Search found 36 matches

by Brenns
July 24th, 2017, 8:16 am
Forum: Minneapolis - North, Northeast, and Southeast / University of Minnesota
Topic: Rafter - 333 Hennepin Ave E (290' - 26 stories)
Replies: 328
Views: 91098

Re: Mortenson / USBank site - 333 Hennepin Ave E (~28 stories / 280 units)

condo buildings in Dinkytown/Stadium Village You mean the apartments that were desperately needed for the area to mitigate a surge of students that desired living closer to campus? Or are we talking about the architectural features, which I can somewhat understand? In a way. :roll: Yes, the archite...
by Brenns
July 21st, 2017, 12:10 pm
Forum: Minneapolis - North, Northeast, and Southeast / University of Minnesota
Topic: Rafter - 333 Hennepin Ave E (290' - 26 stories)
Replies: 328
Views: 91098

Re: Mortenson / USBank site - 333 Hennepin Ave E (~28 stories / 280 units)

I don't like it, but it's not as outrage inducing as half the condo buildings in Dinkytown/Stadium Village, or the White Castle/Holiday cluster happening down the block. They did an adequate job addressing the lack of transparency along 4th, and if I hold my hand over the white/gray/orange tower par...
by Brenns
July 18th, 2017, 2:23 pm
Forum: Minneapolis - Downtown
Topic: Target Center Renovation
Replies: 548
Views: 129349

Re: Target Center Renovation

I am very skeptical of how this turd will polish up. IMO, the biggest problem with the Target Center is that half the building has no interface with the street at sidewalk level and cuts a huge wall across the neighborhood. I'm not seeing how a couple curtain walls and some new Trespa will more than...
by Brenns
June 23rd, 2017, 4:01 pm
Forum: Minneapolis - North, Northeast, and Southeast / University of Minnesota
Topic: Upper Harbor Terminal
Replies: 69
Views: 39080

Re: Upper Harbor Terminal

He posted some pictures of it on Instagram too. I know not everyone loves his projects, me included in some regard. But it would be monumental if we at least got some consulting by BIG for the site. Same here. I'm really not a fan of his particular brand of "diagram architecture," but if ...
by Brenns
June 23rd, 2017, 11:56 am
Forum: Minneapolis - North, Northeast, and Southeast / University of Minnesota
Topic: Northeast and Southeast Minneapolis - General Topics
Replies: 964
Views: 340135

Re: Northeast (and Southeast) - General Topics

Definitely makes me feel less likely to vote for Reich.
Unfortunately, as of the convention his only real opponent seems to have acquired absolutely zero knowledge of city planning or zoning. She could not name a single committee when asked in the Q&A session.
by Brenns
May 31st, 2017, 8:31 am
Forum: Minneapolis - North, Northeast, and Southeast / University of Minnesota
Topic: 700 Central Avenue Northeast Apartments
Replies: 127
Views: 94779

Re: 700 Central Avenue Northeast Apartments

Wow that skyline shots really shows how terrible the roads are in that neighborhood. Red Stag is a pretty awful place to eat outside because of the roads over here. Semis come screaming down First Ave just feet from your table, rattling everything, making it smelly and impossible to hold a conversa...
by Brenns
April 21st, 2017, 11:26 am
Forum: Minneapolis - North, Northeast, and Southeast / University of Minnesota
Topic: Rafter - 333 Hennepin Ave E (290' - 26 stories)
Replies: 328
Views: 91098

Re: Mortenson / USBank site - 333 Hennepin Ave E (~28 stories / 280 units)

It wouldn't be so bad if it weren't so wide along the north-south direction, and so uniform. There's absolutely no articulation in height or plan to break up the huge mass above the parking platform. The giant windowless service core running along the east elevation...yikes.
by Brenns
April 12th, 2016, 11:19 am
Forum: Minneapolis - Downtown
Topic: Downtown Minneapolis Restaurant News
Replies: 1261
Views: 524387

Re: Downtown Minneapolis Restaurant News

Also, I know Russel and worked with him in the past before he was a "famous" chef. He is a grade A douche. I think he is having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that competition is tougher in Minneapolis than in St Paul, and he just wasn't good enough. I'm not at all surprised - ...
by Brenns
January 25th, 2016, 10:09 am
Forum: Minneapolis - North, Northeast, and Southeast / University of Minnesota
Topic: Northeast and Southeast Minneapolis - General Topics
Replies: 964
Views: 340135

