it results in a building with too much bulk. That's a good bit of nuance for a staff review.

[MNdible]

Any word as to whether they've appealed this denial? I'm wondering if their decision to purchase the 200 Central site was at least in part a reaction to this project not being shovel ready.

[jtoemke]

They got rid of that strange split crown at the corner.

[Silophant]

[alexschief]

I initially wondered if all of the work they had done in site assembly might make it difficult to walk away from this. But then I figured the other huge development proposed by the railroad tracks would take the wind out of their sails. Glad to see that may not be the case. Hope this comes back with a better design so that everyone can get behind it.

[scottmann]

This is now down to 6 stories, should probably take the "tower" part off Dinkytower:
https://lims.minneapolismn.gov/download ... McDonald's

[Anondson]

Well, 6 stories is kind of a dinky tower.

[Nathan]

A significantly better looking project. The scale is humane, the materials of decent quality, pedestrian spaces and lots of retail. I'm very glad that previous monstrosity (and I'm a fan of brutalism ) is a thing of the past.

[Tcmetro]

Annoying to see another six story project. The street engagement is pretty nice, though. Looking forward to this coming to fruition.

[alexschief]

I would've liked an actual tower, because that would've been the most intense land use.

But I prefer this version over the one that the CPC rejected. The design is better, even though it's one building, it successfully looks like three without being a Frankenstein. Adding the Subway lot is an additional win, because that lot is bad, and may have been more difficult to develop if the rejected plan had been approved. The ground flood amenities are as strong as the earlier version.

The lost height isn't a big deal, and it's more than paid off by the improvements listed above.