Block E (archive)

[min-chi-cbus]

pittsburgh, a city consistently praised for it's urban renwal has a riverside casino near heinz filed. sometimes mpls/st paul is too precious and righteous for it's own good.

if block e becomes an office block it will be a failure and basically the developer throwing up his hands in defeat.

What came first though: the casino or the progression? It'd be a even harder argument to make to suggest that the casino caused the progression.

It's not that Minneapolis is "too good" for a casino, but we just don't NEED it. They cause plenty of problems and other intangible costs that often make them bad neighbors for almost everyone.

[mulad]

Oh yeah -- MinnPost is running a 5-installment series on Indian gaming this week. Here's where the articles will all show up: http://www.minnpost.com/category/keywords/new-buffalo

Here's a simple timeline of gambling-related events in Minnesota, and here are the first two articles:

• Has casino money improved lives on Minnesota’s Indian reservations?
• Despite casinos, reservations still plagued by high unemployment

[mullen]

pittsbugh's been on an economic upswing for years before the casino arrived. i'd argue it's got a better central business district than our own. my point is there is nothing special or unique about our city that would negate gaming downtown. lot's of people enjoy gaming...in this state especially.

so short of blowing up block e back to a blank canvas what is the vision. i'd be disappointed to see this key block smack in the center of our entertainment district become just another office building.

maybe the unversity could be brought in as partner on bringing an educational element. some business grad program downtown similar to what st thomas has. maybe tie that into whatever office tennants sign on.

[612transplant]

A few important things to remember about Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh:

1.) The North Shore is *not* downtown Pittsburgh-- the casino is a couple miles from the core of downtown.
2.) Rivers attracts a clientele pretty much identical to what you'd see at Mystic Lake. In other words, it is by no means "high end" or "luxury."

[mnmike]

pittsbugh's been on an economic upswing for years before the casino arrived. i'd argue it's got a better central business district than our own. my point is there is nothing special or unique about our city that would negate gaming downtown. lot's of people enjoy gaming...in this state especially.

so short of blowing up block e back to a blank canvas what is the vision. i'd be disappointed to see this key block smack in the center of our entertainment district become just another office building.

maybe the unversity could be brought in as partner on bringing an educational element. some business grad program downtown similar to what st thomas has. maybe tie that into whatever office tennants sign on.

Random note. Hmm, I have been to Pittsburgh several times the last few years...and while the downtown area is very nice and has beautiful buildings...I wouldn't say it better. It is still very quiet and St. Paul-esque if you will....very quiet. Shadyside is where it's at in Pittsburgh, I would certainly argue that is better than Uptown Minneapolis.

[612transplant]

Random note. Hmm, I have been to Pittsburgh several times the last few years...and while the downtown area is very nice and has beautiful buildings...I wouldn't say it better. It is still very quiet and St. Paul-esque if you will....very quiet. Shadyside is where it's at in Pittsburgh, I would certainly argue that is better than Uptown Minneapolis.

Yes, I agree. Downtown Pittsburgh certainly has a daytime population comparable to Minneapolis, and it is denser, because there's probably the same amount of class-A commercial space in a smaller area. However, it has far fewer residents and is too dominated by quick national chains to appeal to the lunch-break crowd. A lot of the restaurants don't even bother opening on the weekends.

Shadyside is ok, I guess. I wouldn't argue that it's better than Uptown. It is sort of like if Uptown were only upscale bar patrons/clientele, and was significantly smaller. Southside definitely has more bars than Uptown, but much less restaurant and retail, so it appeals to a Friday night college crowd pretty exclusively.

I actually like Lawrenceville in Pittsburgh. It's not a huge entertainment district, but it's cheap, young, and dancy. Reminds me a little of Cedar-Riverside, actually.

[mattaudio]

I remember back when I was in 10th grade and Block E was being built, and one of the teachers had a giant blueprint of the complex hanging on the wall in his classroom. I wish we had some sort of high-res plans for the building so we could start playing around with some ideas....

Strib HQ mediaplex here, street level retail here here here here, etc. What other land uses besides small retail would help create strong street-level presence?

[Nathan]

I remember back when I was in 10th grade and Block E was being built, and one of the teachers had a giant blueprint of the complex hanging on the wall in his classroom. I wish we had some sort of high-res plans for the building so we could start playing around with some ideas....

