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Wooddale Station Area / PLACE - St. Louis Park

Posted: August 22nd, 2014, 10:28 pm
by Anondson
This has been moving in fits and starts for a few years. One past proposal fizzled out. Then last year Minneapolis-based PLACE proposed 324 units, approximately 60% or so considered "affordable" plus powered by an anaerobic digester. Right across the future LRT from the Wooddale Station.

New details, the Met Council approved a $100,000 grant for this project on August 13th

http://sailor.mnsun.com/2014/08/21/met- ... ouis-park/

Can't wait to see some drawings of this.

Re: Former McGarvey Coffee - St. Louis Park

Posted: August 23rd, 2014, 12:00 am
by min-chi-cbus
Does anyone have an idea of how large this plot of land is? Maybe we could guesstimate the scale of this project (i.e. height). Based on the quoted "'very high density' for a suburban light rail station area", I'm speculating that at 324 units this could easily meet the height of the project across the highway next to Target (Parc Central maybe?).

Re: Former McGarvey Coffee - St. Louis Park

Posted: November 5th, 2014, 7:50 am
by Anondson
City of St. Louis Park bought the land. Interesting.

http://m.bizjournals.com/twincities/mor ... 302&r=full

Re: Former McGarvey Coffee - St. Louis Park

Posted: February 27th, 2015, 11:16 am
by Anondson
Update with more details on the city's funding plan to pay for it, and discussion about the goals for the station area.

http://sailor.mnsun.com/2015/02/27/st-l ... e-project/

In the update to the Belt Line crossing, it was discussed that it would be fiscally worth it for the barely negligible change to congestion to put Belt Line under the rail crossing, it was mentioned that the city was still considering funding a study to put Xenwood under the rail.

If Xenwood is built to cross under the rail/trail line, I'm sad that there wasn't any foresight to imagine Webster passing under TH7 to the frontage road. A Xenwood/Webster route between 36th to Lake St. would have created a fantastic new north-south grid link for the city, might have even relieved a small amount of congestion at the Wooddale/7/36th intersection. Ah well, it goes on my fantasy list.

Re: Former McGarvey Coffee - St. Louis Park

Posted: February 27th, 2015, 11:19 am
by mattaudio
Since the Hwy 100 project and SWLRT are rebuilding the bridges for TC&W, SWLRT, and the bike trail... they could easily be built a little longer to provide a local street connection between the service road and the node to the south of the tracks.

Re: Former McGarvey Coffee - St. Louis Park

Posted: February 27th, 2015, 11:29 am
by David Greene
If Xenwood is built to cross under the rail/trail line, I'm sad that there wasn't any foresight to imagine Webster passing under TH7 to the frontage road. A Xenwood/Webster route between 36th to Lake St. would have created a fantastic new north-south grid link for the city, might have even relieved a small amount of congestion at the Wooddale/7/36th intersection. Ah well, it goes on my fantasy list.
I'm confused about this. Is the city proposing to extend Xenwood all the way under TH7, the rail and connect it south to 36th? What's the additional benefit of connecting Webster to the service road if Xenwood already connects there? Or is the city not proposing to connect anything under/across TH7? I guess it makes more sense to me that if you're going to connect across TH7 you'd do it at Xenwood. Really, I'd love to see Xenwood extended through the MicroCenter parking lot to connect to Wooddale and even south of there to the stub south of Cambridge if possible. Then you'd have a direct connection off TH100.

Re: Former McGarvey Coffee - St. Louis Park

Posted: February 27th, 2015, 11:35 am
by Anondson
The city is proposing extending Xenwood under the rail to the TH7 frontage road. That's all. Partly for congestion relief at Wooddale/7/36, but also offer a more direct pedestrian route fro the apartments on the north side of the LRT line to the station that will be on the south of the line.

My fantasy was to connect the deadend of the TH7 frontage road on the south side of TH7, where there is a deep low spot in the topography to Webster on the north underneath 7.

Re: Former McGarvey Coffee - St. Louis Park

Posted: February 27th, 2015, 11:49 am
by David Greene
That's all. Partly for congestion relief at Wooddale/7/36, but also offer a more direct pedestrian route fro the apartments on the north side of the LRT line to the station that will be on the south of the line.
The pedestrian connection I get, but do the apartments really cause a lot of congestion?
My fantasy was to connect the deadend of the TH7 frontage road on the south side of TH7, where there is a deep low spot in the topography to Webster on the north underneath 7.
I see. That makes sense if Xenwood is not to be connected across TH7. I wasn't aware of the topography.

Re: Former McGarvey Coffee - St. Louis Park

Posted: February 27th, 2015, 11:58 am
by Anondson
The apartments aren't really contributing to the congestion, but that frontage road is a dead end, getting in and out involves navigating Wooddale. Wooddale/7/36 is congested because of massive cut through traffic between TH7 and TH 100. Many drivers from the west take Wooddale to southbound TH 100, or from the south take 36 to cut through to westbound TH7. The Wooddale bridge over TH7 improved crossing time (and worsened sight lines) over TH7 but did little for the traffic amount between 7 and 36th. When the TH100/7 interchange was reconfigured with multiple stoplights the attraction of the Wooddale/36th grew. I know, I use it all the time.

