Excelsior and Grand Area - St. Louis Park

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Nick
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Excelsior and Grand Area - St. Louis Park

Postby Nick » November 26th, 2012, 10:09 pm

Oh hey lookie. Saw a hint on Sam Black's development roundup and found this.

http://finance-commerce.com/2012/10/exc ... te-sequel/
Gary Dreher, managing principal at Plymouth-based TOLD Development, said Tuesday that the developer recently put under contract some land at the east and west ends of Excelsior and Grand in St. Louis Park. [...]
That's pretty cool. The ex-Bally's to the west on Excelsior is an eyesore. I wonder what the property to the east is? Maybe it's on the south side of Excelsior!
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min-chi-cbus
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Re: Excelsior and Grand - (St. Louis Park)

Postby min-chi-cbus » November 27th, 2012, 12:03 pm

The property to the East formerly held that chocolatier/bakery that went out of business around the time I left the region last year. It's an older strip mall and it wouldn't be missed if something the scale of one of the E&G buildings were put there in its place. If so, and along with a Westward expansion to Bally's, the Excelsior Blvd strip would be eye-poppingly different to someone like my parents who last frequented the area before Ellipse or E&G were put into place -- they'd hardly recognize where they were!

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Re: General Suburb News

Postby twincitizen » February 19th, 2014, 8:59 pm

Apparently there's a development brewing just east of Excelsior & Grand. Were we aware of this?

Minneapolis-St Paul Magazine article about Kiddywampus moving to Hopkins. The reason given is that the current building is being "sold and set for redevelopment". I assume that means teardown and replacement.

Here's the address given and what it looks like today: 4400 Excelsior

If the redevelopment includes the entire blockface from Kipling to Monterey, that could be pretty massive. Until we hear otherwise, I'm guessing it only includes the building housing Kiddywampus and the car wash, and not the single-story retail strip lining Excelsior to the west.

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4400 Excelsior from flyover

Postby Anondson » February 19th, 2014, 9:27 pm

If it is the entire block, well, it could use it but it would be sad to lose so many small storefronts. If it is replaced by a 4–6 story apartment with underground parking and ground level retail, that might be a greater win. But there are already lots of complaints over congestion on 36th/Monterey. Thing is that Excelsior and Grand hasn't brought enough people to live in the area for retail to thrive there, the store OPM has been there for five years and is closing now because of low traffic.

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Re: General Suburb News

Postby seanrichardryan » February 19th, 2014, 10:09 pm

Half the storefronts at Excelsior & Grand are vacant suggesting to me that new retail space leasing in the area is soft.
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min-chi-cbus
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Re: General Suburb News

Postby min-chi-cbus » February 19th, 2014, 10:30 pm

I think retail dies there because the rents are WAY too high, as evident by the type of establishments that have come and gone. The retail that had done well historically were the low-cost centers like Opitz that sell steeply-discounted items. Not that anyone envisions those types of establishments with any new redevelopment, but they were popular and well loved. I do think that retail in that area WILL survive in the long-run though, they just have to meet the customers' needs. For example, the storefronts along the Excelsior & Grand blocks do a terrible job of meeting the street/sidewalk in my opinion, and are more suburban than urban in context -- with few windows (that look in) and doors. One thing this area NEEDS is a pharmacy!

I'm fairly certain that any redevelopment here would be the full block, because I (thought I) knew about the strip mall portion of the block going under well before this news came out.

What's left between this block and Ellipse II once they are both completed -- that apartment complex? I envisioned Excelsior being redeveloped from essentially France Ave to Hwy. 100, and it's almost a reality now!

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Re: General Suburb News

Postby seanrichardryan » February 19th, 2014, 10:45 pm

CVS anchors Excelsior & Grand.
Last edited by seanrichardryan on February 19th, 2014, 10:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Anondson
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Re: General Suburb News

Postby Anondson » February 19th, 2014, 10:47 pm

Also, the buildings that are bringing filling retail in that area are the decades-older buildings. Pretty much every building around the Excelsior and Grand blocks are occupied (a couple exceptions), probably correct on the rent too high in the new construction relative to the quantity of good quality older buildings right across the street.

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Re: General Suburb News

Postby sad panda » February 20th, 2014, 3:39 pm

CVS is next to McCoy's. I think it used to be a tex/mex place? The Excelsior Blvd retail spaces have certainly filled up though in the last few years.

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Re: General Suburb News

Postby twincitizen » February 28th, 2014, 9:38 am

Looks like that SLP development site east of Excelsior & Grand is indeed a full block.

Bridgewater Bank already owns the building on the corner, and just bought the strip retail building to the east (4400 Excelsior)
http://finance-commerce.com/2014/02/jus ... vard-site/
http://gis.co.hennepin.mn.us/property/m ... 2824430187

SLP owns the smaller vacant parcel to the north.

