Seven Points Uptown (Calhoun Square)

[John21]

Either grocery store moving there would be great. That being said, not a fan of the small store Cub on 46th Ave.

[pillsdoughboy]

I'm glad to see that those big-box retail spaces are being demolished-- I think time has proven that this is not the future of Uptown or of retail period. I think the addition of residential units to this intersection is a step towards solidifying Uptown's future as a population center outside of downtown that has businesses that cater to the youthful population in the surrounding neighborhoods (rather than a regional "mini mall").

[COLSLAW5]

biggest disappointment is it looks like they are turning the girard pedestrian promenade into a service road for the grocery store and parking ramp. Maybe they will be able to spruce it up a bit and make it nice but who knows. Otherwise this would be really nice

[Tyler]

Lunds would be the biggest win! I always imagine Holmes being able to run up to the mall, getting rid of that super block and having basically two whole new walkable uptown blocks!

yes please.

[bubzki2]

I drove through Uptown yesterday for the first time in a while, and 1. wow lots of cranes and construction, and 2. lots of people out (for a cold day) and few visible storefront vacancies. It's crazy how the media/social media have twisted the narrative on Uptown. It looked very appealing. The developers apparently agree.

[twincitizen]

A lot of the doom and gloom has focused specifically on the 3000 block of Hennepin, with the losses of Apple, North Face, Columbia, Victoria's Secret, Kitchen Window, etc. in a very short period of time, coming right on the heels of several years of spectacular failure by the previous owners of Calhoun Square to lease the prominent corner retail/restaurant spaces.

Uptown's fortunes will turn around. There are more than enough people and money in the surrounding area to make it work. Personally, I'd consider it a significant net gain for Minneapolis if just a couple of those national chains (especially Apple) eventually found new homes in North Loop, while Uptown focuses on attracting retailers serving the neighborhood and being a restaurant/nightlife destination.

P.S. I'm 90% confident that it's Lund's. They're already in the neighborhood (in a very old building by grocery standards), they've been doing exactly this with many other locations regardless of whether they lease or own the store, and they just worked with Doran on the Richfield project. Plus, in this case they have an additional gain to realize in that they DO own the existing store property, which they can sell after moving into the new digs. Their 1.75 acres will fetch them $5 million, at least, as the last significant developable land west of Hennepin. Heck, maybe they've already agreed to sell it to Doran.

[scottiem]

i can't believe they'd get rid of the pedestrian street like this. those precious few blocks were the only enclave pedestrians had away from cars in the entire vicinity.

[scottiem]

It also seems like a lot of additional retail space for a property management company that hold on to a tenant for any significant amount of time, which they richly deserve after their actions tearing down the Winston Smith memorial.

[uptownbro]

Losing the pedestrian road is a sad loss as those are very rare. I am glad to see north ponds committed to investing the property in mostly positive ways. If they did get Lunds to move it would bring a lot of life to that corner as well as free up another site for future developments. Over all this is a win for the area.
While there is a lot of doom for this block there are a handful of new businesses opening along it.

[rynet91]

Losing the pedestrian road is a sad loss as those are very rare. I am glad to see north ponds committed to investing the property in mostly positive ways. If they did get Lunds to move it would bring a lot of life to that corner as well as free up another site for future developments. Over all this is a win for the area.

I agree on all the points. Excited for this change, personally excited to have L&B 2 blocks closer to me, and for Uptown to continue to embrace its urban neighborhood identity.

However, that change to Holmes is concerning for me on two points. First it effectively takes a pedestrian walkway and turns it into a service road/alley for the grocery store. Second, it goes from a two-way to a one-way near 31st. The COW doesn't list any bump-outs that would help prevent traffic from continuing into the one-way road, other than signage, but I definitely think if this proposal to Holmes needs to be re-thought out from a design perspective.

[twincitizen]

You're going the wrong way alphabetically - it's actually Girard Ave aka "the Girard meander" as it was laid out in planning documents of the previous decade.

I'd be shocked if planning staff, public works staff, and/or the Planning Commission didn't have harsh words for the developer on their intention to undo the improvements to Girard. Didn't the City very recently rebuild the half block of Girard between Lagoon and Lake, with a super wide pedestrian path on the east side of the street to better match the portions of vacated Girard on both ends of the block??

I can already hear the developer's argument after looking through the plans "You see, we're proposing to move the benches and planter beds over to the Hennepin Ave side, where they belong". Which isn't necessarily wrong in a vacuum, but I'm confident the city and property owner can improve the Hennepin frontage AND retain some of what makes Girard a (somewhat) nice place to walk.

[minntransplant]

This is where the City's decision to not entirely close Girard between Lake and Lagoon is coming back to haunt. If they had turned that into a car-free zone, I think that would have boxed this developer in and the City would never entertain this type of regression. But I suspect staff will allow the change to Girard in exchange for some modest compromises. For instance, they could limit deliveries to early morning hours and install retractable bollards so Girard is still basically pedestrian only during the day/evening. Will be interesting to see what feedback is given at the hearing ...

[uptownbro]

CB2's last day will be April 24th. Hopefully this means the redevelopment will start soon.
https://www.startribune.com/cb2-to-clos ... 600164627/

[seanrichardryan]

Grocery store is out- https://twitter.com/peterschmitt34/stat ... 1878976517

[HiawathaGuy]

Art-themed bar and restaurant ready to open in Seven Points retail center in Uptown
https://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/ ... ptown.html
*UNLOCKED*
Opens Friday.

[COLSLAW5]

According to South Uptown newsletter the empty lot is now being designed for 120 affordable unit with construction in 2024. Great that they are affordable but a huge bummer that it seems to have gotten downsized quite a bit.

Maybe I am wrong and they want to do a lot of 3 and 4 bedroom units which would be great to get more places that are usable for families.

[uptownbro]

H and M agreed to close due to the up coming redevelopment. Sounds like it was a mutual choice by the landlord and H and M. I think its safe to assume they will be re doing the space.
https://www.startribune.com/h-m-closes- ... 600201108/

[uptownbro]

https://www.southwestvoices.news/posts/ ... le-housing

Details on the empty lot at seven points mall. Looks like 15 3 bed room units