Cedar Ave Corridor - Richfield

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sdho
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Re: Cedar Ave Corridor - Richfield

Postby sdho » January 8th, 2016, 7:23 pm

I've never not been able to find a spot in the Target lot, even on busy Sundays. But certainly, there's plenty of overflow available in front of the center section (Anytime Fitness and the dentist).

I'd love to see something new go in by Home Depot, but I think twincitizen's right. Unfortunately, big boxes seem to rarely see the light, even when it's a profitable one. (Like Target's refusal to do anything at Hi-Lake.)

A roundabout on the parkway would have been nice, although changing the southern access ("18th") to be right-in right-out to 66th (rather than right-in entrance only) might also take some pressure off.

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Re: Cedar Ave Corridor - Richfield

Postby sdho » January 8th, 2016, 7:26 pm

It would also preemptively keep this intersection from getting worse once the western half of Richfield Parkway is developed.
Remember that the primary access (at least as of the plans so far) is at 64th St, where the Home Depot driveway is. That's north of the main crunch at the Target driveway.

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Re: Cedar Ave Corridor - Richfield

Postby Mdcastle » January 11th, 2016, 8:57 pm

I tend to avoid any Target, besides a grocery selection that sucks and higher prices than Walmart, the parking situation is almost always worse.

Does Hi-Lake have a surplus of parking?

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Re: Cedar Ave Corridor - Richfield

Postby gobezlij » January 11th, 2016, 10:02 pm

^Yes.

Still the same as documented here: http://joe-urban.com/time-to-develop-on ... rking-lot/

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Re: Cedar Ave Corridor - Richfield

Postby sdho » March 29th, 2016, 10:30 am

The City has posted the two alignment options for public feedback here:
http://www.cityofrichfield.org/resident ... ld-connect

With an apartment complex slated to go in just south of the Richfield Pkwy roundabout, the city needs to decide whether the future alignment of Richfield Pkwy is on 18th Ave S (as the previous Cedar plan indicated), or if it should go to Old Cedar Ave.

Benefit of 18th Ave that the right-of-way for Old Cedar could eventually be vacated, and very good-sized parcels fronting the Cedar Freeway could be available for larger commercial uses. It would also allow some market-driven redevelopment on both sides of 18th Ave. (Probably townhomes or something transitional to SFH density on the west side.)

Downfall is greater disruption to the existing SFH neighborhood, and potentially a very long time until the road realignment is complete (since it would probably be done bit-by-bit, as development comes along).

Either way, the plan would be to see replacement of most of the affordable apartments in the Cedar corridor. It's unclear to what extent those would be replaced, and how affordable replacement options might be.

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Re: Cedar Ave Corridor - Richfield

Postby kellonathan » March 29th, 2016, 10:54 am

Hmm... looking at the south alignment options, I don't know how I feel about putting a well-landscaped boulevard that's directly facing a highway on one side. (The Cedar Ave Alignment) Wouldn't it make the parkway work more as a frontage road instead of a boulevard?
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Re: Cedar Ave Corridor - Richfield

Postby twincitizen » March 29th, 2016, 11:24 am

At first glance, my instant gut instinct was to choose a hybrid option of 18th Avenue between 66th and Diagonal, Cedar between Diagonal and 76th. And after much consideration, I still see that as the most logical option.

18th Avenue seems like the better/leading option for the northern portion, regardless of what happens on the southern half. Using 18th on the northern half would also allow for the complete removal of Cedar Ave in that stretch, providing larger/wider redevelopment parcels along the MN-77 freeway. It also lends itself well to the "phased development" (i.e. if you believe that development south of 70th/Diagonal is never going to happen and/or if you believe that those existing apartment buildings should be left alone). Furthermore - the trail has already been built along Cedar in this stretch! Choosing 18th Ave for the southern half would be kind of nuts in that regard (tearing up the just-built trail along Cedar), even though it could potentially be a decade or more from implementation.

That said, using 18th Ave at the southern end does look like it would be easier to hook up with the whole 77th St tunnel situation. But yes it would be a whole hell of a lot more disruptive to the existing single fam properties on the 5 blocks between Diagonal and 76th. And it relies heavily on future development that may never come, even with the "magic tunnel" that some believe is going to drive investment in this corner of Richfield.