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Re: General Suburb News

Postby Sara Bergen » February 28th, 2014, 11:21 am

By "development site" do you mean that there is an expectation or plan to build something new here? The current one-story buildings aren't a great example of efficient land-use, but I believe for the most part they are occupied. Any idea of what is planned? 8-)

min-chi-cbus
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Re: General Suburb News

Postby min-chi-cbus » February 28th, 2014, 11:31 am

Apparently there's a development brewing just east of Excelsior & Grand. Were we aware of this?

Minneapolis-St Paul Magazine article about Kiddywampus moving to Hopkins. The reason given is that the current building is being "sold and set for redevelopment". I assume that means teardown and replacement.

Here's the address given and what it looks like today: 4400 Excelsior

If the redevelopment includes the entire blockface from Kipling to Monterey, that could be pretty massive. Until we hear otherwise, I'm guessing it only includes the building housing Kiddywampus and the car wash, and not the single-story retail strip lining Excelsior to the west.
Per this quote, and the discussion immediately following it on page 5 of this thread.....yes.

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Re: General Suburb News

Postby twincitizen » February 28th, 2014, 12:32 pm

It does seem odd for a bank to buy up property for a development, does it not? Especially a small community bank.

Not my field of expertise, but I can't recall a similar situation. Banks finance development, not speculatively buy up land themselves.

It's probably fair to assume they aren't just planning on building a bank branch here. ;)

EDIT: "assembling as a site for a new mixed use development anchored by a new bank branch" says F&C print edition. Hopefully true mixed use with residential, not just a bank and a few retail spaces. Sadly, it doesn't sound like existing tenants are much of a concern to the bank. The city owned parcel is part of the project.

mattaudio
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Re: General Suburb News

Postby mattaudio » February 28th, 2014, 12:33 pm

It's actually really common for banks to own real estate, since they're assets that can be used to maintain reserve ratios.

Sara Bergen

Re: Excelsior and Grand - St. Louis Park

Postby Sara Bergen » March 20th, 2014, 5:50 pm

Did anyone participate in this, or is anyone planning on participating in this process?

http://www.stlouispark.org/events/south ... lines.html

A friend who lives in that n'hood seemed to think the process is being driven by people who live just south of excelsior and want parking of any future development to be in front of buildings (next to sidewalks, closer to excelsior) rather than behind buildings (closer to single family homes). I am hoping there is some semblance of a "balanced" committee and not just stacked with anti-density (not well phrased, open to suggestion) people.

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Re: Excelsior and Grand - St. Louis Park

Postby Anondson » March 20th, 2014, 6:04 pm

Not sure how I would phrase it either, but Minikahda Vista is infested with anti-traffic, anti-height, NIMBYs. The city bends over backwards to pacify them to the detriment of the wider surrounding neighborhoods. You might say I've clashed with some of them. If this is filled with the standard Minikahda Vista rabble rousers expect guidelines that worsen the "stroadiness" of Excelsior Blvd.

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Re: Excelsior and Grand - St. Louis Park

Postby min-chi-cbus » March 20th, 2014, 9:56 pm

Well if it's any consolation, I plan to someday relocate my family from Cleveland to Minneapolis and if we can afford a home in Minikahda Vista we'd live there in a heart beat, and I can stand tall amongst the sea of anti-density/anti-urbanist snots! Although, based on this article it may be that the neighborhood isn't as "ideal" as we had once thought...

David Greene
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Re: Excelsior and Grand - St. Louis Park

Postby David Greene » July 23rd, 2014, 8:58 pm

To me, parking "behind buildings (closer to single family homes)" is a legit concern. If parking fronting major boulevards is a bad idea, why is parking fronting residential streets any better?

It doesn't have to be one or the other. Underground parking is possible, though more expensive. Or parking ramps surrounded by housing and/or retail. Of course, if the parking objections are really about stopping any development, that's a different thing entirely.

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Re: Excelsior and Grand - St. Louis Park

Postby min-chi-cbus » July 23rd, 2014, 9:19 pm

It's called a fence. Parking isn't very loud or unsightly, especially behind a fence. Businesses are typically more separated from SFH's than they are to the street.

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Re: Excelsior and Grand - St. Louis Park

Postby David Greene » July 23rd, 2014, 11:22 pm

It's called a fence. Parking isn't very loud or unsightly, especially behind a fence. Businesses are typically more separated from SFH's than they are to the street.
So is a fence between front-oriented parking and Excelsior Blvd. an acceptable solution?

I'm a bit taken aback that you're defending surface parking in this location. If we want TOD, build TOD.


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