Uptown - LynLake - The Wedge - News & General

Calhoun-Isles, Cedar-Riverside, Longfellow, Nokomis, Phillips, Powderhorn, and Southwest
twincitizen
Moderator
Posts: 6368
Joined: May 31st, 2012, 7:27 pm
Location: Standish-Ericsson

Re: Uptown (and LynLake) Development & General Topics

Postby twincitizen » August 21st, 2019, 4:16 pm

I have long thought that the mall should not be a free parking lot. There's certainly high demand for parking due to the parking-less brownstone apartments referenced above, but it definitely shouldn't be free. Work out a deal with the library to allow that parking to be utilized overnight? That should have been part of the library plan from day one, to generate some revenue rather than shut down the parking garage completely outside of library hours.

thatchio
Nicollet Mall
Posts: 194
Joined: August 2nd, 2012, 6:49 am

Re: Uptown (and LynLake) Development & General Topics

Postby thatchio » August 21st, 2019, 9:22 pm

Weird place to put the volleyball court. I also hope they don't put anything along the Greenway that is in HCRRA's ROW. Putting park space there could make it harder and more expensive to build any transit in the Greenway.

mplsmatt
Block E
Posts: 19
Joined: September 23rd, 2017, 11:01 am

Re: Uptown (and LynLake) Development & General Topics

Postby mplsmatt » August 22nd, 2019, 9:00 am

My understanding is that no trees will be removed as part of the plan and that it's unlikely to implemented for 10 years or so (according to WedgeLive reporting/twitter). I've lived in the area for a long time and while the Mall is a pleasant enough place to pass through, it never occurred to me that it could be much of a destination until the East Isles Farmer's Market opened. I think the use is debatable (volleyball, native plantings, open field, etc), but I'd love to see the area become more of an actual park.

amiller92
Wells Fargo Center
Posts: 1983
Joined: October 31st, 2014, 12:50 pm

Re: Uptown (and LynLake) Development & General Topics

Postby amiller92 » August 22nd, 2019, 10:21 am

Not sure why volleyball is any weirder than other park-based sports facilities. Don't think we need more tennis courts. Apparently someone is advocating for pickleball (whatever that is), like, whatever.

Blaisdell Greenway
Union Depot
Posts: 326
Joined: July 12th, 2013, 8:42 am

Re: Uptown (and LynLake) Development & General Topics

Postby Blaisdell Greenway » August 22nd, 2019, 3:39 pm

Sports go in and out of fashion (see: golf). Volleyball is pretty popular now. Pickleball is a low impact racquet sport, essentially tennis with whiffle balls. It's been around and growing in popularity as longtime racquet sports players age.

twincitizen
Moderator
Posts: 6368
Joined: May 31st, 2012, 7:27 pm
Location: Standish-Ericsson

Re: Uptown (and LynLake) Development & General Topics

Postby twincitizen » August 23rd, 2019, 9:57 am

Pickleball is very much a trendy, fast-growing sport right now. It's been popular with older folks for a few years, but my sense is that it's rapidly catching on with players of all ages. I honestly think it will stick around for the long haul. From my perspective, it's an improvement on the game of tennis that requires half the amount of space per court, so it's a natural fit for urban/neighborhood parks. The equipment is cheap, and unlike many active/competitive sports, you don't need to be in great shape to play at an intermediate/advanced level.

I think Mpls could put a few courts around downtown plazas and it would be a huge success, both for the sport itself and for activation of dead spaces, eyes on the street, etc. I know Minneapolis is planning pickleball courts for a variety of different parks around the city, but those need to be implemented ASAP. It really cannot be that expensive to convert a tennis court here or there, and it would be foolish not to ride this massive wave of popularity/growth. The longer Mpls drags its feet on this, the more Mpls residents are driving to the suburbs to play, and that's...not a great outcome.

/pickleball rant

But back on topic, I agree with others, the mall vibe seems like more of a passive park than an active/athletic one.

