Downtown Minneapolis - News & General Topics

Downtown - North Loop - Mill District - Elliot Park - Loring Park
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woofner
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Re: Downtown Minneapolis Urban Planning

Postby woofner » September 26th, 2013, 9:54 pm

The relocation of the Farmers' Market to Oak Lake may have had something to do with a massive successful violent civil disobedience action that had occurred a few years before, the most important event of which had occurred at the previous wholesale market...
"Who rescued whom!"

Minnekid
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Re: Downtown Minneapolis Urban Planning

Postby Minnekid » September 26th, 2013, 10:31 pm

Okay the example I refer to with connected neighborhoods with highways in the city is nyc. There are clearly highways in the city but do they stop on the outskirts and become avenues or is nyc just so huge it doesn't matter?

orangevening
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Re: Downtown Minneapolis Urban Planning

Postby orangevening » September 30th, 2013, 9:43 pm

Build out the streetcar system (mpls was very much shaped by streetcars and they would fit really well in the lines they have planned. Cycletracks on University/4th and a couple DT (besides Washington) and in Uptown would be nice. Move the Farmer's Market like it's been discussed. Do something cool with the Armory. Downtown Bike Center (showers, lockers, storage, repair supplies etc). Create a public square somewhere (parking lot across from the library perhaps)) like Portland's Pioneer Square- Block E would have been prefect for this. Get the East/West bus spine going. Have full system (or inner cities at least) bus maps at bus shelters.

Let me think of more....

MotorCity2TwinCities
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Re: Current & Proposed Downtown Minneapolis Projects

Postby MotorCity2TwinCities » October 4th, 2013, 12:16 pm

I noticed that the small building next to the Hennepin County Human Services Building on Portland Ave between 5th and 6th Streets is being demolished. Anyone know anything about this?

zumf
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Re: Current & Proposed Downtown Minneapolis Projects

Postby zumf » October 4th, 2013, 12:37 pm

Probably not right place for this, but:

http://www.startribune.com/local/minnea ... 51591.html

min-chi-cbus
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Re: Current & Proposed Downtown Minneapolis Projects

Postby min-chi-cbus » October 4th, 2013, 12:38 pm

I doubt this is it, but I heard that HCMC was going to build some large new building to house its existing staff, tear down the original HCMC, and start anew. I had heard this about 2-3 years ago now, for what it's worth, and the person whom told me was on the board for either this project or some group that was heading it.

Whether it happens sooner or later, it will have to happen for the county hospital to be competitive. It's only a matter of time.

*Edit: from the above article: "The future of the plot of land is unknown. For now, Moore said, the corner will be covered in grass and become a temporary park."

Minnekid
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Re: Downtown Minneapolis Urban Planning

Postby Minnekid » October 5th, 2013, 1:40 pm

So I've been reading that archer Daniels midland or adm wants to move it's headquarters. One of the cities is minneapolis, and let's say it picks minneapolis, where would the hq be? They want to move 100 executives and make an IT center with 100 people at the same location. Would it be outside minneapolis? Or inside minneapolis? Would they just occupy a portion of a downtown building or would they build their own? Don't see them building their own since it's not that many people. What building do you think they would go in, if they do decide to be in downtown?

Anondson
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Re: Downtown Minneapolis Urban Planning

Postby Anondson » October 5th, 2013, 7:31 pm

Western suburbs would put them near the HQs of both General Mills and Cargill and even Supervalu. My guess they wouldn't wish to build new though there is a plot for redevelopment between the Cargill campus in Hopkins and Supevalu warehouse operations practically adjacent to the future Hopkins downtown LRT station.

Likely they would simply lease prime office space and not build new. Somewhere a majority of the decision making execs would want to live. Frankly, downtown Minneapolis sounds about perfect, easy LRT ride to the airport.

