Portland Tower - 516 S. 8th St.

[MNdible]

Possible they'd be expected to use the elevator instead?

Probably, but that would involve everybody bringing their bikes through the fancy lobby -- which may be what they intend, but does seem less than ideal, especially if people are doing winter biking (as apparently everybody will in the future).

[nate]

It's curious that they are choosing to put the amenity deck on the north side of the building, facing the back of Centre Village and Sexton, rather than on the south side of the building, where it would get much more daylight.

[HiawathaGuy]

It's curious that they are choosing to put the amenity deck on the north side of the building, facing the back of Centre Village and Sexton, rather than on the south side of the building, where it would get much more daylight.

I wondered about that too, and guessed that it had something to do with trying to set the units back from the Sexton building? If the spaces were swapped, then the whole 17 stories would be within 4-5' of the Sexton. With it as planned, the variance would only be for the parking levels being 4-5', but then it steps back for the units within the new building.

[MNdible]

I'm kind of thinking they should have just gone zero-setback up against the Sexton. That four-five feet zone is kind of a worthless space that would seem to be something of an attractive nuisance.

[mattaudio]

There's value in having a light/air well. Doesn't have to be big.

[twincitizen]

I wonder what the expectation is with this retail space. As far as downtown retail goes, this is really in the middle of nowhere. There's a couple of convenience stores nearby (in Centre Village and Skyscape), but 8th Street is not a logical place for retail.

3,000 square feet... I wonder if they already have something in mind.

[MinnMonkey]

I wonder what the expectation is with this retail space. As far as downtown retail goes, this is really in the middle of nowhere. There's a couple of convenience stores nearby (in Centre Village and Skyscape), but 8th Street is not a logical place for retail.

3,000 square feet... I wonder if they already have something in mind.

During the Sexton II proposal, it sounded like the Uptown Diner wanted to open a location in the new tower. I wonder if that is still on the table.

[mplser]

doubt it (as much as I would love for them to open a place near my place in DTE). Since then the Calhoun Grill (same owner) moved to downtown and later had to close up shop due to diminished business. My guess is they aren't ready for another shot at downtown. I do know one of the owners though so maybe I can casually bring it up next time I see him?

[nickmgray]

The convenience store in Center Village has been closed for months. Not sure if there are plans to re-open something at that location. There isn't much demand for retail in this part of town right now, but there's certainly potential if something decent is put in the KA and surrounding blocks. If the four corners of this intersection were developed with residential, this could easily become the most dense residential area in downtown.

[HiawathaGuy]

The convenience store in Center Village has been closed for months. Not sure if there are plans to re-open something at that location. There isn't much demand for retail in this part of town right now, but there's certainly potential if something decent is put in the KA and surrounding blocks. If the four corners of this intersection were developed with residential, this could easily become the most dense residential area in downtown.

Saw this blurb in the link Grant posted for the Armory:
Stone Mountain Pet Lodge Amy Cheney and Dave Larson, Stone Mountain Pet Lodge, and Jon Fletcher, Alatus, presented plans to lease space on the corner of 5th Avenue and 8th Street in the Centre Village property for a pet daycare facility that will include grooming and an indoor play center. The space also allows for a drive-up drop-off inside the ramp. They anticipate upgrading the exterior spaces of that corner and adding landscaping. The project requires a zoning amendment and the committee approved a motion to support their request as follows: Motion to support an amendment with updated language to include high-demand daycare and boarding services for indoor-only facilities. M. Nasi/Winkel Passed

What space is this using?

[Wedgeguy]

Maybe the old bank space and the old drive thru is their out door pet area.

[MinnMonkey]

The convenience store in Center Village has been closed for months. Not sure if there are plans to re-open something at that location. There isn't much demand for retail in this part of town right now, but there's certainly potential if something decent is put in the KA and surrounding blocks. If the four corners of this intersection were developed with residential, this could easily become the most dense residential area in downtown.

Einstein Bagels is going into this space. They wanted to be open already, but the space was not up to code, so they are in the process of renovating.

[MinnMonkey]

The convenience store in Center Village has been closed for months. Not sure if there are plans to re-open something at that location. There isn't much demand for retail in this part of town right now, but there's certainly potential if something decent is put in the KA and surrounding blocks. If the four corners of this intersection were developed with residential, this could easily become the most dense residential area in downtown.

Saw this blurb in the link Grant posted for the Armory:
Stone Mountain Pet Lodge Amy Cheney and Dave Larson, Stone Mountain Pet Lodge, and Jon Fletcher, Alatus, presented plans to lease space on the corner of 5th Avenue and 8th Street in the Centre Village property for a pet daycare facility that will include grooming and an indoor play center. The space also allows for a drive-up drop-off inside the ramp. They anticipate upgrading the exterior spaces of that corner and adding landscaping. The project requires a zoning amendment and the committee approved a motion to support their request as follows: Motion to support an amendment with updated language to include high-demand daycare and boarding services for indoor-only facilities. M. Nasi/Winkel Passed

What space is this using?

This will be where Absolute Bail Bonds was.

[twinkess]

Was? When did they leave?

[twincitizen]

I walked by after voting at city hall on Weds. Bail Bonds was still there. Convenience store space looked to be under construction. US Bank drive thru let me walk up and pretend to be a car. The sidewalk on that side (5th) is a nightmare. They could remove one lane (of 4) of the bank drive thru and have an awesome covered sidewalk

EDIT: This is on the PC Agenda for Monday, staff is recommending approval: http://www.minneapolismn.gov/www/groups ... 133481.pdf

[bapster2006]

There are fresh survey stakes and paint on the site today.

[MinnMonkey]

Drill rigs have been onsite for a couple days now.

[twincitizen]

The more I think about it, this is still an aggressively mediocre location today. The new stadium and "Commons" park certainly help make the general area more attractive, but something happening with the Armory, Thrivent's full block of surface parking, and particularly the Kraus-Anderson block will really help. I think it's very safe to say that none of those things will be under construction before this project is complete. A formal announcement for the Armory redevelopment (and financing) would sure help. And hopefully Kraus-Anderson comes back with a better plan (or an announcement that they're selling). Hopefully pre-sales go quickly here so Stanton can get on with the Eclipse, especially now that there's traction on the Nicollet Hotel block.

[nordeast homer]

This will be nice filler and will be good for the neighborhood. ^^^I'm not sure about the K/A site, we'll see what happens there. Talking to someone associated with them (not an employee, but a contractor) seems to believe that K/A may just develop somewhere else rather than deal with the city again.
Even so, it would be nice to see a couple of more residential proposals around this area to really get it to take off like the North Loop has done.

[twincitizen]

While the loss of K-A's (up to) 300 employees would sting a bit in the short term, the loss of their 4-story plain-jane office building would not. If for-sale condos can fly across the street, then there's really no reason to believe that, in time, the entire K-A block could be filled with 6-20 story residential buildings (for rent or sale). I'm sure everyone involved is eager for a resolution sooner rather than later.