Re: Northeast (and Southeast) - General Topics

first and foremost a project should be appropriately sized to market demand For me, this is where the pro-tower sentiment comes in. But what happens is that a tower is proposed and non-demand reasons are used to force the developer to build something much, much smaller, like what happened at the Ny...
by Brenns
January 20th, 2016, 11:26 am
Forum: Minneapolis - North, Northeast, and Southeast / University of Minnesota
Topic: Northeast and Southeast Minneapolis - General Topics
Replies: 964
Views: 340135

Re: Northeast (and Southeast) - General Topics

This is a general observation, but what is with all the intense pro-tower sentiment? If appropriate, yes, a well-designed tower is great, but first and foremost a project should be appropriately sized to market demand and integrated into the existing neighborhood. Is there a massive shortage in offi...
by Brenns
September 15th, 2015, 3:00 pm
Forum: Minneapolis - North, Northeast, and Southeast / University of Minnesota
Topic: Montage (Nye's redevelopment) - 116 E Hennepin Avenue
Replies: 581
Views: 85435

Re: Nye's Redevelopment - 100 block of E Hennepin Avenue

To anyone pointing in the direction of the Artist lofts for affordable housing, I suggest you look at the income requirements - the cap on income for a single person renting a ~$950/mo unit I believe is around 38K. I appreciate this project, but this model is NOT a panacea for any kind of widespread...
by Brenns
September 15th, 2015, 11:42 am
Forum: Minneapolis - North, Northeast, and Southeast / University of Minnesota
Topic: Montage (Nye's redevelopment) - 116 E Hennepin Avenue
Replies: 581
Views: 85435

Re: Nye's Redevelopment - 100 block of E Hennepin Avenue

The problem of affordable housing in most cases is not evil developers conspiring to keep prices high or whatever, but a simple lack of supply. No, it isn't that simple. The world doesn't work as it does in Econ 101. So what is another way? Asking honestly. We do have a demand problem, at least to ...
by Brenns
March 19th, 2015, 11:48 am
Forum: Minneapolis - North, Northeast, and Southeast / University of Minnesota
Topic: Montage (Nye's redevelopment) - 116 E Hennepin Avenue
Replies: 581
Views: 85435

Re: Nye's Redevelopment - 100 block of E Hennepin Avenue

Zoning can be a justification, not a reason in and of itself. Like anything legal, yes, zoning has reasoning behind it. People didn't just invent it for fun. But (back to the topic at hand), whether or not we think the church is justified or their argument is sound, it would be in the developer's b...
by Brenns
February 10th, 2015, 4:21 pm
Forum: Minneapolis - North, Northeast, and Southeast / University of Minnesota
Topic: Montage (Nye's redevelopment) - 116 E Hennepin Avenue
Replies: 581
Views: 85435

Re: Nye's Polonaise Room - 100 block of E Hennepin Avenue

Don't know what I was expecting, but the treatment of the street level seems very insensitive to the surrounding buildings. They've cleverly done the old trick of slapping some green on the Sketchup model on the Lady of Lourdes side, but that wall is going to be an enormous eyesore regardless, and ...
by Brenns
February 10th, 2015, 4:17 pm
Forum: Minneapolis - North, Northeast, and Southeast / University of Minnesota
Topic: Montage (Nye's redevelopment) - 116 E Hennepin Avenue
Replies: 581
Views: 85435

Re: Nye's Polonaise Room - 100 block of E Hennepin Avenue

Don't know what I was expecting, but the treatment of the street level seems very insensitive to the surrounding buildings. They've cleverly done the old trick of slapping some green on the Sketchup model on the Lady of Lourdes side, but that wall is going to be an enormous eyesore regardless, and i...
by Brenns
February 10th, 2015, 9:56 am
Forum: Minneapolis - Downtown
Topic: RBC Gateway & Four Seasons - 37 stories - 519'
Replies: 2124
Views: 487544

Re: Nicollet Hotel Block

The Duval project always seemed fishy to me. Yes, a gigantic tower at the end of Nicollet would be exciting, iconic, inspirational, etc, and the renderings presented the formal and material qualities of the building in a thoughtful way. But when it comes down to it, the sheer ambition of the project...