BigIdeasGuy
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Re: Downtown Minneapolis Urban Planning

Postby BigIdeasGuy » October 5th, 2013, 10:10 pm

If ADM does relocate here, which would be HUGE get for region, I would guess they would lease the space they need in the southwest metro.

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Re: Downtown Minneapolis Urban Planning

Postby Anondson » October 6th, 2013, 12:31 pm

Pouring some cold water on some ADM thinking . . . Seems Illinois had a development program (EDGE) to incentivize business to stay in the state, but it requires the business "prove" they are looking at relocating elsewhere.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ ... 743.column

The EDGE program funds comes out as a tiny amount of taxpayer funds to keep ADM's 100 execs in the state of Illinois (Decatur to Illinois). But in my eyes, it seems like dropping the name of Minneapolis or St. Louis as possibilities is more of a required smoke screen to shakedown a few million out of Illinois taxpayers.

Would be nice though to land these jobs regardless. Hope it is more than a head fake.

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Avian
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Re: Downtown Minneapolis Urban Planning

Postby Avian » October 6th, 2013, 1:21 pm

This is as good a place as any to post this pic. Years ago I worked for William Moorish at the Design Center for the American Urban Landscape at the U. Back then we were concerned with connectivity of neighborhoods and downtown. I had created a map of central Minneapolis showing the walls in the city that inhibit pedestrian movement. Here's an update of that map.

Conceptually, there is a wall surrounding downtown Minneapolis that has 29 "gates"into downtown through which pedestrians can easily pass. Of course the river is a barrier as well from NE and SE. If you wish to count that instead then there are 25 gates. The biggest barrier is the "Great Wall" north of the University campus which stretches from 15th Av SE to the transitway in St. Paul near Raymond Av. (That wall extends an additional 1.4 miles from Raymond to Snelling.) Another wall is the one east of the Metrodome. There is also a large wall in the North Loop which has been discussed here in another thread. (The 8th avenue corridor to the river.)

The map was simply another way to visualize the connectivity of the core to the surrounding urban fabric. The green dots are the gates:

Image

“Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something.”
― Plato

Anondson
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Re: Downtown Minneapolis Urban Planning

Postby Anondson » October 6th, 2013, 2:35 pm

Nice and helpful map. Though isn't there a bike bridge by Currie Park connecting 15th S. with 13th S. parallel with the Hiawatha LRT bridge crossing over 35W? That is a small hole through that "little wall". And the Bluff Trail will punch another pedestrian hole in the "little wall" when it gets built. Interesting stories told through maps like this!

mulad
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Re: Downtown Minneapolis Urban Planning

Postby mulad » October 6th, 2013, 3:11 pm

Yeah, thanks for the map! I've wanted to visualize stuff like that before and have never found a really good way to do it -- there are always some tradeoffs that have to be made.

Anyway, yes, there is the Hiawatha LRT trail (whether you're talking the actual trail or the current detour) which splits that "Little Wall", though I know I've had trouble explaining to people how reach it. It's better now that the extension has been made along 3rd Street on the Metrodome end. I know there had been some plans to try and build a bike connection from the vicinity of the West Bank station of the Green Line over to the Currie Park end of the Hiawatha trail, though I'm not sure if that's actually planned anymore or not.

The area could certainly use some more pedestrian signage to show people how to get from one side of I-35W to the other.

The Great Wall may eventually be bridged by a "Missing Link" connection in the Grand Rounds Scenic Byway, though it doesn't look like any real action has been made on that front since 2008: http://www.minneapolisparks.org/default.asp?PageID=996

Anondson
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Re: Downtown Minneapolis Urban Planning

Postby Anondson » October 6th, 2013, 3:57 pm

Is the proposed bridge swap that will move the ramp linking WB 94 to 5th over to WB 94 to 7th moving ahead? Thought I read that when that ramp connecting WB 94 to 7th is finished, then the old 5th bridge was going to be given over as a local traffic connector linking West Bank to downtown east.

