urbanMSP

MPR offers some more details about the ongoing work. http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2013/10/23/business/amtrak-union-depot Sounds like it will happen after Thanksgiving. I am looking forward to trains rolling in there, and would like to be aboard one of the first ones to leave SPUD. I ...

I posted this pontification in the Penfield thread, but I think it deserves a thread of its own. I do wonder about others my age moving into some of these new apartments in downtown Mpls and Uptown, not to mention the ones in college renting the new places popping up in Dinkytown. Some of my colleag...

The city needs to divest itself from this and the Farmers Market Lofts - ASAP. It has no business operating, running, or owning an apartment building. Plus, a private entity could undoubtedly do a better job running this place at a tidy profit. I do wonder about others my age moving into some of the...

*AUGH*! That was such an asinine move! One of the reasons the company I worked for moved out of the building is because it was difficult for our clients to even enter the building from the street. Dumb, dumb, dumb. It's sometimes painful for me to watch what the current management has done to that b...

http://www.twincities.com/stpaul/ci_243 ... nion-depot

No date announced yet, but at least we are close to having Amtrak finally roll in there!

Well, have either of you had the "pleasure" of talking to or working with the general manager? She's... ermmmm.... an odd duck -- to say the least! The last time I was in there, it looked like they replaced the old false ceiling and light fixtures in the only updated elevator with a simple...

Union Depot has also been posting pics of the track alignment. https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set ... 455&type=1

There are some people who haven't ever been on a train, but get their mental image as seen the choo-choos in Western movies.

Then, there are other people who use that as an "acceptable" anti-rail argument.

http://www.twincities.com/business/ci_24308401/st-pauls-downtown-office-market-looks-light-rail I apologize in advance, as I wasn't sure whether to place it in the Transportation forum or St Paul forum. Either way, interesting piece in the Pioneer Press. I had no idea downtown ST Paul's occupancy ra...

This building has been bastardized beyond all recognition compared to its original form. Hard to believe the old bones are still there!

Do you work in Galtier/Cray Plaza?

Those elevators have had problems for years - the flood a couple years back certainly didn't help. I used to live and work in the building. The apartment elevators were often on the fritz as well. Old 80s technology.

http://www.twincities.com/politics/ci_24267709/ramsey-county-bonding-priorities-include-15-6-million Buried in this article, but worth noting... They also include $10 million for an engineering study to alleviate bottlenecks in the east metro's freight railway network, mostly in St. Paul's Hoffman Y...

"experience Union Depot as it comes to life "

I don't think that is alluding to Amtrak starting soon. There would probably be some sort of press release about the start of Amtrak service and a celebration.

Seems relevant enough to deserve its own thread. I wonder what they plan will have these look like? Prince St currently just peters off.

http://www.twincities.com/stpaul/ci_242 ... emade-rail

This won't be the only shed in a downtown area of the Twin Cities.

This one in Minneapolis is far more visible, and far more ramshackle.

^Bingo! I think it fits rather nicely, and the quality of the finishes is superb. The old lobby was too small and cramped. When I went to concerts I would "hold it" to avoid the crush of humanity. I am having a difficult time seeing how it conflicts with the rest of the building's architec...

http://www.twincities.com/ci_24182561 When Dave Thune starts yelping about something, chances are it is a good or functional idea. Case in point: he is against placing a shed behind the LRT maintenance facility. I love beautiful architecture as much as the next person. But this is going in an area p...

In defense of Dave Thune (which makes me feel dirty, but I'll do it anyway...) there isn't exactly a hopping market for brand new retail, office, or living space in downtown St Paul. Besides the surface lot across Wabasha, there's three or four other big empty lots in the core that would be candida...

The arrival of Burlington Coat Factory tends to signify that a dying mall has "jumped the shark". I am in constant awe of slow-witted Dave Thune: City council Member Dave Thune has taken a dim view of the idea of a new office tower or apartments. In a June 7 email to Bedor, Thune asked the...