So yeah, I'm stuck on the hybrid option of 18th Ave on the north, Cedar Ave on the south. What I haven't figured out yet is how to handle the intersection/transition, both for cars and for the trail. Anyone want to knock out a few drawings of how that might work?

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Re: Cedar Ave Corridor - Richfield

Postby sdho » March 29th, 2016, 4:52 pm

Is there any reason completion of the 18th Ave Parkway *must* coincide with removal of Old Cedar? It seems that just for continuity, it could remain along 18th Ave between Diagonal and 77th (thus going straight into the connection at 77th and avoiding an awkward intersection at 70th).

As for "tearing up the just-built trail along Cedar" -- I can't imagine this would reasonably be happening any sooner than ten years out. The typical lifespan for those trails is 20 years, tops. Relocating a relatively cheap MUP is a pretty insignificant factor in this case.
Hmm... looking at the south alignment options, I don't know how I feel about putting a well-landscaped boulevard that's directly facing a highway on one side. (The Cedar Ave Alignment) Wouldn't it make the parkway work more as a frontage road instead of a boulevard?
I think that's a good point. There are degrees of good and bad in terms of streets with highway frontage. For example, Pleasant Avenue coming down Ramsey Hill in St. Paul is pretty attractive despite fronting 35E. All things being equal, it seems preferable to have large buildings separating the street and community from the freeway.

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Re: Cedar Ave Corridor - Richfield

Postby sdho » April 12th, 2016, 9:19 pm

Council members gave the informal nod at tonight's work session to proceed with 18th Ave alignment of Richfield Pkwy until at least Diagonal Blvd. The immediate construction activity would be only between 66th and 68th, with some temporary diverter at 68th to direct traffic back to Old Cedar Ave.

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Re: Cedar Ave Corridor - Richfield

Postby sdho » April 12th, 2016, 9:29 pm

I swear I posted this before, but can't find the reference. Anyway, a developer is looking to do some strip retail on the SW corner of Richfield Pkwy and E 66th St (roundabout). The original plan had a similar site plan, but no entrances or windows facing 66th (it was a floor-to-ceiling brick wall).

The revised plan still feels like 66th is the back side, but is a huge improvement. The two end caps have entrances on 66th, while the three smaller tenants will not have entrances. The coffee tenant on the west side will have a drive-thru.

The entrances/lack-thereof generated a lot of conversation at tonight's work session. At least two council members, and at least four HRA/Planning commissioners (including myself), spoke strongly in favor of more entrances (and more inviting entrances) on the street. Cm. Pat Elliot referred to street-facing entrances as "form over function" and noted that we're "not 50th & France" (in response to the mayor's request for frontage that better resembled those commercial buildings). I don't think he had any opposition to the entrances already placed, but felt pushing for additional ones were not worth anything.

The drive-thru also generated some opposition, especially because of noise impacts to the neighborhood.

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Re: Cedar Ave Corridor - Richfield

Postby mattaudio » April 13th, 2016, 10:42 am

To be fair, doors fronting 66th Street would be much more reasonable if there was on-street parking. When 66th St gets to a 3 lane profile, they should have a standard design where a slip lane with back-in angle parking could be built with an easement along the 66th St blockface. Create time-limited parking out front, with the time limit depending on the retail mix and parking demand. This would create an incentive for more trips, especially the quicker trips, to access the store via an entrance on 66th St.

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Re: Cedar Ave Corridor - Richfield

Postby sdho » April 13th, 2016, 11:25 am

I agree, that would help a lot. But they were shoe-horning to get the cycletrack, improved sidewalk, and boulevard in as it is. I'm not totally convinced the design you describe creates a particularly engaging end result. It was attempted at the strip mall that houses Lyn 65 -- but the result is underwhelming: https://www.google.com/maps/@44.8859266 ... 56!6m1!1e1

Regular parallel parking would have helped, but wouldn't have been an option on this block, because of the bus bays used on both sides of the street (terminus of the 14, and one of the termini of the 515).

One of the details that the developer noted (I suspect with some direction from city staff) is that they intend to have the paved sidewalk material up to the side of the building, with tree grates for trees. I think this creates a much better sense of it being the "front" than the traditional setup with 5-10' of grass/rocks/mulch and plantings.