MNdible
is great.
Posts: 5989
Joined: June 8th, 2012, 8:14 pm
Location: Minneapolis

Re: Uptown (and LynLake) Development & General Topics

Postby MNdible » August 23rd, 2019, 10:01 am

I think the issue is that parks can be active or passive. The Mall has historically been a passive park, meaning that it doesn't have sports fields. Not every park needs to, or ought to, have sports activities.

alexschief
Wells Fargo Center
Posts: 1140
Joined: November 12th, 2015, 11:35 am
Location: Minneapolis

Re: Uptown (and LynLake) Development & General Topics

Postby alexschief » August 23rd, 2019, 10:13 am

I think the issue is that parks can be active or passive. The Mall has historically been a passive park, meaning that it doesn't have sports fields. Not every park needs to, or ought to, have sports activities.
No, but there is strong demand for them, and when you're master planning for investments that might occur a decade in the future, it certainly makes sense to think about whether they might be included. It's hard to say the Mall is much of a park at all right now, so I'd argue its character is totally up for grabs.

BBMplsMN
Nicollet Mall
Posts: 162
Joined: August 21st, 2015, 3:09 pm

Re: Uptown (and LynLake) Development & General Topics

Postby BBMplsMN » August 23rd, 2019, 11:35 am

I would prefer The Mall be an art park/sculpture garden type space. A nice visual way to walk from the library to Lake of the Isles. It seems more fitting for the Uptown vibe than sport courts.

David Greene
IDS Center
Posts: 4617
Joined: December 4th, 2012, 11:41 am

Re: RE: Re: Uptown (and LynLake) Development & General Topics

Postby David Greene » August 23rd, 2019, 8:40 pm

I would prefer The Mall be an art park/sculpture garden type space. A nice visual way to walk from the library to Lake of the Isles. It seems more fitting for the Uptown vibe than sport courts.
This would be fantastic. I enjoy walking there now and this would make it so much better. I feel like fields/courts/whatever would make for a less pleasant pedestrian experience. It would seem less "public" in a way.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk


Blaisdell Greenway
Union Depot
Posts: 326
Joined: July 12th, 2013, 8:42 am

Re: Uptown (and LynLake) Development & General Topics

Postby Blaisdell Greenway » September 11th, 2019, 1:03 pm

Interior of old Dulono's space is being gutted but there's still a for lease sign on the building. Anyone heard anything?

Also the kitchen fixtures from the Nicollet Burger King are being removed today. This is the first sign of activity since it closed a few years ago.

Chef
Landmark Center
Posts: 282
Joined: June 3rd, 2012, 7:33 pm

Re: Uptown (and LynLake) Development & General Topics

Postby Chef » September 30th, 2019, 10:06 pm

This is underway:

http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/www/gro ... 219266.pdf

The old apartment building at the corner of 28th and Garfield has been demolished.

xandrex
Wells Fargo Center
Posts: 1384
Joined: January 30th, 2013, 11:14 am

Re: Uptown (and LynLake) Development & General Topics

Postby xandrex » November 21st, 2019, 2:57 pm

Apartment building proposed on the 3500 block of Hennepin Avenue. 75 units, 90 parking spots. Would require the demolition of two houses, a commercial building, and another commercial building with a few apartments on the second floor. https://www.southwestjournal.com/news/d ... th-uptown/

More units in Uptown is great, but it's pretty disappointing to see the loss of two commercial storefronts (article doesn't indicate there will be commercial in the new building). Also 1.2 parking spots per unit isn't great.

HiawathaGuy
Wells Fargo Center
Posts: 1636
Joined: June 4th, 2012, 12:03 pm

Re: Uptown Retail & Restaurant News

Postby HiawathaGuy » November 21st, 2019, 3:33 pm

‘Cursed’ restaurant space once home to Uptown's Old Chicago has likely claimed its last victim
*LOCKED*

Gist:
With the closing of Uptown restaurant Piggy Bank this week, 2841 Hennepin Ave. in Minneapolis has cycled through six restaurants in six years — developing a reputation as a “cursed” location in the process.

