Midway Home Depot

[MidwayMadness]

I saw this article a few weeks ago, but I haven't been on the site lately. So here is an article about the proposed store at 94/Snelling/Pascal.



Can Home Depot, Midway coexist?
Home-improvement giant proposes a store that takes neighborhood concerns to heart
BY LAURA YUEN
Pioneer Press

Home Depot plans to build a store on an eyesore vacant lot near one of St. Paul's busiest intersections, but the retailer's proposed sleek design may not be enough to head off another battle of big-box proportions.

The home-improvement giant submitted a plan this week for a store near Snelling Avenue and Interstate 94 that would feature rooftop parking and a glass-enclosed garden center.

The store promises well-paying jobs and efficient use of prime real estate, said Cecile Bedor, the city's planning and economic development director.

"It's the right fit for a piece of property that fronts the freeway," Bedor said. "What are the issues of big box? A sea of parking. They're mitigating that by putting it on the roof."

But some residents tired of area traffic snarls said another car-oriented business doesn't belong in a future light-rail train corridor. Activists have failed to block other suburban-style stores cropping up along University Avenue, such as Aldi, SuperTarget and CVS.

"Big-box just doesn't fit with our community plan and what's best for the neighborhood," said Scott Banas of the Merriam Park Community Council. "Do I see it as a trend? That's a big concern, yes. It creates momentum for additional big-box retail."

If the city approves Home Depot's plan, the store would be the second one operated by a big home-improvement chain along University Avenue. Menards opened about a mile west on University in 2005, and crowds have kept it bustling ever since.

Home Depot was eager to build a store at Lexington Parkway and University Avenue six years ago, but the deal fell through after it became apparent the city would not provide financial assistance. This time around, the chain is not seeking any public subsidy.

Activists are counting on Mayor Chris Coleman to enter the fray. After the city approved the SuperTarget plans in May, Coleman spoke out against sprawling stores with giant parking lots in the Central Corridor. He said St. Paul would aggressively scrutinize future proposals to ensure high-density land use, pedestrian friendliness and living-wage jobs.

"I do think this will put the mayor on the spot," said Brian McMahon, who heads University United, a coalition of business and neighborhood groups. "He said there shall be nothing built that's not supportive of light rail. This is a major transit stop, and Home Depot is clearly not supportive of light rail."

The University and Snelling intersection is one of the Twin Cities' busiest crossroads. McMahon's group said the new Menards increased the area's traffic counts by 5,000 trips a day.

Home Depot, however, appears willing to pacify concerns with a few unconventional twists on the 5-acre site at St. Anthony Avenue and Pascal Street. The 103,000-square-foot building, housed in the largest regional shopping area in the city, would feature a tower and second-story parking lot.

"What they're trying to do is create more of an urban fabric," said Paula Maccabee, a consultant representing RK Midway, which owns the property. "There's been a lot of comments from the community that this commercial area be highly utilized and not have areas of open parking. (Home Depot) has done something pretty special in listening to what people in the community and the city have told them."

Home Depot officials declined to comment Wednesday.

The store would offer more than 180 full- and part-time jobs, and the company plans to recruit heavily from nearby neighborhoods, Maccabee said. Wages would average $13 an hour.

Maccabee said the site has been vacant or used for overflow surface parking for nearly 50 years.

Home Depot could get company from other big chains. Lowe's and Best Buy last year approached City Council Member Debbie Montgomery about the possibility of building stores on an adjoining vacant parcel owned by Metropolitan Council. Montgomery wasn't sure if they remain interested in the so-called "bus barn" site, but she sees the growth as a boon for her community.

"I've got a ward of people willing and able to work, and they want jobs," Montgomery said.

A public hearing on Home Depot's site plan is expected to go before the zoning committee of the Planning Commission in late March. The Atlanta-based retailer is not seeking any zoning changes.

[jhop]

While I'm not a fan of this suburban style development, home depot does have a sweet idea for roof parking. Thats where my support ends.

If all big box did this, we could easily double the develop able land maximize space. I wouldn't mind this, but I could think of a million better plans for this entire bus parking area.

Saint Paul is becoming the biggest suburb in the Twin Cities. ::cries::

[nickmgray]

I agree that the only good idea that was in that article was for rooftop parking. I think that rooftop parking needs to be a requirement for ALL big box retailers that want to build inside Minneapolis and St. Paul. It's the only way to really encourage urban lifestyles and have pedestrian friendly stores.

[jhop]

Imagine that whole area big box. ::cringes:: I really dislike this area with MidWay Center and all the other big box uglies.

I won't say more about it except that I do agree that ALL big box within the Mpls/St Paul boundaries have rooftop parking, unless they want to built a mixed use with housing on top -- then underground parking for residents and a ramp for customers is in order.

//end rant//

[talindsay]

Guys, while in concept I want to dislike this proposal, have any of you been in that area? Because of the way it's tucked behind big box retail against the highway, this area is *DEAD* - no pedestrians, just acres of parking lots, light industrial, and low-density commercial. Even though it's so close to Snellinga and University, this isn't a pedestrian-friendly area, and this street doesn't have the slightest urban feel to it. With the back of the strip mall facing the street, it feels more like a loading dock or industrial access area than a street.