Strib HQ mediaplex here, street level retail here here here here, etc. What other land uses besides small retail would help create strong street-level presence?

Maybe they could re-locate the facade of the old strib building onto the Hen side of of the Block... (i know crazy!)

[mullen]

i like the thought of the star tribune offices being moved to block e....a media organization seems like a natural fit. i remember back when the project was in it's beginnings there was talk of minnesota public radio having a presence, before they built their new offices in st paul.

[min-chi-cbus]

i like the thought of the star tribune offices being moved to block e....a media organization seems like a natural fit. i remember back when the project was in it's beginnings there was talk of minnesota public radio having a presence, before they built their new offices in st paul.

I agree, assuming that Block E will transform into Offices, that is...

[mattaudio]

I don't think it has to transform into one thing or another. It just needs to be able to be split up in a way that makes sense and fosters organic use of the space. Opening up the connection to the skyway level would go a long ways, creating many more sidewalk-fronting businesses, etc. Yeah, maybe the upper levels could be offices, but they could be "special use" type offices, such as a newsroom... where the office could thrive off the energy from the street and vice versa. News tickers, or studios with windows, or anything that helps break down the psychological barrier of the opaque outside that exists right now.

[garfield]

I think it would be cool if KARE-11 or KSTP moved their headquarters to Block E. They could do it like WCCO does on Nicollet Mall, with windows looking into the newscasts. I also envision some sort of moving light display that would scroll top news stories along either Hennepin or First Avenue...

If Channel 5 did it, they could copy Channel 11's weather backyard and send their weather people onto the green roof at Target Center!

[twincitizen]

^Agreed. A TV studio would be a great use of the space and would definitely activate the street. I was kinda bummed that Fox Sports North moved into a skyway level space not far from here. I mean, it's awesome that they're downtown in a visible spot, but street level would've been 1000x better.

People need to see Downtown Minneapolis on the news more than just during murder coverage and skyline views from Target Field.

[Nathan]

I think it would be cool if KARE-11 or KSTP moved their headquarters to Block E. They could do it like WCCO does on Nicollet Mall, with windows looking into the newscasts. I also envision some sort of moving light display that would scroll top news stories along either Hennepin or First Avenue...

If Channel 5 did it, they could copy Channel 11's weather backyard and send their weather people onto the green roof at Target Center!

Or put a green roof on Block E...

[mnmike]

I think it would be cool if KARE-11 or KSTP moved their headquarters to Block E. They could do it like WCCO does on Nicollet Mall, with windows looking into the newscasts. I also envision some sort of moving light display that would scroll top news stories along either Hennepin or First Avenue...

If Channel 5 did it, they could copy Channel 11's weather backyard and send their weather people onto the green roof at Target Center!

Yes, I have mentioned this before too way back in the post...I think some kind media outlet would be great! I imagine TV screens and a news ticker on the outside, like you said.

[mullen]

all the major media outlets already have established offices. kmsp building is relatively new in eden prairie. kstp has been on university ave since it's inception. the wcco building is rather iconic at this point. i could possibly see KARE locating downtown. it'd be great exposure for any media outlet's brand to be right on hennepin avenue. kare or kstp are possibilities but i think it's not likely.

[mnmike]

Nope, not likely...just a nice thought. Maybe Strib?

[MNdible]

As I've pointed out before, newspaper offices aren't glamorous places. Unlike TV news, the ink-stained wretches tend not to be very photogenic and have messy desks.

[mattaudio]

Mullen, do you remember where WFTC was before the whole 9/29 network swap and duopoly? They had a short lived newscast (Fox 29 News at 9) for about a year prior to the merger... They built out a newsroom and live studio just to see it dismantled a year later. I think it was in North Mpls or Robbinsdale IIRC.

[5th Ave Guy]

I think it would be cool if KARE-11 or KSTP moved their headquarters to Block E. They could do it like WCCO does on Nicollet Mall, with windows looking into the newscasts. I also envision some sort of moving light display that would scroll top news stories along either Hennepin or First Avenue...

If Channel 5 did it, they could copy Channel 11's weather backyard and send their weather people onto the green roof at Target Center!

That really would be great. Talk about "eyes on the street". If the outside corner was the background for the telecast there would be quite a few of them.

I have to assume they've thought about this and would love to do it, but the rent must be a major roadblock.