50th & France - Edina/Minneapolis

Twin Cities Suburbs
User avatar
mister.shoes
Wells Fargo Center
Posts: 1294
Joined: November 26th, 2012, 10:22 am

Re: General Suburb News

Postby mister.shoes » January 9th, 2014, 12:13 pm

Then why do they feel the need to build yet another expensive (free-of-charge) ramp?
Max snark: Because a handful of rich dudes and dudettes drove from the Interlachen neighborhood for a movie and couldn't find a spot on the first floor of the the ramp directly behind the theater.

Some snark: Because it's a busy, healthy, slightly dense area with tallish buildings that has a tendency to experience high traffic volumes, therefore the parking situation *must* be awful and the only solution is to ramp it up *pun!*

No snark: Because someone somewhere has data that shows every single street, surface, and structured parking spot in a two- to three-block radius of the 50th/France consistently filled.

FWIW, my level of agreement with each of these statements is directly proportional to the amount of snark within. I can't help it. I simply cannot imagine that the parking situation is as dire as the city is claiming.
The problem with being an introvert online is that no one knows you're just hanging out and listening.

User avatar
mister.shoes
Wells Fargo Center
Posts: 1294
Joined: November 26th, 2012, 10:22 am

Re: General Suburb News

Postby mister.shoes » January 9th, 2014, 12:25 pm

P.S. Here's a *better* solution if there truly is demand for more parking:

Flip-flop Lunds with it's parking lot. The new Lunds would be a ground floor of grocery store with several levels of apartments above. The old Lunds location would become three or four levels of parking ramp connected to the ramp next door so cars could shuttle between the two, but with a separate entrance/exit because that current ramp entrance is congested enough. And then, for the topper (literally), additional apartments could be built on top of the new ramp. Or if ground-floor retail on the west (and south?) sides of the new ramp makes sense, do that. Either way, a bigger/better Lunds could front 50th, more residences could be added, and any additional parking ramp would be the foundation of a better land use rather than a replacement for a perfectly good retail location.
The problem with being an introvert online is that no one knows you're just hanging out and listening.

mattaudio
Stone Arch Bridge
Posts: 7752
Joined: June 19th, 2012, 2:04 pm
Location: NORI: NOrth of RIchfield

Re: General Suburb News

Postby mattaudio » January 9th, 2014, 12:28 pm

Isn't there a strip mall on the side facing the Lund's parking lot that would be affected by this? Maybe it can convert to a commercial alley between the strip mall and a new Lunds. http://nacto.org/usdg/streets/commercial-alley/

User avatar
mister.shoes
Wells Fargo Center
Posts: 1294
Joined: November 26th, 2012, 10:22 am

Re: General Suburb News

Postby mister.shoes » January 9th, 2014, 12:40 pm

There is exactly that and I assumed it would be used as such a commercial alley.

The 50th/France area has a few of those, actually. Between the movie theater and the building to the west are several shops that front the alley. On the north side of 50th, there's the alley midway between France and Halifax that leads to the parking ramp. The entrance to my dentist's office is off that one. The buildings facing France north of 50th have entrances off a covered alley directly behind them. Oh, and all the buildings that face 50th on the north side are also accessible from the back side parking ramp/lots.

I think these alleys are contributing factors to why this entire area is so walkable and dense-feeling. There are retail spaces and storefronts of every shape and size accessible from just about anywhere you walk. Very few blank back sides of buildings even exist, with the worst of them being the newest construction.
The problem with being an introvert online is that no one knows you're just hanging out and listening.

twincitizen
Moderator
Posts: 6368
Joined: May 31st, 2012, 7:27 pm
Location: Standish-Ericsson

Re: 50th & France

Postby twincitizen » January 9th, 2014, 12:51 pm

Except there is already a redevelopment scenario in which Lund's would demolish the US Bank/office building and put a new grocery/office building there. Lunds has been stockpiling land in that area...

http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/b ... re-at.html

***I split discussion into new 50th & France topic. It was nearly half of the "General Suburb News" thread.***

min-chi-cbus
Capella Tower
Posts: 2869
Joined: June 1st, 2012, 9:19 am

Re: 50th & France

Postby min-chi-cbus » January 9th, 2014, 1:22 pm

As part of that plan I'm almost 100% positive that another parking ramp was included, so to mister.shoes point why even discuss using eminent domain for the site in question to build a new ramp?

RailBaronYarr
Capella Tower
Posts: 2625
Joined: September 16th, 2012, 4:31 pm

Re: 50th & France

Postby RailBaronYarr » January 9th, 2014, 2:01 pm

I did an MBA queueing theory paper for an operations class on this very area, treating parking searches as inputs, leaving when done shopping as exits, and not finding parking/leaving as "reneging." Way too much data/formulas to be useful here, but what I definitely found from visiting the area to get pictures, daytime parking usage, and evaluating traffic counts was that even a block away from the area isn't utilized for parking. At all. Only during the Edina Art Fair do people park in nearby neighborhood streets and walk in (in my experience visiting relatively frequently as my sister lives 8 blocks away). Part of the problem is the odd street layout and very dense commercial buildings, coupled with no trails bisecting SFH lots on the back side to give filtered pedestrian access, make it very challenging for people to enter the commercial district on foot (probably by design). But the lack of metered spaces in the general area is very telling, and obviously the easiest/cheapest way to alleviate any perceived or real parking challenges during peak hours.