Question about the map, what is going on off on the west side of the map, looks like a bit of a drawing showing the "wall" between North and Southwest Minneapolis.

min-chi-cbus
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Re: Downtown Minneapolis Urban Planning

Postby min-chi-cbus » October 6th, 2013, 8:14 pm

Pouring some cold water on some ADM thinking . . . Seems Illinois had a development program (EDGE) to incentivize business to stay in the state, but it requires the business "prove" they are looking at relocating elsewhere.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ ... 743.column

The EDGE program funds comes out as a tiny amount of taxpayer funds to keep ADM's 100 execs in the state of Illinois (Decatur to Illinois). But in my eyes, it seems like dropping the name of Minneapolis or St. Louis as possibilities is more of a required smoke screen to shakedown a few million out of Illinois taxpayers.

Would be nice though to land these jobs regardless. Hope it is more than a head fake.
And I had heard that the state would veto any proposal to incentivize ADM to stay in-state, considering that there were unpaid unions and pensions that needed money long before any billion dollar company would. But that's an interesting take as well.

martykoessel
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Re: Current & Proposed Downtown Minneapolis Projects

Postby martykoessel » October 7th, 2013, 1:01 pm

I noticed that the small building next to the Hennepin County Human Services Building on Portland Ave between 5th and 6th Streets is being demolished. Anyone know anything about this?
I wrote a post about this building a few weeks ago and attached a photo. It's in the Nostalgia section under "Old Hennepin County Medical Center."

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Realstreets
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Re: Downtown Minneapolis Urban Planning

Postby Realstreets » October 8th, 2013, 8:44 am

More Class A office space would help. http://finance-commerce.com/2012/12/lan ... z2GdlrEmYC

David Greene
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Re: Downtown Minneapolis Urban Planning

Postby David Greene » October 8th, 2013, 9:57 am

Question about the map, what is going on off on the west side of the map, looks like a bit of a drawing showing the "wall" between North and Southwest Minneapolis.
I'm not sure exactly what you're referring to, but there are indeed two barriers surrounding the Basset Creek valley. On the north side of the valley there is a lot of industrial and most streets just dead-end. I can't tell if the map shows it, but the new Van White bridge is important for this reason. It punches a hole in that wall.

On the south there is the big bluff. It turns out that when U.S. 12 was reconstructed as I-394, we actually *removed* bridges across that barrier.

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Avian
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Re: Downtown Minneapolis Urban Planning

Postby Avian » October 8th, 2013, 12:21 pm

Question about the map, what is going on off on the west side of the map, looks like a bit of a drawing showing the "wall" between North and Southwest Minneapolis.
I'm not sure exactly what you're referring to, but there are indeed two barriers surrounding the Basset Creek valley. On the north side of the valley there is a lot of industrial and most streets just dead-end. I can't tell if the map shows it, but the new Van White bridge is important for this reason. It punches a hole in that wall.

On the south there is the big bluff. It turns out that when U.S. 12 was reconstructed as I-394, we actually *removed* bridges across that barrier.
Yup. I did allow for the Van White "gate" from Glenwood to Dunwoody Blvd but the base map doesn't show the new road yet. I just estimated the location, but it's pretty much where the Basset Creek trail crosses over the industrial yards.

It would also make sense to connect Penn Avenue from Bryn Mawr to Kenwood Parkway (marked in green below). There are no homes along the bluff where Kenwood and Douglas intersect so, to me, it would be a no-brainer. But there are more important projects I suppose.

Image

“Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something.”
― Plato

David Greene
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Re: Downtown Minneapolis Urban Planning

Postby David Greene » October 8th, 2013, 12:39 pm

It would also make sense to connect Penn Avenue from Bryn Mawr to Kenwood Parkway (marked in green below). There are no homes along the bluff where Kenwood and Douglas intersect so, to me, it would be a no-brainer.
I have been saying that for years now. Thanks for the great map!


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