North Loop Neighborhood

[mulad]

Some more info on the expansion of Metro Transit's Heywood campus http://www.startribune.com/metro-transi ... 310682161/

[mattaudio]

Doubling down on a risky location... in a decade, we'll wish this was taxpaying land rather than glorified bus storage. Sort of like how we now regret the garbage burner. Let's not make this mistake, there's plenty of land in the suburbs to store buses.

[FISHMANPET]

Store them at the roof depot site.
*ducks*

[Anondson]

Put the new bus barn on a lid over 94 between Olson Memorial and N 7th, or N 7th and Lyndale, then sell off some of the land owned by Metro Transit.

[mattaudio]

"This is a neighborhood that’s so pro-transit, that we don’t mind having the impacts of that next to where we live.”

Cities thrive on electricity, too, but we don't put power plants in the heart of an urban area.

(oh wait... http://www.hennepin.us/your-government/ ... ery-center )

[Rich]

we don't put power plants in the heart of an urban area

http://www.districtenergy.com

[HiawathaGuy]

"This is a neighborhood that’s so pro-transit, that we don’t mind having the impacts of that next to where we live.”

Cities thrive on electricity, too, but we don't put power plants in the heart of an urban area.

(oh wait... http://www.hennepin.us/your-government/ ... ery-center )

So wait, are you suggesting that the bus barns be placed far from the city center? I'm confused.
How is keeping the bus barns as close to the people using the buses, in a neighborhood that is pro-transit, not a very operationally smart thing to do?!

And FWIW, I'm not a huge advocate of the HERC's location - but I certainly don't fault the city/county for it now. It is what it is. And it's TREMENDOUSLY green! It certainly beats filling up a land fill out by St. Cloud.

[min-chi-cbus]

How about a mixed-use option -- call it a compromise?

[Silophant]

we don't put power plants in the heart of an urban area

http://www.districtenergy.com

Note that that and HERC are district heat plants, and can't be too far from the buildings they're heating.

That being said...
http://www.xcelenergy.com/Company/Opera ... ng_Station
http://www.xcelenergy.com/Company/Opera ... ng_Station



But for real, multi-level structures are a pretty mature technology. It's absurd to have that much space in a hot neighborhood taken up by single-level structures, even if they do have solar panels on top.

[twincitizen]

I'd argue that the expansion site (Heywood II) is a perfectly good location for a bus garage. It's basically a freeway armpit adjacent to other industrial misfits, yet close to downtown.

In a perfect world, starting from scratch, I'd put a multi-level bus garage on the Heywood II site (and/or on a freeway lid) and redevelop the existing Heywood garage site to dense mixed-use. But then again, the HERC is right across the street (and you get the ass end of fresh garbage being delivered). So in my perfect world, the HERC isn't there either. But in this actual world we live in, neither HERC or Heywood I are going anywhere any time soon.

Summary: Heywood II is close to an ideal site for a bus garage. It's really Heywood I and HERC that would ideally be home to more intense land uses, but that just isn't in the cards. Maybe next time around after those facilities have worn out their useful life (30-ish years). In the meantime, let's tear down the 3rd/4th Street viaducts and develop that property, along with the acres and acres of surface parking lots still dominating vast areas of North Loop.

[fehler]

I for one am sick of hearing about freeway lids. There is no market for freeway lids. Open lots are not so scarce that it is financially advantageous to build over freeways. Give it a rest.

[twincitizen]

Heh, the only reason I even mentioned it (in parentheses!) was because someone else brought it up and I didn't want to get counterpoint'd because I left it out.

But yeah, right now in 2015 and probably for at least the next decade, there's little chance of any freeway lid making financial sense. If one does get built, it would almost certainly be the DTE-West Bank one over 35W, though it would be nice to see a smaller, less complicated one go first.

[MNdible]

Yeah, the partial lidding that was down for Target Field plaza was fairly instructive, because it got into the modern requirements that freeway lids/tunnels start to require -- extensive and expensive fume exhaust and blast protection measures once you cover a certain percent/area of freeway. It's not just a matter of throwing a lot of bridge beams across the freeway.

[grant1simons2]

314 6th Ave N goes to planning commission as well. Featuring a 3 bedroom apartment!

http://www.minneapolismn.gov/www/groups ... 143406.pdf

[Archiapolis]

314 6th Ave N goes to planning commission as well. Featuring a 3 bedroom apartment!

http://www.minneapolismn.gov/www/groups ... 143406.pdf

Pretty interesting that this project has "convertible" units and guest suites. I love the guest suite idea, never thought that I'd see a developer devoting this kind of rentable SF to them. I'd love to hear more about the value of this as an amenity to renters.

[RailBaronYarr]

Any thoughts on what would make sense in that big retail spot in the center? It's an odd space without much window access and a narrow entry via that hallway.

[seanrichardryan]

A small scale grocery would be perfect. The header does mention a cross-fit gym though.

[Wedgeguy]

A small scale grocery would be perfect. The header does mention a cross-fit gym though.

As long as their prices are below Whole Paycheck price points, a grocery may work. but I do think there is a small grocery already in the NL around 2nd street and 5th Ave.

[Daboink]

Finally, something affordable to real people! Per the Strib: "Schafer Richardson is hatching a plan to convert the Cameron Transfer and Storage Co. building at 756 N. 4th St. into 44 studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments that will be affordable to those who earn 50 to 60 percent of the area median income."
http://www.startribune.com/north-loop-n ... 312307871/

[VAStationDude]

Lucky duckies with low incomes getting nice housing. Annoying.