urbanMSP

Just happened across this page on the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's website about the Superior Plating building at University and 1st Ave NE. http://www.pca.state.mn.us/index.php/waste/waste-and-cleanup/cleanup-programs-and-topics/topics/remediation-sites/copy-of-twin-cities-army-ammunition-p...

I think most of the electronic signs have been flipped forward to face traffic now. I saw a test pattern on one about a week ago.

Hmm, I don't think I've heard anything specifically about this church (Stadium Village Church, formerly Bethany Presbyterian) -- there are a lot of them near campus, particularly near Dinkytown, so it's hard to keep track. I just remember having ire for this one back when I was a freshman at the U, ...

Anyone know what's going on at this block on the northeast corner of Fulton and Oak Streets by the UMN's Superblock? Looks like about half the block has been cleared over the past several years. The vertical aerials seem to show one less property than the 45-degree shots from the previous year. Rona...

Looking at Google's aerials, it looks like this adjacent building has been torn down, I'm guessing as part of this project. No love lost for that little single-story structure, but I wonder if it'll turn into anything other than a parking lot...

The prices are going to be lowered by $1 starting August 1st, and the reduction will run until April, according to the Strib article from the other day. http://www.startribune.com/local/north/161518155.html Anyway, with Northstar on my mind, I began wondering about the planned layout of the Foley Bo...

They've excavated for the second phase of this project -- looking at Google's vertical aerials, I was reminded that cars and buses were temporarily routed on what was an empty patch of grass as the first phase of construction happened. Part of the building is built as a bridge over the regular entra...

I guess it's fairly old news at this point, but it sounds like the contracts are getting finalized -- Jones Lang LaSalle of Chicago will manage the retail spaces at the depot, while One on One Bicycle Studio will run the bike center.

Oh, I figured I'd mention that I was on an eastbound #3 bus today which skipped past the zig-zag up the ramp to Cedar Avenue and back down again on the southeast side -- Not sure if the driver just missed the turn or if they've officially decided that the turn is too sharp at the bottom of that ramp.

You just need to add another segment to the train and another articulation joint. As long as the length between the trucks/bogies is fairly short, it'll work. Browsing through images online, Siemens makes longer vehicles for lines outside the U.S., but I haven't found an American service using them....

I think it'd work, but you just have to be willing to block traffic -- a pretty hard sell. However, the better solution is just to increase service frequency. But, on a related thought, I've often wondered why the new Siemens LRVs are being made the same length as the existing Bombardier ones. Since...

Looks like there's some activity going on in the Seward Commons area, a TOD site which is a bit on the fringe of the Franklin Avenue station area. There are several connected/adjacent buildings along Minneapolis's Snelling Avenue between Cedar Avenue and East 24th Street. Free Geek Twin Cities had m...

Taking a random outing on the Hiawatha Line today, I noticed that the road reconstruction project at 22nd Street East is nearly done, with striping on the road surface. A brand new intersection with Cedar Avenue just south of Franklin. It also includes reconstructing a little bit of Minneapolis's Sn...

It's been said in the past, but I'll go ahead and say it again -- Ideally, the skyway system can rougly double the amount of leasable frontage in the downtown core. It actually would have been really amazing if downtown was suffering from a shortage of good retail space and the skyways had come in t...

Two years ago, the Star Tribune ran a Whistleblower column and video on 33rd Avenue Southeast, way on the eastern edge of Minneapolis between Hennepin Ave and Como Ave, is one of the last unpaved roads in the city. Because it's mostly composed of dirt that has been oiled down considerably over the y...

2014 for the new light-rail platforms, roughly coinciding with the Central Corridor opening (though I'm doubtful it'll quite get finished by the time that's running). Who knows about Phase 2, though... I'm sure they'll try to get things timed so it will be operating by the time the next commuter or ...

No, the article was only talking about the purchase of land on the southeast corner of the intersection, across the street from the potential Trader Joe's site. Obviously, if they put a liquor store on the east side of the street, that would prevent TJ's or anyone else who develops the west side fro...

It's just a feature of the regular Google Maps app. I think you have to be physically at the location for it to work, though. I haven't really followed the ins and outs of what's going on with the next version of iOS. It was kind of sounding to me like Apple may loosen the rules to allow more 3rd-pa...

Google Maps has a special extra layer that appears when you visit the Mall of America. They should do something similar with the skyways. I'm not sure how many places they have in their indoor mapping system yet, though -- the MoA is probably the only place in the state right now.

Yep, Binh Le, owner of Lake Wine & Spirits. Sounds like the purchase leaves the old project at the site (by Don Gerberding of Master Properties Minnesota) a bit up in the air -- a plan for an 11,000 s.f. liquor store and a new 4,000 s.f. building for the Flanders Bros. Cycle company that's curre...