North Loop Neighborhood

[ztr421]

Reps from Greco and Opus and the guys from Modist Brewery gave small presentations to the Bookmen Lofts and Stacks residents last night about 314 6th Avenue North and the tap room project, respectively, given that we’re all going to be neighbors. Something I found amusing – the Greco/Opus guys were in sport coats and relatively polished and serious. The Modist guys were totally casual, jokey, and generally having a fun time.

Greco/Opus told us that they’re now fully approved by the city. They plan to close on the purchase of the land by the end of the year, with a construction start date in January 2016. Of concern to the Bookmen buildings is the 314 building’s impact on sunlight, construction (daytime schedule, pile driving), and traffic (maybe these weren't “concerns,” but they were questions that were asked). They’re still working with their civil engineers to determine the best method for piles. Not really much was revealed that isn’t already in the city planning documents. They’re still researching the bricks that they’ll use, because they don’t want to end up with bricks that will look like they’re painted white.

The Modist Brewery guys submitted their final applications to the city earlier this week and hope for approval in the next few weeks (I’m assuming they mean building permits?). They’ve started interior demolition on the building, but can’t start the build-out until they get city approval. Sadly they actually don’t plan to be open until December because their big equipment shipment is scheduled for November (I thought I’d heard this summer, which would have been an impressive turn-around…). They’ll be selling large cans instead of glass growlers, and self-distributing (so smaller vans vs. large trucks/semis). No silo is planned until they need it, but it will be shorter/wider than Fulton’s (they apparently made theirs as tall as possible to be visible from the freeway entrance). Small patio on the southern corner of the building (along 5th and the alley). The entrance to the tap room will be through a new door on 5th Ave and they'll have a new 5th Ave address; this will hopefully keep a lot of the foot traffic away from the Bookmen buildings (and specifically out of the private driveway/alley between Modist and the Bookmen Lofts). The 3rd St entrance to the building will remain but they’ll be subleasing a small space there as office space. The roof will be converted to a green roof. It looks like it’ll be a pretty fun place.

PS – one of the residents asked about the 729 building and I posted a bit in that thread about it.

[swallman]

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.

We recently lived in ElseWarehouse and it had 2 guest suites (1 BR and 2 BR) and they're pretty frequently booked. My mom came to stay and she used one for 2 nights...it was really convenient.

[dbaur31]

^ Heritage Landing had a guest suite, too. So does Copham I believe, which is another Greco project like Else and 314 6th. Seems to be a thing of theirs. Didn't end up using it at Heritage, but I thought it was nice that it was there.

[swallman]

Our current building (Junction Flats) also has one.

[uptown067]

Just out of curiosity, how much do those places charge? For reference, Elan is charging $150/night.

[Wedgeguy]

Are they like a mini apartment or like a hotel suite??

[swallman]

Else charged 150 for 2 bedrooms and 100 for 1 bedroom... They were basically full apartments with a kitchen.

I think it's 90 for the 1 bedroom here at JF.

[dbaur31]

Heritage charged around $100, IIRC. Pretty sure it was an apartment they just held open for visitors, but I never actually saw it. The one at Copham also served as their show model for prospective renters, which is how I came to see it.

[NLDenizen]

Reps from Greco and Opus and the guys from Modist Brewery gave small presentations to the Bookmen Lofts and Stacks residents last night about 314 6th Avenue North and the tap room project, respectively, given that we’re all going to be neighbors.

I was at that meeting as well. It sounded like the Greco/Opus project would entail a 12-14 month construction period which would put it at a March 2017 completion date if they start as expected in January.

Very psyched for the Modist brewery and what they have planned. They seemed well prepared for this operation given their individual backgrounds and the fact that this has been in the works amongst them for quite some time. I have to wonder though if there'll be a saturation point soon in the craft brewery space between this, Fulton, Freehouse, and Lucid all being within a few blocks of each other, not to mention actual bars that serve their beer. If anything, I definitely expect to see more PedalPubs cruising around the neighborhood this time next year...