Wedgeguy
Capella Tower
Posts: 3404
Joined: June 1st, 2012, 6:59 am

Re: 50th & France

Postby Wedgeguy » January 9th, 2014, 10:58 pm

Except there is already a redevelopment scenario in which Lund's would demolish the US Bank/office building and put a new grocery/office building there. Lunds has been stockpiling land in that area...

http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/b ... re-at.html

***I split discussion into new 50th & France topic. It was nearly half of the "General Suburb News" thread.***
For the US Bank to move, Lunds would first have to have a new bank branch open at that corner for them to move into before they would vacate their current building. That is one of the most profitable branches in the Twin Cities, as per a US Bank employee. The only way they will leave is to have a new building ready for them to move into. It would have to be within 1 block of 50th and France. So either Lunds forgoes their current parking lot to build the new US Bank branch, or basically things stay as it is. US Bank is not going to lose profits so Lunds can build a new store and then build them a new branch once they have vacate their old site. Lund's does not want to lose revenue with not having convenient parking for customers.

So which will come first, the chicken or the egg?

seanrichardryan
IDS Center
Posts: 4092
Joined: June 3rd, 2012, 9:33 pm
Location: Merriam Park, St. Paul

Re: 50th & France

Postby seanrichardryan » January 10th, 2014, 2:03 am

I believe Lund's owns the entire Usbank building site, it's the main office for Lunds Food Holdings Inc. Perhaps they already have a deal to move the Usbank to the cleaners site?
Q. What, what? A. In da butt.

go4guy
Foshay Tower
Posts: 921
Joined: June 4th, 2012, 8:54 am

Re: 50th & France

Postby go4guy » January 10th, 2014, 12:02 pm

I just looked at this area on Google Maps. I cannot believe they have 3 parking ramps in this little area. Seems crazy. How full do they get? And it is too bad the Minneapolis side has not developed the same way.

Anondson
IDS Center
Posts: 4646
Joined: July 21st, 2013, 8:57 pm
Location: Where West Minneapolis Once Was

Re: 50th & France

Postby Anondson » January 10th, 2014, 12:48 pm

The ramps are needs. A small part of the reason, I seem to remember, there is nearly no on street parking in the Edina side, except along France.

RailBaronYarr
Capella Tower
Posts: 2625
Joined: September 16th, 2012, 4:31 pm

Re: 50th & France

Postby RailBaronYarr » January 10th, 2014, 1:10 pm

I calculated the total potential on-street spaces in the 50th/France area for my paper. If you assume a half-mile walk shed (true shed, not simple radius), all streets capable of handling parking on both sides of the street, 30% of all area streets devoted to fire hydrants/curb cuts, etc, and 22' per space, there is room for ~1,750 on-street parking spaces. For reference, the city currently offers 1,347 spaces in ramps.

blobs
Nicollet Mall
Posts: 144
Joined: November 26th, 2012, 2:22 pm

Re: 50th & France

Postby blobs » January 10th, 2014, 1:21 pm

Also used to live there, shopped there multiple times per week, never once had parking issues.

Wedgeguy
Capella Tower
Posts: 3404
Joined: June 1st, 2012, 6:59 am

Re: 50th & France

Postby Wedgeguy » January 10th, 2014, 2:29 pm

I believe Lund's owns the entire Usbank building site, it's the main office for Lunds Food Holdings Inc. Perhaps they already have a deal to move the Usbank to the cleaners site?
As per someone in their branch management structure. US Bank has the upper hand in this. They will NOT leave the 50th and France area for any period of time, without having a full branch there. So like I stated earlier, Lund's would have to find a location with a one block radius of 50th and France to build a new branch before US Bank will leave their current building. Lookiing at a Google map say that the only real spot to build is Lund's front parking lot.

seanrichardryan
IDS Center
Posts: 4092
Joined: June 3rd, 2012, 9:33 pm
Location: Merriam Park, St. Paul

Re: 50th & France

Postby seanrichardryan » January 25th, 2014, 10:23 pm

Parking ramp facelifts and improvements- https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set ... 984&type=1

*Also, the Strib seems to have a new bizarre green star as it's corporate flag.
Q. What, what? A. In da butt.

User avatar
FISHMANPET
IDS Center
Posts: 4241
Joined: June 6th, 2012, 2:19 pm
Location: Corcoran

Re: 50th & France

Postby FISHMANPET » January 25th, 2014, 10:54 pm

Uh, wrong link I think.

seanrichardryan
IDS Center
Posts: 4092
Joined: June 3rd, 2012, 9:33 pm
Location: Merriam Park, St. Paul

Re: 50th & France

Postby seanrichardryan » January 25th, 2014, 11:57 pm

Q. What, what? A. In da butt.

seanrichardryan
IDS Center
Posts: 4092
Joined: June 3rd, 2012, 9:33 pm
Location: Merriam Park, St. Paul

Re: 50th & France

Postby seanrichardryan » January 26th, 2014, 12:02 am

Q. What, what? A. In da butt.

Minneapolisite

Re: 50th & France

Postby Minneapolisite » February 6th, 2014, 8:17 pm

If they charged for parking instead of allowing everyone a free 2 hours a lot more cars could fit into the same number of spaces since paid parking would dissuade some motorists from using the full 2 hours. Problem solved.

Anondson
IDS Center
Posts: 4646
Joined: July 21st, 2013, 8:57 pm
Location: Where West Minneapolis Once Was

Re: 50th & France

Postby Anondson » August 29th, 2014, 3:07 pm

The owners of the land the city tried buying out, refused that offer, which the city followed up with eminent domain that failed ... well they changed their mind.

They are back to the city to see if original offer is still on table.

http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/b ... rance.html

So.


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 19 guests