Midtown / Phillips Community - General Topics

[MidwayLuke]

Here's a couple articles on the good news about Smith Foundry. Not a total shutdown, but they're being forced to lose the "foundry" operations, and now they will only do metal finishing... this promises a drastic reduction in emissions. So that's good!

Smith Foundry to partially shut down operations in settlement with federal regulators
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2024/06/0 ... regulators

Minneapolis foundry accused of Clean Air Act violations will pay fine, end casting operations
https://sahanjournal.com/climate-enviro ... ettlement/

[alexschief]

Next Monday's meeting of the Met Council Transportation Committee includes [a presentation](https://metrocouncil.org/Council-Meetin ... ation.aspx) on the disposition of the Chicago-Lake Transit Center, which will no longer be served by buses next year after nearly two decades of operation. The presentation states the obvious, which is that there is no further transit use that anyone can envision for this property. This is the start of what will likely be a process over several years to demolish the existing structures on the site, rezone it and unwind the current easements, and create a blank slate that can then be sold for redevelopment. Hopefully by the time this occurs, the market is ready for that again.

This is a real landmark for Metro Transit, as the agency undoes the legacy of previous generations of transportation thinking which included unnecessary branches, jogs, and transit centers that (while well intentioned) mainly served to make the system more confusing and slower. The new Metro Transit is about service that is legible (i.e. routes on major corridors exactly where you'd expect them) and fast (straight routing with no unnecessary turns).

[MNdible]

The transit center really isn't big -- it's disposition isn't going to open up a large developable site. I'm pretty certain that the access road that's flanked by the transit station, and its vista to the main tower of the old Sears store, is historically protected and isn't going away.

[DanPatchToget]

Looking at aerial images from as far back as 1938, the transit center area and access road used to be some houses until the late 40s/early 50s (with the exception of one house that was there until the early 60s), and after that it was always just a parking lot until the transit center and access road were built. In the presentation they mention "restore the site" after demolishing the buildings, so I'm curious what they mean by that.

[mattaudio]

More surface parking. Retvrn.

[DanPatchToget]

More surface parking. Retvrn.

Yeah, that's exactly what I'm worried will happen.

Or... make a nice outdoor community gathering space to go with the indoor community gathering space.

[Silophant]

In this context, I'd expect "restore the site" to mean removing the buildings, asphalt, and any polluted soil, and getting it back to an empty dirt lot for the next owner to build whatever on.

Which, yeah, probably surface parking, if they can get it approved.

[The Toader]

I visited 401 Park (a very similar former Sears building to ours) in Boston a few years ago and the outdoor space with a brewery was so nice to experience. It would really be great if we could get an outdoor space at Midtown Global Market.

[seanrichardryan]

There doesn't appear to be a separate tax parcel for the transit station, it's all owned by Midtown Exchange Commons Llc, a Ryan Cos holding company. When the market is right, I'd bet they will develop portions of the surface lots.

[MNdible]

When the market is right...

Meanwhile, there's a very derelict former hotel mouldering away not 100 feet from this site.

[mattaudio]

10-15 years ago when I worked at WF's HMMC on software implementation, we had consultants that would fly in to work with us most weeks. Some of them would stay at that Sheraton. Did the hotel guests destroy it?

[MNdible]

https://minnesotareformer.com/2020/06/1 ... sanctuary/

[mattaudio]

yeah sorry that was snark

Wild turn of events. From the story you posted:

Minneapolis police and community groups cleared a former Sheraton hotel Monday morning, following several days of 911 calls and reports of gunfire, sex trafficking and drug dealing.

“It was just inhabitable for people,” said VJ Smith, president of MAD DADS of Minneapolis, which is a community-based security nonprofit. “Broken glass, needles everywhere. People were being abused and all kinds of drug use. It was dangerous for families to be in here.

Twelve days earlier, via Strib

For the volunteers working around the clock to keep it running, the hotel-turned-shelter is one of a kind, an example of what can happen when people put their minds and bodies together to provide housing for those who need it most.

"People in the community have come together and created this amazing space of peace and sanctuary for these unhoused people, and brought together all these resources to be able to feed them, keep them safe, give them a place to exist," said Maggie Mills, 31, one of the volunteers.

[Nick]

It was incredibly predictable, just like everything else that's gone badly over the past five years.

[Wezle]

New proposal in front of the Planning Commission for a 7 story mixed use building with 54 units at 1200 E Lake St. Will be right across the street from the proposed 7 story building at 1119 E Lake St.

https://lims.minneapolismn.gov/Download ... eport..pdf

[MNdible]

That's A LOT of cement board. I try not to crap on the design of projects too much, but this one is really disappointing.

[MinneapBliss]

Construction on this seems to be wrapping up. It is an impressive building, imo, worth a detour to check it out!

https://indigenouspeoplestf.org/mikwane ... g-project/

[MidwayLuke]

This is in the works on the former Smith Foundry / Bituminous Roadways site.

[seanrichardryan]

The double loaded corridor strikes again. Woof what a site plan.