Rex 26 - 2601 Lyndale Ave S

[zlkahn]

Looks like proposal for the site that the developer is bringing to the meeting is for 79 units with first level grocery....TJs?

http://whittieralliance.org/wp/wp-conte ... 2-9-15.pdf

[mplsjaromir]

Probably not TJ's. Minneapolis only allows one liquor store per owner. Unless they scrap their plans for downtown.

[Wedgeguy]

Looks like proposal for the site that the developer is bringing to the meeting is for 79 units with first level grocery....TJs?

http://whittieralliance.org/wp/wp-conte ... 2-9-15.pdf

I'd say dead on arrival, there are enough grocery stores in the area that I can't see another small grocery making a go for it. Parking would be the biggest issue that I can see after the number of grocery stores already in the neighborhood.

[twincitizen]

Looks like proposal for the site that the developer is bringing to the meeting is for 79 units with first level grocery....TJs?

http://whittieralliance.org/wp/wp-conte ... 2-9-15.pdf

A small grocery store would do fine at this location. There is effectively nothing to the east or south of here at all. The Wedge is four blocks north, but as long as they're not going after the same exact niche they'll be fine. Not everyone likes what co-ops offer.

That said, I could buy an argument that the concentration/proximity of full-service stores of Kowalskis, Cub, and Lunds is too much for the area, but that's all a bit west of here.

As mplsjaromir said, it can't be TJ's unless:
A. They forego the liquor store component, which is unlikely
B. The Downtown East location has fallen through, which also seems unlikely

I'd also toss out Fresh Thyme and the other sort of quasi co-ops, as that would be too similar to The Wedge. Aldi (or similar) would work, but it doesn't exactly fit the demographics (would be perfect for poorer areas to the east of here)

[MNdible]

Unless they're planning on taking more of the houses to the south of the open lot, I think it would need to be a very small convenience-type grocery store that could survive with minimal off-street parking. The land available here just isn't enough to have even a mid-sized retail floorplate and the parking that it would necessitate.

[jw138]

Maybe a smaller specialty/ethnic grocer along the lines of Bills Imported Foods, Truong Thanh, etc?

[David Greene]

Unless they're planning on taking more of the houses to the south of the open lot

All of those parcels are owned by the French Meadow people so I think that's likely. When they proposed a temporary parking lot a couple of years ago their intent was to eventually combine lots and build apartments.

[MNdible]

Yeah, looks like the two house to the south are owned by French Meadow, so that would probably be enough to put together a larger proposal. I wonder if French Meadow would go so far as to self-brand a grocery store?

[KML_1981]

Yeah, looks like the two house to the south are owned by French Meadow, so that would probably be enough to put together a larger proposal. I wonder if French Meadow would go so far as to self-brand a grocery store?

That's an interesting theory! I could see something like that. More of a specialty deli/olive oil/vinegar/imported food type market.

Edit* With a wine shop!

[Nathan]

I wish french meadow would team up with the wedge, rebuild the wedge in a development on 26th, and then they would redevelop the whole current site of the wedge. Instead the wedge is remodeling and we're getting more competition... we'll see how it goes.

[PhilmerPhil]

Do people actually buy olives? I'm always amazed to see that there's enough demand to justify the space requirements and maintenance of keeping the olive bars stocked and fresh at Cub/Lunds etc.

[Nathan]

Yassssssssss! I'm sure the stock lasts quite a while?

[twincitizen]

If folks are trying to get an idea for scale, this vacant lot plus two houses to the south would be the exact same size as the 1970s condo building adjacent to the east.

Yeah, looks like the two house to the south are owned by French Meadow, so that would probably be enough to put together a larger proposal. I wonder if French Meadow would go so far as to self-brand a grocery store?

That's an interesting theory! I could see something like that. More of a specialty deli/olive oil/vinegar/imported food type market.

Edit* With a wine shop!

