Nicollet-Lake - greater Kmart area

[Wedgeguy]

I'd say that Kmart would sell the land and lease a building built to suit them. I think that they might a a very few urban store. But this would help them be a laboritory for what to do for other areas. What works and what does not. The replacement store will not be a cookie cutter store that is for sure!

[VAStationDude]

Care to elaborate? I have never read a positive apartment review. Is there something in particular about those apartments that them so bad?

I looked at apartment reviews as suggested. From what I saw the complaints were about lousy management, not other tenants. A well managed mixed income apartment would succeed at Nicollet and Lake. Being in the same building as poor people might not appeal to everyone. I'm convinced the rental market is going to remain very tight even after the units under construction come online so they'll have no problem leasing market rate apartments here.

[612transplant]

I'd say that Kmart would sell the land and lease a building built to suit them. I think that they might a a very few urban store. But this would help them be a laboritory for what to do for other areas. What works and what does not. The replacement store will not be a cookie cutter store that is for sure!

That's a neat idea. Lease out the ground floor in a mixed use development, perhaps?

[mplser]

I'm trying to imagine a Kmart sign on a 10 story building and i chuckled a little

[Wedgeguy]

Look at the Target store downtown. Very similar.

[mplser]

yes, but Kmart is a little different. when was the last tie you saw a new kmart?

[Wedgeguy]

LOL, Well they have not been doing any real expansion. At this point I think they are trying their best to get current stores up to snuff and not looking like a thrift store. IT can be done, that is not the problem. The problem will be assembling all the needed land and getting a master plan together. I hope that they do an area master plan that encompasses the area between Stevens and Blaisdell and 31st and 26th. The whole area needs some comprehensive plans to work to reuse some current buildings, for future parking and transist stops, and to fill in the under used land that is littering the area. They also need to address the potential 35W/Lake/greenway transist stop.

[seanrichardryan]

Here is a taller building with KMart on it. Ha

[danie123182]

I'm trying to imagine a Kmart sign on a 10 story building and i chuckled a little

They have a few 4-5 story Kmarts in Manhattan. They usually take the bottom 4 floors of a building plus basement.

One of them even has access from the subway directly into the basement floor.

Here is a picture of the subway entrance.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/max116/39947389/


And here is a picture from outside.





I've shopped there on the way home before. It's very convenient and actually a nice store.

[seanrichardryan]

Yes, Kmart on the east coast is far different than the ones in MN. They do custom embroidery on your Ralph Lauren out there. Seriously.

[danie123182]

I also would prefer that the reconnected block be a transit mall rather than open to all cars - that would certainly make for a better retail environment. But I don't think that will happen either.

I love this idea. My favorite thing about Nicollet Ave. north of K-Mart right now is how pedestrian friendly it is compared to similar retail corridors in Minneapolis. (Lyndale, Hennepin, Lake, etc.) This is possibly the only major retail corridor in the city where pedestrians can and do freely cross the street mid block. With lower traffic volumes and the 3 lane configuration it makes for a great urban and ped friendly experience. While removing the K-Mart would be a blessing, I worry that Nicollet will become choked up and used as a means of moving cars into and out of downtown.

I think they should extend it as a bus only route all the way to Franklin and then set the speed limit to 20 mph throughout the eat street area and then strictly enforce it. People will avoid it like the plague unless they're going to eat there.

[PhilmerPhil]

I think removing cars from Eat Street would make it a destination, not something people would avoid. There is enough density and enough people that prefer to get around by means other than a car in Minneapolis to make this work. And for those that insist on driving, there are plenty of sidestreets and maybe some lots with alley access. Anyways, something like this will never happen in Minneapolis in my lifetime.

[min-chi-cbus]

I think removing cars from Eat Street would make it a destination, not something people would avoid. There is enough density and enough people that prefer to get around by means other than a car in Minneapolis to make this work. And for those that insist on driving, there are plenty of sidestreets and maybe some lots with alley access. Anyways, something like this will never happen in Minneapolis in my lifetime.

I think he meant DRIVERS would avoid it like the plague, because it'd be too risky and slow to drive down Nicollet....not pedestrians.

[mattaudio]

I am fine with cars on Nicollet between Franklin and Lake, but I really wish they had more median planters and midblock pedestrian refuges. This would lush up the space and make it easier to cross mid-block.

[danie123182]

I think removing cars from Eat Street would make it a destination, not something people would avoid. There is enough density and enough people that prefer to get around by means other than a car in Minneapolis to make this work. And for those that insist on driving, there are plenty of sidestreets and maybe some lots with alley access. Anyways, something like this will never happen in Minneapolis in my lifetime.

I think he meant DRIVERS would avoid it like the plague, because it'd be too risky and slow to drive down Nicollet....not pedestrians.

True indeed. I did mean mean drivers would avoid it. I'll see if I can go back and change it.

[Andrew_F]

Realistically Nicollet isn't going to become any less pedestrian-friendly when they reopen it at Lake, IMO. There are faster streets to drive all around it-- even with Lake open, it won't be a through-route for anyone.

[MNdible]

I think removing cars from Eat Street would make it a destination, not something people would avoid. There is enough density and enough people that prefer to get around by means other than a car in Minneapolis to make this work. And for those that insist on driving, there are plenty of sidestreets and maybe some lots with alley access. Anyways, something like this will never happen in Minneapolis in my lifetime.

There's not nearly enough density or activity to energize this 80' wide right of way for over a mile. It would be a big, barren dead zone. Ask the business owners along Eat Street if they think it's a good idea. I know that for some people, any half-baked idea to get rid of cars gets an enthusiastic thumbs-up, but take a step back and think through what a carless Nicollet Avenue would really be like. And I don't mean in your utopian future world where everybody has decided that they can get everywhere they need to by bicycle.

As others have suggested, there are some modest steps that could be taken to make it more pedestrian friendly -- let's focus on these options.

[4-d]

I am fine with cars on Nicollet between Franklin and Lake, but I really wish they had more median planters and midblock pedestrian refuges. This would lush up the space and make it easier to cross mid-block.

I could deal with this. Do something like they just did out on Lyndale south of Lyn-Lake. That would at least create a break in the super-wide roadway there and add a sense of security. I think it could be a good idea to open Nicollet through Kmart as a bike and bus route and work on the protected bike lane idea running down Nicollet after you leave the mall. So my opinion is either add a median or a protected bike lane on Nicollet. I am not talking about that protected lanes on 1st Ave. I am talking about built lanes with plantings and such, as well as barriers.

[Nathaniel]

Nicollet, the Greenway and K-Mart: A Vision for Discussion at http://www.Streets.MN
https://streets.mn/2012/06/25/nicollet ... iscussion/

At this site, there is a lack of connection across the site both to downtown Minneapolis and along Lake Street, as well as a disconnection from the Midtown Greenway. After identifying these issues I thought to myself, “I can fix that”; easier said than done. Because of the complicated nature of any urban landscape, there are a thousand ways to “fix that”, and with only 13 weeks to consider them all, I really only scratched the surface.

However, there are three important and obvious interventions that this site desperately needs.

1: Urbanizing K-Mart to address the street and minimize parking lot frontage.
2: Re-opening Nicollet Ave and re-establishing Lake and Nicollet as a vibrant pedestrian-oriented commercial node.
3: Using the void left by K-Mart to open the Greenway and connect to Lake Street.

[seanrichardryan]

The difficult part will be creating affordable retail spaces in new construction. I don't see another Apple store or even a Noodles & Co. with their flexible corporate dollars opening here. The intersection is currently almost exclusively a lower income retail node drawing from the working class population that surrounds the area.