urbanMSP

I think someone here posted this in another thread, but Walgreens could be a huge improvement over SA.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/201 ... azing.html

I wouldn't be surprised if Walgreen's/CVS opened up at LPM. The retail space is pretty big, no?

I'm not sure about the exact square footage of retail space on the street level of LPM. But I am sure they are planning an upscale restaurant to be located there. Many of these large, fancy apartment projects ( in big US cities) like a restaurant on the first floor as an amenity for the renters. You can even order food from your unit and they will deliver to your door! I also wouldn't be surprised if the restaurant also catered a free breakfast (for renters only) in the lobby area or deck.

I wouldn't be surprised if Walgreen's/CVS opened up at LPM. The retail space is pretty big, no?

There is a CVS a half mile away on Hennepin and 11th and a Walgreens 0.6 miles away at Nicollet between 8th and 9th. Could this location support either of those when other locations are so close?

There's a Walgreen's moving into Stadium Village, just two blocks from the CVS, and there's another CVS in Dinkytown. So, they're at least willing to try. (Although the University area might be a special case, since the Walgreen's will be a block closer to both the freshmen at the Superblock and the campus and hospital proper.)

I wouldn't be surprised if Walgreen's/CVS opened up at LPM. The retail space is pretty big, no?

There is a CVS a half mile away on Hennepin and 11th and a Walgreens 0.6 miles away at Nicollet between 8th and 9th. Could this location support either of those when other locations are so close?

The Walgreens downtown Could easily stay open for the core downtown crowd, with the LPM store being more for the neighborhoods south of Grant. There is a large enough population in those areas for it to work. Remember, you don't have to make MEGA stores for these areas.

Walgreens and CVS are hugely competitive. They would rather overbuild than not have a presence. This is extremely evident in Saint Paul at the corner of Maryland and Arcade where Walgreens and CVS are location across the street from each other.

There is also a CVS on the corner of Franklin and Nicollet which is on the south side of 94 but just around the corner.

There is also a CVS on the corner of Franklin and Nicollet which is on the south side of 94 but just around the corner.

How many people will not walk over a freeway bridge!! There are a lot!!

I live just south of the freeway on LaSalle and would rather cross it to get to a potential CVS at this location than walk along the churches mega surface lot, then cross the stressful Franklin & Nicollet intersection to get to that CVS!

then cross the stressful Franklin & Nicollet intersection

It is with trepidation that I ask, what exactly is so stressful about the Franklin & Nicollet intersection?

Loud, wide road, narrow sidewalks, speeding cars, shadeless, long waits for greens, unsavory people (this doesn't really bother me, but my fiance doesn't feel comfortable getting hit on every time she tries to pick up a prescription), overall very unpleasant from a pedestrian standpoint. More unpleasant than it needs to be.

then cross the stressful Franklin & Nicollet intersection

It is with trepidation that I ask, what exactly is so stressful about the Franklin & Nicollet intersection?

I would think you would be fairly well-versed in the meager width of sidewalks on Franklin between Blaisdell & Chicago. It's particularly bad at the SW corner of this intersection, where awkward street furniture placement and sometimes heavy boardings often require passers-by to beg pardon to get through. I would think that at the very least Franklin could be 4-to-3'd west of Nicollet, which could alleviate these issues. Unfortunately the City or the County or the developers of the Greenleaf fucked it up recently enough that they probably won't be willing to spend money on so fresh a mistake.

I'm certainly not suggesting that the environment here is a pedestrian wonderland (far from it, for a number of the reasons that you point out), but I've never felt that the crossings themselves were particularly problematic. The ROW is not very wide, and the signal timing is generally pretty short.

Although the traffic counts might allow for a 4 to 3 conversion here, the bus stops will make that difficult.

construction info...web cam link.
http://www.mchughconstruction.com/proje ... apartments

That updated rendering makes me sad. The parking plinth looks really heavy. Has anyone noticed a materials mock-up onsite?

glass makes you sad? i guess i'm not seeing a heaviness to the parking base. but to each their own.

I think it will depend on what material the brown of the parking pedestal is.

Sad. Perhaps that is just a shitty rendering on their project website, but it did appear airier. The brown blob seems to have dropped lower on the McHugh picture.

Previous or actual:
http://www.loringpark.org/minagen/landu ... oposal.pdf

You can see it from 394 now. This is really going to add to the skyline when coming in from the west.