urbanMSP

Not exactly the same situation, but the apartments at W Lake St and Knox offer a pretty good comparison on the alley setback. From the looks of it, there's 0' (or near zero) setback and nearly solid massing at the alley. Doesn't look great, but it doesn't bother me either.

I was hoping there would be trees down the central median--something to provide height, interest, and shade. I don't see those pastel flower beds(?) holding up well, even with routine maintenance that this stretch has consistently lacked. I hope they at least plant something that blocks the headligh...

If it's all the same, then why even mention scaling in the Uptown Small Area Plan? I take is there's a reason why advocates want a gradual progression. Again, I can see why voids in a neighborhood are a problem. I just can't find reasons why this type of scenario is seen as a problem. You know, beyo...

I went to the monthly CARAG meeting last night, where there was a 45 min presentation and discussion of the new hotel. Many positives and negatives were brought up, but much of the discussion revolved around scale. The developer seemed to pick certain phrases from the Uptown Small Area Plan which su...

Induced pedestrian demand will occur if the road becomes convenient and pleasant. Additional destinations certainly help, but are not required. This is similar to how additional lanes on a highway induce demand without additional destinations. At any rate, I've been hearing that there will be additi...

Have there ever been plans on this project to introduce a crosswalk, maybe with lights (like the one at 31st and Girard), across Lyndale at 29th Street? I've seen many people cross at this location, myself included, and it takes a while to find a safe gap between the cars. The marked crosswalk might...

Well it looks like they're going to at least build that 5 mile test track, in time, so let's see how that goes first before making broad generalizations about the whole thing being a farce. The obstacles the Silophant mentions would be faced by any intercity transit system. That puts it at roughly t...

I'm sure I'm missing something, but other than the different angle, what's different between those two renderings? Well for one, all three of the outcroppings all have the same material scheme (brick on bottom, cement board (or something) on top) rather than each having a different material color. ...

I like it. It breaks the mold a little bit by not using the 'eyebrow' design popular for many of the new structures going up and introduces unused design elements, like the glassy rectangular breakouts in the tower. Not only do they breakup the offset-checkerboard patterning of the windows, but adds...

The Foshay, Gold Metal Flour, and I believe TCF tower all have lighted signs at the top floor. I don't necessarily mind the 'historic' ones, but with the stadium and the WF towers, I seriously hope this doesn't become a trend.

I guess I should have done the "s/" sarcasm thing: I just think it's a little much is all. The font size they choose is a full city block long. While a quick google search shows that other stadiums did the same thing, I guess it's just not for me. To expand on the Target Field signage furt...

While I get that it's US Bank's purview to plaster their logo all over the place, I find that misplaced logos on buildings cheapen the whole experience. One of the reasons why I think the Minneapolis skyline is beautiful is because of the lack of signs on buildings. I believe good sign examples woul...

I love this promenade. I would find myself taking the dogs for a walk on it before it was fully completed (and having to take 1/2 block detours to 29th) just cause the feel of it is nice. ADA ramps, along with signage to block parking/raise awareness in their vicinity, would complete the thought and...

Throwin' this out there in case it hasn't been said: Move the SB 4 and 6 bus stop from the South end of the jug handle to the NW corner of the Groveland intersection. No significant change for the project, but the 4 wouldn't have to cross the entirety of Hennepin to get on the right street, and have...

Because the developer owns this property, and not the one across the street?

Good point. Still, I'd guess that a developer would have better luck attracting renters when the street life remains vibrant.

I always wonder why we're tearing down buildings when there're flat parking lots across the street. Move this thing one block North (9th and Marquette corner) and add to the street rather than take away from it. Minneapolis would get to keep this potentially historic building intact (and Devil's Adv...

Structural engineer here. From the streetview I'd say that all of the facade panels on the street level would be able to be removed without major retrofit. In other words, there aren't visible structural walls on 6th, Nicollet, and 7th, which leaves just the concrete columns. Several of the bays app...

The connection points could be flattened out, if needed. helsinki's example looks great, in my opinion, too, and could be adapted for this use. From the original concept, I'd also be looking for ways to reduce its size (even though it's not to scale) to increase street-level development along Nicoll...

I seem to recall a design for raising the streetcar out of the greenway at nicollet and potentially merging stops with the nicollet streetcar in this area. This quote got me thinking on ways to potentially interline the Greenway and Nicollet Streetcars, so I came up this this sketch. Basically, it'...