Chanhassen - Chaska - Carver County

[BoredAgain]

That's why I call Kingfield a mixed-use development. It has housing, offices, and retail.

Someone really messed up the traffic study. And who designed that parking? So much surface parking. They should have just done a full lot under the development area.

[grant1simons2]

6 story apartment building with Aldis planned near Chan Dinner theater http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/n ... ml?ana=twt

[Mcgizz]

That is a really good project for Chanhassen. That area could really be a node for business and living with a handful more projects like this. Hopefully, the NIMBYs will just stay home.

[matthew5080]

I don't know if I'm more excited about that or the Chick-Fil-A being built right now

[RailBaronYarr]

I used to work at Emerson across Hwy 5 so I'm somewhat intrigued by this. Here's the document with a bit more information: http://chanhassen.granicus.com/MetaView ... ta_id=6618

I'm not sold on the need for TIF. The existing building, while old-ish (and a dated design) is not blighted. I like that the apartment has a good mix of unit sizes, and would be an obvious fit for folks to commute to downtown via the SWT station right there (or to simply walk/bike to work at any of those manufacturing buildings on the other side of 5, something many workers really need). And, "downtown" Chan may not meet the urbanist fetish for 1800s Main Street USA, but it has plenty of daily needs and wants to walk to. I could easily see some more apartments filling in some of their surface lots. It'd be nice if the building went right up to 78th instead of keeping the surface parking out front, but at the very least the city should require a sidewalk on the south side of 78th as part of the redevelopment (and Chan should extend it in both directions, taking property if necessary), especially if TIF is involved.

[nBode]

There will be lots of opposition. I can't think of a building in Chan that's more than 3 stories; this would be the tallest in the city by far.
The site, right next to the Dinner Theater, will also make it highly contested. It always seemed like the Frontier Building, as well as retail in the Theater complex, has struggled, but that building is a component of the character of the Theater and the area.

[grant1simons2]

Seriously? Lots more apartment buildings in Chan than you may think. Especially in this area. It will be a lot of older residents upset about the building going away and traffic of an Aldis. To be honest, Aldis should be facing the South parking lot, and retail should be maintained near 78th.

Edit: Hills have tricked my eyes for years. Height seems to be higher due to apartments on hills and pitched roofs. There are some 45'-55' buildings in Chan, but nothing above 4 stories

[matthew5080]

A 105,000-square foot Hy-Vee is being proposed for Chaska at the southwest corner of Highway 212 and Engler Boulevard. The site plan will go to the Chaska City Council on Feb. 6. for preliminary approval.

The proposed Hy-Vee will have its typical grocery store departments along with a drive-up pharmacy, gas station, Market Grille restaurant, a coffee shop (a Starbucks is shown in renderings submitted to the city) and a wine and spirits retail area.

http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/n ... ml?ana=twt

[seano]

Looks like they've narrowed in on a final alignment for the 4 to 3 conversion of MN-41 in Chaska.

http://www.swnewsmedia.com/chaska_heral ... 68bea.html

[seano]

Chanhassen approved the downtown apartment building/Aldi next to the dinner theater on Monday, and rezoned land at 212 and Powers Blvd. to keep the Avienda project moving forward.

http://www.swnewsmedia.com/chanhassen_v ... 2a674.html

http://www.ci.chanhassen.mn.us/1332/Avi ... y-Plat-PUD

[SteveXC500]

Waconia adding a Culver's, Starbucks, Dollar Tree, AT&T, Sport Clips, Aldi's, and Taco Bell in the coming months.
Lots of growth in the far western suburbs.

[bubzki2]

Can Waconia even be considered a suburb?

[mattaudio]

Waconia is a charming lakeside town with a largely urban land use and a walkable street grid. Its wellbeing and bucolic way of life is threatened by sub-urban sprawl.