Re: Former McGarvey Coffee - St. Louis Park

Posted: February 27th, 2015, 2:19 pm
by seanrichardryan
....The Wooddale bridge over TH7 improved crossing time (and worsened sight lines) over TH7 but did little for the traffic amount between 7 and 36th.

This. I use this intersection daily and IT IS AWFUL. confusing for all modes.

Re: Former McGarvey Coffee - St. Louis Park

Posted: February 27th, 2015, 2:22 pm
by David Greene
The apartments aren't really contributing to the congestion, but that frontage road is a dead end, getting in and out involves navigating Wooddale. Wooddale/7/36 is congested because of massive cut through traffic between TH7 and TH 100.
How does a Xenwood connection help any of that? Not saying it's a bad idea, I'm just curious what people are thinking when they reference congestion relief.

Re: Former McGarvey Coffee - St. Louis Park

Posted: February 27th, 2015, 5:19 pm
by Anondson
Extending Xenwood under the rail creates the cheapest grade separated crossing at the Wooddale station area. Access from the north side of the rail can get to the station by taking the frontage road to it and the reverse when leaving the station can take Xenwood to the frontage road out, avoiding the freight rail crossing and stoplight. When freight comes through it causes back ups in all directions.

Re: Former McGarvey Coffee - St. Louis Park

Posted: May 15th, 2015, 6:50 am
by Anondson
Paywalled article on the apparently really different PLACE proposal here.

http://finance-commerce.com/2015/05/not ... ouis-park/

Re: Former McGarvey Coffee - St. Louis Park

Posted: May 15th, 2015, 10:14 am
by Anondson
PLACE's Facebook page posted this update three days ago.

https://www.facebook.com/PLACEinc/posts ... 0903413581

"Last night PLACE presented its concept for St. Louis Park to a study session of the St. Louis Park City Council. This was an important milestone for our project.
PLACE and its design partners, Garth Rockcastle (MSRdesign.com) and Stantec (stantec.com) have found clever ways to do everything we want to do on a long, thin site. Here's what we're trying to accomplish:
1. Three hundred new homes, affordable living and luxury living for intergenerational living.
2. Commercial/retail space for creative businesses and neighborhood amenities like a coffee house and preschool.
3. A hotel event center
4. An urban forest, a public park where people can actually get lost in a green wood.
5. The most sustainable project of its kind, dramatically reducing waste and energy use, growing organic food on site, powered by renewable energy, green roofs and emphasis on transit and bicycle use (since it is on the largest dedicated bike trail in the country).
After some discussion over the amount of affordable living, our nonprofit ownership structure (we're nonprofit, but we will by paying taxes), and PLACE's capacity to complete a project of this magnitude, the council approved the project to proceed.
It was unopposed.
Now it's time for us to begin our conversations with the community. We look forward to involving you in the process."

PLACE Proposal (ex McGarvey Coffee site) - St. Louis Park

Posted: May 15th, 2015, 6:44 pm
by Anondson
Not sure if it was approved, but PLACE posted the content of the F&C article.

https://www.facebook.com/PLACEinc/posts ... 74378581:0

Read it before it they are politely asked to take it down?

Summary of points: 200 units affordable to households less than $52K (60% median income), plus 58 live-work units, plus 40 market rate, a co-working hub, plus retail store fronts, and a 90–99 unit "boutique hotel". A child care center.

Four buildings total. Design currently based on Xenwood getting an underpass, if not can be reconfigured. Multiple green roofs, attached greenhouses to grow local produce, 15,000 sq. ft. digester to convert food scraps into energy. Buildings arranged to maintain existing trees as an "urban forest" to walk in.

The article talks about a multi layer funding process. Likely all sorts of TOD grants, artist housing grants, affordable housing funding, TIF, etc. ...

PLACE Proposal (ex McGarvey Coffee site) - St. Louis Park

Posted: May 15th, 2015, 6:51 pm
by Anondson
If it isn't obvious, this excites me. A really awkward, long, narrow location getting a really nice proposal. The sort of development that feels perfect for a transit station.

Re: PLACE Proposal (ex McGarvey Coffee site) - St. Louis Par

Posted: May 15th, 2015, 10:52 pm
by David Greene
I like it too, but what will the hotel serve? The hospital?

Re: PLACE Proposal (ex McGarvey Coffee site) - St. Louis Par

Posted: May 15th, 2015, 11:03 pm
by Anondson
There has been quiet demand by locals in SLP and Hopkins both for a closer hotel that guests can stay at in the middle of each suburb. A lot of the older, cheaper apartments don't have guest rooms, for instance. For example, at the third Blake Area workshops we got to speak with a panel of developers on their perspective on the three plots that will be available around the Blake Station. There were some Indians (south Asians) who brought up that when their family from out of the country/out of state come and visit finding accommodations for them to stay involves locating hotels honestly quite far away. A couple Somalis and Liberians were nodding in agreement.

Re: PLACE Proposal (ex McGarvey Coffee site) - St. Louis Par

Posted: May 17th, 2015, 3:02 pm
by David Greene
Interesting, thanks for the persepctive. Could that kind of demand keep a hotel afloat?

Re: PLACE Proposal (ex McGarvey Coffee site) - St. Louis Par

Posted: May 17th, 2015, 3:06 pm
by Anondson
Dunno. The reps from the developers looked suspicious (it would fly) and dumbfounded (that there was even a demographic they didn't know about).