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Re: Cedar Ave Corridor - Richfield

Postby sdho » July 22nd, 2016, 10:40 am

The new owner of the smaller retail at Cedar Point Commons (Target/HD site) is proposing a new building for the corner of the SB TH 77/Cedar Ave off ramp and 66th, and for the half-block of 65XX Richfield Pkwy. Both sites have been empty since the first phase of Cedar Point Commons went in.

The eastern building was originally slated to be a sit-down restaurant site, and the western building was originally slated to be office space. The new plan is that it will all be strip retail/fast casual. Somewhat unusually, the plans show named tenants for most of the restaurant space -- Naf Naf Grill, Panda Express, Cafe Zupas, and Five Guys. There is also a planned daycare on the north end of the 65XX Richfield Pkwy site, but the plans are less defined for that.

The western building has pedestrian entrances, unlike the existing Cedar Point retail. However, it's set quite a ways back from the sidewalk, and the ped access from the sidewalk isn't completely obvious to me. Staff are recommending some architectural features be added from what's shown to highlight to pedestrians/cyclists/transit users that those are entrances facing 66th.

Full docs here: http://www.cityofrichfield.org/home/sho ... nt?id=9459

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Re: Cedar Ave Corridor - Richfield

Postby mattaudio » July 22nd, 2016, 1:02 pm

I still think this is a huge missed opportunity to take the giant public-art-porkchop-island Target exit and make a full four legged roundabout to serve Target/east strip with this new development west of Richfield Pkwy.

And a huge missed opportunity to build right to the 66th Street curb. Ridiculous setback.

But at least Richfield isn't missing its opportunity to be the Strip Mall Fast Casual Capital of the South Metro.

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Re: Cedar Ave Corridor - Richfield

Postby sdho » July 22nd, 2016, 1:49 pm

The site isn't super well-suited to have the main entrance in line with that private Target entrance -- "65th 1/2 St"? About 3/4 of it is south of that point, and it's narrowed at the north end of the site.

And actually, I believe most Target traffic is at the driveway cut aligned with 65th St. Potentially, you could have a roundabout at that location, and completely close the median between 65th and 66th. Thus, you'd have right-in right-out from these driveway cuts, and left turns via roundabout U-turns. But AFAIK traffic doesn't justify or require that.

I agree about the setback; it definitely detracts from the plan. And the orientation of the trees -- creating almost a hedge that hides the building from pedestrians -- seem to miss the point of offering ped-facing entrances.

And I'm curious about the fast casual concentration. Seem to be a lot of lunch-oriented places, but I'm not really clear who they're attracting, since it's not especially close to any large employment centers.

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Cedar Ave Corridor - Richfield

Postby Anondson » February 2nd, 2017, 11:00 pm

Boisclair's apartment near Cedar Point Commons might start this coming fall, 2017.

http://current.mnsun.com/2017/02/01/dev ... g-project/

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Re: Cedar Ave Corridor - Richfield

Postby mattaudio » February 3rd, 2017, 10:42 am

Zero Lot Line to Richfield Pkwy?

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Re: Cedar Ave Corridor - Richfield

Postby sdho » February 3rd, 2017, 1:52 pm

Zero Lot Line to Richfield Pkwy?
I think they're just doing the townhomes on 16th at this time. Apartments on Richfield Pkwy won't come until funding is ironed out.

The future apartments are unlikely to be zero lot line. Preliminary designs showed a 15 or 20' setback. Given that Richfield Pkwy has a regional trail on that side, I'm not sure truly zero lot line would be beneficial. I'm hoping we'll get a primary entrance facing the street, though.

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Re: Cedar Ave Corridor - Richfield

Postby sdho » February 4th, 2017, 9:07 am

Interstate Partners showed the Richfield Planning Commission an updated plan at a work session two weeks ago. Old plan was here: viewtopic.php?f=17&t=3718&p=127386#p113890

New design is pretty much the same site plan, but with significant changes to the aesthetics, especially on the 66th Street side. It appears every unit has a street-facing entrance, although in the case of Kensington Park, I imagine it will vary from tenant to tenant as to who will use it. They indicated at the last work session that restaurant tenants were fine with maintaining two entrances, while retail tenants were much more reluctant. Presumably, there was not interest in having the primary/sole entrance facing 66th.

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Re: Cedar Ave Corridor - Richfield

Postby mattaudio » February 6th, 2017, 8:56 am

Over parked, no? Also, why isn't the patio shown as fully connecting to the sidewalk? That's not how traditional neighborhood development is done. But, Regional AF.


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