urbanMSP

Must be this building, huh? Based on the shape of the building, there must have been a rail spur that peeled off of here at some point.

Seems like a long haul for the residents. A lot of time sitting on the 22 to get back downtown.

A couple of quick thoughts about RNAV. Landings should have a significantly reduced impact for all but the closest in homes. This is because, under current landing procedures, planes land in an inefficient stair-step profile. In this scenario, the plane descends to an elevation and then must hold th...

By my observation, these rail lines are pretty busy, including a fair amount of jockeying in and out of the switching yard. In addition, it's not uncommon to have train engines idling along this stretch, belching out diesel fumes. Don't count on leaving your windows open for a breath of fresh air if...

Yeah, my sense is that there may still be a glut on the luxury end, but that there's probably still room for somebody on the lower end. This part of town could actually could be a great location for an Ace Hotel.

For these things to happen the city will need to drastically reduce parking requirements and how they zone areas (or don't).

City parking requirements are not driving any of this.

Anything is artificially "nearby" at 60MPH on the freeway. Actually nearby is a different thing entirely. Isn't that the beauty of terms like "nearby"? I've read articles about "Nearby Galaxies" and I am pretty sure that they are further away than National Camera. As y...

This is misleading:
"The Green Line has been built on 11 miles of exclusive right of way"
That implies grade separation or no crossings.

Not really misleading. It clearly does have its own right of way. How else would you describe the situation?

Chill, folks. If this were the last parking lot in the area, and the city were sitting on it for no good reason, then I'd see an issue. As it is, there's a lot of recent activity, but certainly no lack of available locations left to develop for an interested developer. Everything's a f'n travesty wi...

I know Grainger is included. Did you look at the parcel map I linked to? The lot it sits on gets skinny.

I suppose you could call that section of 5th Ave SE a street in its current incarnation. At least there's a public right of way there, if not much in the way of actual street. I don't recall if Prince Street (the former rail corridor splitting the Pillsbury parcel) becomes public or quasi-public in ...

OK, I lied. I did have time to look it up. But I was correct, it is convoluted.

Assuming that they don't cut a deal for a portion of the Thresher Square land, the parcel gets really skinny behind Grainger.

I assume that Advance Thresher owns that parking lot and wouldn't want to let it be developed. As I've discussed previously, it would seriously impact the rentable value of the office space on that side property lines. Right now, they've got a view (not a great one, but a view) and light. There's a ...

I thought everybody just took pictures with their phone now...

I agree that double turn lanes should generally be avoided, but there are probably some instances where they are justified, and this is probably one of them.

Depending on how it gets set up, the TIF district could also be capturing the value of existing properties whose values increased (as a result of the streetcar, or due to general appreciation, or even just due to inflation), not just new developments.

Didn't Portland fund their streetcar with a TIF-like tool? And isn't everything that Portland does the model that we're supposed to be following? Seriously, I'd need to see the numbers crunched on this, but I wouldn't rule it out before seeing them. And I agree that a special assessment would be a h...

Given the recent history of those two unions, I'd be less inclined to vote for a candidate receiving their endorsement.

Apparently, this building will be set back slightly from the property line because they're using the old foundation walls in lieu of sheet piling while building the new foundations. An interesting wrinkle.

Presumably they have parents...

Not necessarily. The British have made great advances over the last few years in asexual budding.

I am the walrus?