[transplant]

Chanhassen approved the downtown apartment building/Aldi next to the dinner theater on Monday, and rezoned land at 212 and Powers Blvd. to keep the Avienda project moving forward.

http://www.swnewsmedia.com/chanhassen_v ... 2a674.html

http://www.ci.chanhassen.mn.us/1332/Avi ... y-Plat-PUD

That rendering for the Aldi project is about a year out of date. The final project looks nothing like this. Not sure who they got that rendering from.

[SteveXC500]

Waconia is in Carver County, so I felt it belonged in this thread.
It is changing, however. Quite a bit in fact.

Separately, if you go to the Carver County website, they have a tool where you can recommend or share ideas for the 2040 plan. Check it out.

[Anondson]

Yeah it belongs in this thread. As people’s appetite for 30-45 min commutes grows towns as far out as Waconia become “suburbs” as far as they are bedroom commuters for business along the 494/694 belt.

Wish there was a plan to preserve their character and not easily let them bloat with monstrous lot zoning filling in the land between their core and the outer rings.

[seano]

Some initial concepts for downtown Chaska's City Square West redevelopment have been released. (West side of 41 between 3rd and 4th Streets across from the park).

http://www.chaskamn.com/DocumentCenter/View/2276

[candycaneforestelf]

Waconia is a charming lakeside town with a largely urban land use and a walkable street grid. Its wellbeing and bucolic way of life is threatened by sub-urban sprawl.

Very late with this, but having moved to Waconia when I was 7 and having lived there until 2 years ago, it hasn't been predominantly that street grid you speak of use in any of my 18 years living there (and I was an oddball kid obsessed with the town's new developments). Most of the community is suburban subdivision housing, you just don't see most of it if you head into town from the east, because most of the subdivisions built in the '70s, '80s, and '90s were to the south and west of the old town, largely out of view from MN-5. It's gone from 3k in 1990 to 6k in 2000 to 10k in 2010 to ~15k now due to suburban subdivisions. There has been very little meaningful redevelopment in the old grid aside from a few lakeside parcels and parcels with views of the lake from across Lake Street. And I guess the repurposing of the '70s/'80s era Mackenthun's building into a strip mall and the new city hall and library building with senior living apartments built above it, both of which happened 10+ years ago.

TL;DR: Waconia is predominantly suburban and has been for a while, though the proper term is probably exurban instead due to its status as a suburban island in a sea of farmland.

[papazim]

Wish there was a plan to preserve their character and not easily let them bloat with monstrous lot zoning filling in the land between their core and the outer rings.

Oddly enough, I wrote my Master's thesis in Urban Planning on Waconia's small town character and how to preserve it in the face of impending suburbanization. This was right around 2001 and at that point the city was facing new Highway 5 development that appeared to threaten the vitality of the downtown. We had a one day charette (of sorts) and there were some good thoughts thrown about, but ultimately the highway development moved full steam ahead and the suburban residential patterns continued and Waconia became what you see today.

The "old" Waconia around the downtown does have that small town charm; in the rest of the community you could be in any suburb in the county and not know the difference.

[candycaneforestelf]

Some initial concepts for downtown Chaska's City Square West redevelopment have been released. (West side of 41 between 3rd and 4th Streets across from the park).

http://www.chaskamn.com/DocumentCenter/View/2276

Is that proposal supposed to be for the whole block?

Wish there was a plan to preserve their character and not easily let them bloat with monstrous lot zoning filling in the land between their core and the outer rings.

Oddly enough, I wrote my Master's thesis in Urban Planning on Waconia's small town character and how to preserve it in the face of impending suburbanization. This was right around 2001 and at that point the city was facing new Highway 5 development that appeared to threaten the vitality of the downtown. We had a one day charette (of sorts) and there were some good thoughts thrown about, but ultimately the highway development moved full steam ahead and the suburban residential patterns continued and Waconia became what you see today.

The "old" Waconia around the downtown does have that small town charm; in the rest of the community you could be in any suburb in the county and not know the difference.

Was that on things like the McDonald's site, the Dodge dealership relocation, and the Mackenthun's relocation all happening in fairly short order around that time? Or was it more about all the retail that had been springing up along Highway 5 that had come in years prior?