[FISHMANPET]

TIL (well, yesterday) that the Star Tribune printing plants is train serviced:

[PigsEye]

TIL (well, yesterday) that the Star Tribune printing plants is train serviced:

Are they going to start going green and delivering newspapers by train? Would be very "hipster cool" if they did!

[Chava]

TIL (well, yesterday) that the Star Tribune printing plants is train serviced:

That's funny. I used to live across the street. The first time I heard the train, I thought it was somewhere off in the distance and didn't bother to look out the window. The second time, I couldn't believe my eyes. It's kind of surreal to watch it go inside the building. The train looks far longer than the building is, and I always expected it to blast through the wall onto 8th ave. I also noticed that they seemed to go back up the tracks and return with new loads, so somewhere up the tracks they must be staging thousands of rolls of papyrus(hipster for paper).

[HiawathaGuy]

Reps from Greco and Opus and the guys from Modist Brewery gave small presentations to the Bookmen Lofts and Stacks residents last night about 314 6th Avenue North and the tap room project, respectively, given that we’re all going to be neighbors.

I was at that meeting as well. It sounded like the Greco/Opus project would entail a 12-14 month construction period which would put it at a March 2017 completion date if they start as expected in January.

Very psyched for the Modist brewery and what they have planned. They seemed well prepared for this operation given their individual backgrounds and the fact that this has been in the works amongst them for quite some time. I have to wonder though if there'll be a saturation point soon in the craft brewery space between this, Fulton, Freehouse, and Lucid all being within a few blocks of each other, not to mention actual bars that serve their beer. If anything, I definitely expect to see more PedalPubs cruising around the neighborhood this time next year...

I'm very pysched for Modist as well, along with Lucid. We love Fulton and frequent it often. We tried Freehouse for the first time 2 weeks ago... I must admit, I wasn't all that impressed. The food was 'okay' and the beer fell far short of what I was hoping to have. So we walked to Fulton afterwards.

I think the neighborhood can certainly support the craft breweries, as they really have their own following. So I welcome a few more to the neighborhood!

[amiller92]

I'm very pysched for Modist as well, along with Lucid. We love Fulton and frequent it often. We tried Freehouse for the first time 2 weeks ago... I must admit, I wasn't all that impressed. The food was 'okay' and the beer fell far short of what I was hoping to have. So we walked to Fulton afterwards.

I think the neighborhood can certainly support the craft breweries, as they really have their own following. So I welcome a few more to the neighborhood!

Freehouse is Blue Plate Group, which I generally like, but you just want your craft brewer to be a bit less corporate, don't you?

[HiawathaGuy]

Freehouse is Blue Plate Group, which I generally like, but you just want your craft brewer to be a bit less corporate, don't you?

Yes, I guess that factors into things a bit. I too generally like Blue Plate locations - but honestly, I didn't really care for their beer all that much. Sort of like Lyndale Tap House or Herkimer or Rock Bottom. I'll drink them, but I don't crave them like Fulton, Surly, Indeed, etc. I'm still very thankful that Freehouse is in the neighborhood, and welcome any other food places to the area!

[Didier]

I actually think the Freehouse beer is solid, and the Blue Plate restaurants have some really good deals on the house beer. The overall quality at my local Blue Plate, Longfellow Grill, has gone down a bit over the years though.

[twincitizen]

Photo requests? I'm out trespassing

[Wedgeguy]

Photo requests? I'm out trespassing

Western container and Cameron

[twincitizen]

Photo requests? I'm out trespassing

Western container and Cameron

Got those, plus T3, Be The Match, and District 600

[Wedgeguy]

Got those, plus T3, Be The Match, and District 600

Fasthorse, or what ever the building that they added upward behind the Brumsfield and next to the Gurley on 8th or ninth just south of Washington. 920 in think the address is.