I think that if St. Paul had the cojones to redevelop this whole area according to a tightly-defined master plan of building out University & Snelling into a walkable community like the dt mpls mill district, it could flourish and be quite successful. But as long as all the other big box retail, parking lots, truck and bus storage, etc. are around here, this lot isn't going to make much of a difference. Tucked away as it is at essentially a dead end (I know, there's a bridge over the freeway, but still...), this is just the kind of place where one might dump a big box home improvement store. Even with this plan, it will make the area nicer and actually help shift things to a *higher* density in that immediate area. It will make this street feel more active, as opposed to the industrial dump it currently seems to be.

It's just disgusting just how low the density is between University and the freeway along this stretch.

[jhop]

Yes, I worked at the Cash N Pawn for about two years and have walked across these parking lots too many times to want to admit.

I agree, the area is already screwed -- This lightrail is years too late to make the Midway an area to be pleased about.

Now, we must half-ass this and infill as much as possible.

As for the Home Depot, they really should run a street between theses lots and the parking lot behind MC and line it with trees and other goodies.

The lots really don't get used for parking in back. I see many use it as a car sales lot for private sales. What a waste of good real estate (it could valuable, provided big box didn't choke out it's street appeal). < that, and the highway one way frontage, which is St. Anthony Ave.

[minnehahapolis]

Just because the area isn't urban now should not imply that we should build this proposal and ensure that it will never become so. Not all investment is good investment. "The store promises well-paying jobs and efficient use of prime real estate, said Cecile Bedor, the city's planning and economic development director. C'mon, was it opposite day at city hall? $13 is not a living wage, but that is another tangent. I'm not angered by Home Depot itself, but it can do better. They should realize the potential and the limitations of building on an urban site. Perhaps building a two story building would decrease the footprint. (go up the escalator for things like paint and other smaller goods) On the extra land build mid to highrise office, retail or residential space. Parking could be underground (yes, more expensive for the international corporation) and the roof of the two story Home Depot could be a green roof or communal space. If Home Depot feels the store will be profitable, they can pay the added costs. If they don't, we can moth-ball the land for a time when it will be too valuable for this wanton development. Of course, this building will generously use architecturally materials in a tasteful manner.

[Metalcreek]

The jobs would certainly be welcomed in that area.

[jhop]

The jobs would certainly be welcomed in that area.

So would quality infill.

Jobs and quality can coexist ya know.

[MNdible]

Debbie Montgomery has absolutely no urban vision in her. Her comments in this article are pretty tame, but other quotes by her in other articles show that she simply does not understand Transit Oriented Development.

I think I noted this elsewhere, but she was quoted in another article regarding increasing density along the Central Corridor that she didn't think it was a good idea because neighbors would lose their views. Views of what?

[MidwayMadness]

I'm actually ok with this plan. I used to live directly across the interstate from this site and it needs SOMETHING. This site is suitable for only a few uses and retail is probably the best. I just want to see some office/hotel development in the area in the years leading up to the train.

[jhop]

I think I noted this elsewhere, but she was quoted in another article regarding increasing density along the Central Corridor that she didn't think it was a good idea because neighbors would lose their views. Views of what?

Crap! I'm going to lose my view of the i94 corridor and that lush expanse of...dirt and parking.

OMFG!

ha... shes crazy. I doubt she lives in the Midway with that kind of quote.

[talindsay]

Sorry guys, I'd love to see the Central Corridor dotted with high-density mixed-use retail and residential, but it's not happening in my lifetime. There are higher-value parcels along University, and there are lower-value parcels; this is an extremely low-value parcel, and surrounding values would have to skyrocket before this lot were useful for anything more dense than this proposal.

If this building doesn't take up the lot, then it will be surrounded with parking lots, not with office and retail towers. This is formerly light-industrial land that's pretty cheap and certainly doesn't merit building up. If it fronted University, I'd be all pissed about this atrocity and how it needs to go up; but this is in a back lot in a light-industrial, undesirable chunk of land. Seriously, the city of St. Paul is lucky to get a proposal for this land that calls for something as enlightened as rooftop parking.

I'm not sure why Home Depot is doing that, since they'll have about ten acres of parking lot behind them. It's clearly a real concession on Home Depot's part to make a building that fronts its street, and it's driving their costs up to do that - clearly they think they'll get lots of business, and they think it's worth spending some extra bucks to get in a spot as central as the new Menards.

Anyway, think of this in comparison to the Super Target that's going in - the Super Target is sitting on a valuable space of land right in front of a future light rail station, fronting University, and their idea of concessions to urban design is to put trees in their acres of parking. Home Depot is building on a side street off University that's likely to sit empty for a decade or more if this isn't built there, and they're coming up with a reasonable plan to fit into the surrounding fabric. If the whole strip mall in front of it, the Super Target, the Wal-Mart, and the Rainbow get sucked up in a tornado and there's a fantastic chance to rebuild the whole area, then I'll be worried about this. It's not bad.

[MidwayMadness]

The reason Home Depot decided to pursue this new compact plan with the parking on the roof is because they and Best Buy have already been defeated with a much more suburban plan a few years ago. They clearly want the site bad and they figured out how to do it that will likely get the n'hood approval. I wouldn't be surprised if Best Buy came back with a more "urban" plan.

[jhop]

^ sneaky lil guys, ay?