It may have claimed its last victim.

Stuart Chazin, a member of the ownership group that purchased the property in 2010, said Wednesday that the site is “probably going to be redeveloped.” Into what he couldn’t say yet, but Chazin doesn’t believe the site can support a restaurant anymore.
...
Chazin said the ownership group will either sell the property or redevelop it itself, but he couldn’t provide a timeline.

“Everything is very fresh,” he said.

twincitizen
Moderator
Posts: 6368
Joined: May 31st, 2012, 7:27 pm
Location: Standish-Ericsson

Re: Uptown (and LynLake) Development & General Topics

Postby twincitizen » November 21st, 2019, 4:35 pm

Apartment building proposed on the 3500 block of Hennepin Avenue. 75 units, 90 parking spots. Would require the demolition of two houses, a commercial building, and another commercial building with a few apartments on the second floor. https://www.southwestjournal.com/news/d ... th-uptown/

More units in Uptown is great, but it's pretty disappointing to see the loss of two commercial storefronts (article doesn't indicate there will be commercial in the new building). Also 1.2 parking spots per unit isn't great.
Demolition of the 2-story brick building at 3513 is a minor bummer, but it includes the surface parking lot to the north. Gotta demo that building to make full use of the land. There's still going to be ample commercial space at the corner of 35th & Hennepin, unaffected by this project. I'm not against the removal of lightly-used, mid-block commercial. Having more people around will help boost business to the commercial space that remains.

User avatar
VacantLuxuries
Foshay Tower
Posts: 973
Joined: February 20th, 2015, 12:38 pm

Re: Uptown Retail & Restaurant News

Postby VacantLuxuries » November 21st, 2019, 4:41 pm

Stuart Chazin, a member of the ownership group that purchased the property in 2010, said Wednesday that the site is “probably going to be redeveloped.” Into what he couldn’t say yet, but Chazin doesn’t believe the site can support a restaurant anymore.
Glad they finally came to that conclusion. Only took them a decade.

xandrex
Wells Fargo Center
Posts: 1384
Joined: January 30th, 2013, 11:14 am

Re: Uptown (and LynLake) Development & General Topics

Postby xandrex » November 21st, 2019, 4:50 pm

I agree it’s a net positive, but I still don’t love demolishing smaller-scale commercial (that appears to be in use?) on one of the relatively few corridors that allows it.

MNdible
is great.
Posts: 5989
Joined: June 8th, 2012, 8:14 pm
Location: Minneapolis

Re: Uptown (and LynLake) Development & General Topics

Postby MNdible » November 21st, 2019, 4:53 pm

I can't agree with you that losing the 3513 building is any kind of a good tradeoff just because you develop the parking lot. That parking is accessed off of the alley, doesn't have a Hennepin Avenue curbcut, and is screened by landscaping along the sidewalk.

Not my land, so I can't tell them what to do, but it's a real shame to lose this building just so the apartment can stretch out another 50 feet.

fittdogg
Block E
Posts: 4
Joined: April 19th, 2017, 11:11 am

Re: Uptown Retail & Restaurant News

Postby fittdogg » November 21st, 2019, 8:17 pm

Wuollet opening a spot in the Urban Bean space on Lake:

http://www.startribune.com/wuollet-bake ... 565216752/

Los Andes moving to the Dulono's space as well:

https://www.southwestjournal.com/news/b ... onos-site/

EOst
Capella Tower
Posts: 2424
Joined: March 19th, 2014, 8:05 pm
Location: Saint Paul

Re: Uptown (and LynLake) Development & General Topics

Postby EOst » November 22nd, 2019, 7:43 am

I'm with MNdible on this one. That kind of naturally-occurring affordable(ish) commercial space is a limited resource, especially in this part of town.


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 42 guests