Downtown Minneapolis General Discussion

[Bakken2016]

Possible Redevelopment opportunity of the downtown Minneapolis Pizza Hut building.

https://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/ ... 8uY7qTg8jM


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[Anondson]

Is that building within the coverage of the Harmon historic district that puts a limit on heights?

[Bakken2016]

Is that building within the coverage of the Harmon historic district that puts a limit on heights?

I just looked it is. That is dumb, there is literally a high rise apartment building across the street. But I guess a modest redevelopment proposal could still work.

[icelake]

How modest? Can the building be replaced with a taller one that takes up all of the lot? Here's a pdf describing the design details that should be followed within this historic district:

https://www.minneapolismn.gov/media/-ww ... elines.pdf

Having lived and worked in the neighborhood for over a decade, I've wondered if the historic status has contributed to the lack of activity in the area. The buildings were saved but many are underutilized and don't add much to the neighborhood. However, Lunds did a nice job renovating within the restrictions.


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[Nick]

I regret never going to the Pizza Hut sports bar...

[MattW]

I regret never going to the Pizza Hut sports bar...

I went to grad school at St. Thomas, we would wind up there occasionally. Trust me, you did not miss a thing.

[Didier]

In this moment when boosters and mayors are mourning the loss of downtown vitality, at precisely the same moment when ice skaters are mourning the loss of outdoor ice in the region’s many parks, a marriage of the two needs might be the perfect thing. Why not create an ice rink, in the most public possible place, like the middle of Nicollet Mall or somewhere near the Gateway Park flagpole?

https://www.minnpost.com/cityscape/2024 ... nneapolis/

[Silophant]

I really like the idea of a rink in Gateway Park. And it might be easier to fund it there than elsewhere - as the only normal MPRB park (the riverfront stuff is a regional park, and the Commons is a whole separate district) in the Downtown West neighborhood, it's the only place that the park dedication fees from development in the neighborhood can be used. Back when I was on the DMNA Board, we approved some kind of workaround to use some of that pot to help fill a gap in the Water Works project, but it was implied that it was a one-time thing and that future funding would have to be spent on Gateway. That was back in 2020 or so, so there should be at least a few hundred thousand in that account again, with more to come when (if?) 27 Washington and Harmonia get started.

[angrysuburbanite]

Why are there nearly no trees downtown? It feels so sterile...

Just something I noticed last weekend

[Anondson]

It’s a good question.

I’d guess a combination of a history of prioritizing the least possible sidewalk and boulevard space to maximum street width, plus excessive sidewalk salt use.

So trees that are planted just die out after a few years.

I can’t know for certain but I’d also wager that in seasons of severe drought downtown trees are among the lower priority boulevard trees to water.

[SurlyLHT]

Weren't trees a big focus of the Nicollet Mall redo? How are those trees doing? It also seems that by the time trees mature there is some sort of construction project which removes them.

[MNdible]

I just noticed that some parking meters in the vicinity of the Commons are utilizing a split rate ($2/hour during the day and $0.50 after 6pm and on weekends). No idea if this is new or if it's been like this for a while; I'd assumed that there was a technical issue preventing this (although I was also skeptical since they were obviously able to do event parking rates). Anyway, my point is that they really ought to do this for all of downtown like yesterday.

[angrysuburbanite]

https://downtownrecovery.com/charts/trends

This is great news! I wonder what changed in the last year? Still a lot of work to be done though.

[alexschief]

Five theses about Warehouse District Live as prompted by some recent social media discussion:

(1) Obviously WDL is not an especially well-attended event. Budgeted at $750k annually for 44 (scheduled) Fridays and Saturdays, this is presumably costing the city just over $17k per night. I think the value of this investment demands more scrutiny in light of the demonstrated low level of interest. Obviously it has not gone unnoticed that the overall spend on this event is similar to the amount requested by Our Streets to continue coordinating Open Streets events, and while the back-and-forth surrounding that event is a separate issue, the comparison is not flattering for the City.

(2) The City has claimed that in 2023, WDL "resulted in a "80% decrease in gun violence, a 30% reduction in assaults, 22% fewer robberies and a 21% drop in theft."

I've seen this line shared in several places, more frequently by Ward 3 CM Michael Rainville. I think both the underlying data and the evidence for a causal relationship deserve questioning. Crime precipitously plunged overall in Minneapolis during this time and I strongly suspect that the observed decline is mostly a coincidence that comes from taking a small and highly circumscribed sample out of a larger trend, rather than something that can be directly attributed to WDL.

(3) That said, I think the *thought* behind WDL is something that should be encouraged. This is an effort by the City to improve public safety at a known troublespot without policing resources. I certainly would like to believe that more engaging activities downtown and the presence of more eyes and ears (even if from staff in pink shirts) would help improve public safety, especially in times and places like bar close in the Warehouse District. Critics should be careful that the wrong lessons aren't learned from this!

(4) I think the problem at the root of WDL stems from it being essentially an astroturf operation that was implemented for reasons other than "let's give people a place to have a good time." There's no indication as far as I can see that any user research was done here. I'm worried no user research is being done right now to iterate a better event. This was designed without input from the people it was intended to attract and as a result, it's not attracting people.

Last fall, I wrote about downtown Minneapolis and I spent a lot of words criticizing events that are designed to borrow vitality from elsewhere instead of grow it organically. I argued that the City should support smaller and regular events that cater to existing residents of downtown (farmers market, ice rinks e.g.), and that if these are successful they will attract a steady stream of visitors. Instead, we do the opposite, supporting bigger and more expensive events that cater to visitors, which even when successful do not lead to sustained traffic. WDL is a perfect product of that mindset I think. The idea clearly came from on high and the execution of the concept really hasn't landed.

(5) If I could give one piece of advice to the City or the Downtown Council, it would be this; do some real user research. Interview the people going to Sneaky Petes or coming out of The Entry or just wandering around and ask them what they'd like to do, what they'd like to have, etc. I think some of the most successful elements of WDL are just basic stuff like bathrooms and food truck options.

But also: go to the Mill District or the North Loop or the Gateway District or Loring Park and interview people who live in those neighborhoods. Ask them what they'd like to be doing on a beautiful summer evening downtown? What would draw them into the city core? What kinds of activities are they looking for?

The City's goal for this event should be to iterate it such that it is significantly more successful in October. It's not necessarily a failure if nobody attends in June if you are subsequently learning from that failure.

[grrdanko]

Warehouse District Live is embarrassing and wasteful. I suspect the only reason it's still going on is because Rainville and Frey are too afraid to admit their failure.

They say it reduced crime. If and when incidents go back up using the same logic the increase will be the fault of Warehouse District Live.

I does certainly disrupt traffic flow. In my view that's the only impactful thing so why not make 1st Ave between 8th and Washington pedestrian only all spring, summer and fall evey year? Let vendors set up, allowing restaurants and bars to set up patios into the street. Allow drinks to be sold and consumed along the entire stretch.

Do this. Make it permanent.

[Qhaberl]

FYI - Apple Maps has updated their flyover view of Minneapolis. It looks to be updated within the last year. It's amazing!


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[MN Fats]

I was walking by and noticed 328 3rd St S has a notice of intent to condemn posted. This is the shuttered Press Box sports bar building that's been vacant for at least 15 years if not more (anyone know when it closed?)

I believe the property and adjacent surface lot are owned by Alatus.

[John21]

If Warehouse District Live was serious they would have a meat raffle.