In a miraculous twist of fate, you theoretically COULD get an off-sale license here, based on the spacing from other liquor stores: http://cityoflakes.maps.arcgis.com/apps ... 49c03ae0b8

However, the second zoning requirement is that there be at least 5 contiguous acres of C2 (and up) zoning, and it's not even close at this location. This corner, as well as the NE and NW corners of the intersection, are all zoned C1. French Meadow itself is actually zoned C4 and CC Club is C2. You'd have to rezone not only this entire corner, but also the other two corners to even sniff 5 acres.

[KML_1981]

Boo! Rezone, rezone, rezone! Haha

[Wedgeguy]

Lack of Grocery stores to the EAST?? Are you kidding, Eat street have an overlap of grocery store to those that live east of Lyndale. Maybe not for the WASPs. But there are plenty of small, independent, and some not so small grocery store less than 8 blocks away. I think that Kowalski's wine shop would prevent any liquor sales. As I remember with the TJ the corner of 27th was the only area that did not fall into anyone else's so called circle of what ever number of feet from each other. The guy from Liquor Wine and Spirits bought up that corner so that no one could build there and take away business from his Lake& Grand store.

Also I doubt that the city or neighborhood will allow any more houses to come down. Think they tried to do that with the last condo project and they got a resounding NO from both the city and Whittier.

[TroyGBiv]

Do people actually buy olives? I'm always amazed to see that there's enough demand to justify the space requirements and maintenance of keeping the olive bars stocked and fresh at Cub/Lunds etc.

Olives have some of the highest margins in the grocery store... lots of revenue little overhead...

[johneapolis]

Don Gerberding will be presenting this to the neighborhood on Monday at 6:30. Whittier Park, 425 W 26th St.
http://whittieralliance.org/wp/wp-conte ... -11-16.pdf

[twincitizen]

Oh Don. Hope it goes better than his FrankLyn experience.

My math leads me to believe this might actually be 6 stories, based on the reported size of the site (assuming no units on the ground floor), unless most of the 79 are micro-units, in which case it could be 5 stories (1 commercial/parking, 4 residential).

Source: My 64-unit, 5-story building sits on a similar site (no units on the ground floor), or 16 units per floor (mostly 750sf 1BRs). Also, the Greenleaf (2743 Lyndale) is 63 units over 4 stories, with just a couple units on the ground floor (along 28th), so maybe 60 units across the 3 occupied floors, or 20 per floor, but that site is quite a bit larger when you include the surface parking, etc.

We'll find out tonight I guess! Given that the project is likely to include some parking for French Meadow, as well as the proposed grocery, my official prediction is 6 stories.

[Archiapolis]

Oh Don. Hope it goes better than his FrankLyn experience.

My math leads me to believe this might actually be 6 stories, based on the reported size of the site (assuming no units on the ground floor), unless most of the 79 are micro-units, in which case it could be 5 stories (1 commercial/parking, 4 residential).

Source: My 64-unit, 5-story building sits on a similar site (no units on the ground floor), or 16 units per floor (mostly 750sf 1BRs). Also, the Greenleaf (2743 Lyndale) is 63 units over 4 stories, with just a couple units on the ground floor (along 28th), so maybe 60 units across the 3 occupied floors, or 20 per floor, but that site is quite a bit larger when you include the surface parking, etc.

We'll find out tonight I guess! Given that the project is likely to include some parking for French Meadow, as well as the proposed grocery, my official prediction is 6 stories.

I can't wait to see the plans for this. I don't see how they are going to get a ramp to work to get you underground on this site. It just doesn't look like it has the depth/length to get a ramp down in a straight run. If it is a switchback or a 90 degree turn, it just consumes MASSIVE amounts of SF which starts to make it unfeasible REALLY quickly...

[twincitizen]

Anyone going tonight? Too far for me to walk in this cold & really don't feel like timing two trips on the 4. If I were to go, I'd probably drive...and that is just too much. Plus I'd be taking a parking spot away from someone that lives 4 blocks away

I hope some of y'all can make it.