urbanMSP

Have we at all thought about just using the site as a streetcar barn again? It wouldn't be cheap to bring it up to modern standards, but you couldn't really ask for a better site. Wow, this is one dumb idea that just won't die. No, it would be a terrible site. This is no longer an industrial area, ...

The Nicollet Island East Bank Neighborhood Association website has some additional information:

http://niebna.com/

They say that ESG Architects has been selected to design the new development.

There's a sign up in the window of the space saying they will be opening soon, or something to that effect. About a month ago the HPC gave them permission to put a sign up on the outside of the building.

Random/off topic: https://www.google.com/maps/@44.97674,-93.272383,3a,47y,277.64h,118.03t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sXEzqGtOBKOq6jB_xyAM2rw!2e0 When did Macy's start covering their windows? Surely they kept them way back when, but what might have led to the decision to cover them? I would think more flexi...

Love the hypocrisy from those who post on this site. Many rant and rant about how we continue to get the same boring buildings going up - uninspiring, unimaginative bla bla bla and equally how great it would be for out-state developers/architects to come into the Twin Cities market. We get a an ama...

The most enticing renderings are the ones that show a lot of trees and greenery. That's really what's lacking on the mall and what most people seem to want. I have this feeling that there's some over-thinking going on in the design. I think the 7th and Nicollet depictions greatly exaggerate the ammo...

I was able to track down descendents of the original owner of my 1880 house using Ancestry.com which accesses a lot of different records in addition to the census. It's a little pricey, but you could just join for one month, get all your research down and then drop it. The Hennepin County Library ha...

] It seems a damn shame to tear down that house, not only because of its age but its design. How many houses like that do we have in the city? While it's an attractive building and houses two cherished small businesses, there is nothing specifically historic or significant about this 1-story brick b...

I think it's unfair (and a little lazy) to blame skyways on the demise of street level activity. The first skyways opened in the early 1960's and within 10 years we had a fairly extensive network. However from the 1960's into the 1980's we still had a lot of street level activity. The decline had a ...

'Mayo Clinic Square' has a very 1970s ring to it.

I think anything with "square'" in it has a 70's ring. The 1970's was a very square decade.

It's too bad the Fuji-Ya building can't be saved. It was at the very begining of the riverfront renaissance long before anything else, and as such it's historic in its own right. According to the park board, the building is in poor condition, but I wonder if that may be due to the fact that they fai...

I believe that when Donaldson's was originally there most (but not all) of the ground floor bays along Nicollet and part way down 6th and 7th had display windows.

I think any restaurant would have a much better chance of success in the old Forum space if they gave it more streetfront presence. Even with signage and awnings, it really tends to get lost and overlooked. It would be wonderful if they could design a facade for the space that would reflect the inte...

I would hardly consider a playing field or skating rink to be a "signature feature". You can find them in practically every neighborhood park. And why can't they get rid of that 1/3 block apartment so there's at least one full block dedicated to park (real park, not tailgate lot). Sorry to...

The eastern block (closest to the stadium) will be left mostly open to accommodate events put on by the Vikings and the Minnesota Sports Facility Authority (MSFA).

In other words it will be a tailgating lot.

If any City Center renovations are made, I hope they would consider an outdoor skyway stair connection like the one that was proposed for the IDS block. City Center is really where something like this is needed, not IDS.

A new restaurant called Hen House Eatery is planned to take the place of Peter's Grill, which closed is June after nearly 100 years in the Baker Center.

That's good news! That was a really big, visible empty space. I hope they try to keep some of the old Peter's decor.

It's a shame that it can't remain as office space because it's really much better suited for that than residential, unless a lot of disfiguring alterations are made. The original renovation was actually very creative in dealing with the lack of windows. It's too bad that they can't find a major tena...

That was a lovely old house. I can't imagine what kind of crap will replace it.

Betty Crocker Field