urbanMSP

Project website: http://www.buzzaloftsofuptown.com/ <has some historic photos if you're interested.

This is nearing completion, as they were furiously working away on the parking lot and landscaping the other night. The construction fencing is gone now on most sides of the building. For those that don't live in the area but are familiar with the building: for some reason they painted the building a shade darker than it used to be. You can see the contrast in one of the photos below that I took midway through painting.

Scheduled to open Nov. 1 and judging from the website, it is fully leased. Good to hear! At $903 for a brand new 700 sq. ft. 1BR apartment, I can see why. That is a steal compared to other recent Uptown buildings.

I would search here before almost ANY other project in Minneapolis right now. The reason why is a.) the location, b.) the rates, and c.) the fact that this building was built to last and is likely 100% concrete/stone and very soundproof -- perfect for families with small children! This is a great project, IMO, and hope it's successful (I'd like to see more)!

*Edit: what's the deal with the surface parking lot???

What's the deal with the surface parking lot???

Besides the fact that it's the only parking lot in Uptown that you can drive a train into?

Well, I think the fact that they didn't have to build a bunch of underground parking is why the rent prices are lower. The surface parking lot was there before in the same configuration, they just repaved it and added lighting and landscaping. It does seem out of place when you walk by.

It's too bad they didn't plan for eventually building a small apartment building on the 29th St side with underground parking. OR use some of the parking lot for a little green space for the residents.

I was hoping, or hope that they may someday make that under ground parking with town homes on the North and West sides and a private courtyard in the middle.

It's too bad they didn't plan for eventually building a small apartment building on the 29th St side with underground parking. OR use some of the parking lot for a little green space for the residents.

Looks like they met the zoning code requirement of one space per unit, but were only able to do so by providing more compact spaces than they're supposed to:

http://www.minneapolismn.gov/www/groups ... 261107.pdf

Is there something about the configuration of the lot that would make it impossible to add a building later? Or would it just be tough to arrange the interim parking during construction?

Edit: the quote stuck fotoapparatic's handle in there instead of twincitizen for some reason

The rents are cheap because it's income restricted and subsidized.

I prefered the old lighter color of the facade.

I still want to know what is in the lovely tower. It was once quite luxe.

The tower looks great lit up at night.

The rents are cheap because it's income restricted and subsidized.

I prefered the old lighter color of the facade.

I'm not sure this is true.

Some grants MAYBE (historic preservation or cleanup or something)

This building is not Section 42 or income restricted like our beloved Greenleaf.

AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Rent is high dollar at most Uptown Minneapolis properties. Buzza Lofts of Uptown is the exception to this rule. We’re priced to help you save. Income restrictions apply, please contact us to learn more at 612-825-4285.

This property participates in an affordable housing program. Household income limits are as follows, however, future residents of this community need to speak directly to an on site agent to learn more about how your household can qualify.

1 Occupant $35,280
2 Occupants $40,320
3 Occupants $45,360
4 Occupants $50,340

http://www.buzzaloftsofuptown.com/minne ... _version/1

It could be a Section 42 project.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-Income ... Tax_Credit

And holy crap, I make too much to live there, even if I had four roomates. This is some pretty subsidized housing.

I stand corrected.

1BR units are $903. I guess I assumed that was pretty close to market rate, considering this thing isn't flush with amenities and they didn't have to build a ton of underground parking, keeping costs low.

I'm going to again point out that I pay $675 for a similar sized 1BR (minus the newness and in-unit W/D) just 4 blocks away. I'm not sure that using public dollars to create $900 "affordable" apartments is the best use of our money. While I agree with the idea of keeping a healthy mix of incomes in the area, this building probably would've seen a renovation without publicly subsidy.

Well, I believe Flux is priced at $1400 for a one bedroom. So it may be affordable for that specific location.

I like where they reopened window openings, they put in historically correct modern casements that closely approximate the original metal warehouse windows. It makes hope they will do the rest. Tax credits make developers do unexpected things, like respect a building's architecture.

I'm skeptical of "affordable housing" requirements in most forms. If we want more affordable housing in uptown, then we should build more. Places like Flux or Blue certainly aren't affordable in any sense of the word, but they take pressure off the older housing stock in Uptown, allowing those units to stay cheaper. (My place is only a little more expensive than the "affordable" units at Buzza and it's a 2BR. Then again, this building is 100 years old.) Affordable requirements cause higher rents in the rest of the building or just require public subsidy. Allowing more building and more density gets supply in line with demand and does it in a way that gets more money for the city. That money can be used to provide services to the poor. It's a win-win. I'll channel Matt Yglesias here and say that if we want to improve housing access for the poor, we should hand the poor more money. Affordable housing is an inefficient way to go about it.

The nice thing is that we are building a lot of new housing in Uptown. So we're headed in the right direction. I just don't necessarily see affordable requirements as necessary or really effective.

Word. I would consider living in Uptown if it were more affordable, and I like the amenities some of the larger buildings can provide, but most of them are basically unaffordable for me.

I am disappointed they didn't do more to improve the look of the grounds. They left the old pipe fence in the front, just painted it, and even left the old rusty chain link along 29th! They really cheaped out.

On a side note, I wish the city would reconstruct 29th...it barely even exists on some blocks!

29th is the worst, it just feels scary, biking it is a nightmare for rims, and the sunken lot just seems forlorn...

With all of this development happening in the area, I'd be surprised if 29th wasn't redone sometime in 2013...well not that surprised.

It's not like it's that long of a stretch...we're talking Lyndale to Fremont, or Lyndale to Dupont (Rainbow) at the least.