Parkway 25 (Vescio's/ValuStay site) - St. Louis Park

[Anondson]

Sketches released for five story proposal on the site of Vescio's & ValuStay Inn (4001 & 4025 Hwy 7).

http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/n ... ffice.html


Mod note: added image, tentative name to title.

[Anondson]

Thought, should a consolidated thread be made to encompass The Shoreham next door, this, and other future development in this France-Lake-Minnetonka district? Or keep separate threads per project?

[MNdible]

I'd say we just keep each project with its own thread. If some mod had extra time on their hands, they could include links to "related projects" in the first post of the thread.

[Anondson]

Calling it "... on 7" is a bit odd. Everyone considers this TH7, but properly TH7 ends far to the west at 100. This is County Road 25.

Heh.

[twincitizen]

The ownership records show this as "Parkway on 7 LLC", but assuming that common sense prevails and the city has something to say about it...it will likely be called something else.

Even though this stretch is formally known as CR-25 now (east of 100), are there still a bunch of MN-7 street signs in the area (on the frontage roads and such)?

I still think the highway, frontage roads, and valuable-land-destroying CR-25/Mtka weave area needs to be re-envisioned entirely. Short of full fantasy elimination of CR-25 (which seems very unlikely), I would strip it down to the southern frontage road (4 lanes at first east of 100, then transitioning down to 3/2, with a series of roundabouts at Beltline/Ottawa, Lynn, and Joppa. East of Joppa the road would hook up with 31st Street. All of the old CR-25 ROW east of Joppa could be developed, including park land.

[Anondson]

I posted a fantasy all about this area recently over on the Fantasy Map thread in the Transportation forum.

[Anondson]

Based on the submitted agenda for today's council study session:

108 residential units in four floors above commercial on ground floor. Five total.

The proposed development commercial floor area is equal to the floor area of the buildings to be demolished. The preliminary plans show mostly offices, with a single corner "coffee shop". To me, this has potential. There is soon to be a lot more apartments south of the highwayscape, a coffee shop has a chance.

Drawings show a "U" shape with the opening on the south side of the assembled properties. On street parking on the frontage road in front of the building. More on street spaces shown on Glenhurst by the coffee shop.

Underground residents parking, 145 parking spaces, with the entrance essentially coming off Glenhurst. Offices on east side shown having a surface lot of 27 spaces, offices of the west side have another surface lot of 25 spaces.

Here is the submitted floorplan sketch of the ground floor.
Sela Group floor plan by Eric Anondson, on Flickr

[mattaudio]

SLP really needs to redo/eliminate this CR25 right of way before more development pops up.

[sdho]

Yeah it seems St. Louis Park has not gotten the memo about TH 7 ending at TH 100. The frontage roads are still signed "Highway 7" and the official addresses of most of the parcels are "4XXX Highway 7, St Louis Park"

St. Louis Park is, in fact, one of the only cities that actually use the numbered highways in the addresses at all. For example, Benilde has an address on "Highway 100 South". Almost every other city does it based on the historical name of the highway's alignment, or the name of the service road. (e.g., stuff on 494 is either on 78th St or 77th/American; stuff on TH 100 in Edina is on Normandale Rd)

It's weird as hell to see all this great development go into this antiquated relic of the early highway era. I agree with others there needs to be larger reconfiguration.

[Anondson]

Planning commission spoke favorably towards it and voted to recommend the council approve it.

http://sailor.mnsun.com/2016/07/28/park ... ouis-park/

Interesting points, the height was cited as fitting the context of the future neighboring apartments, (The Shoreham). Heh, the neighborhood character is now of "five story buildings". Also, the landowner, Sela Roofing, owns the property next to it and could also be redeveloped to a five story apartment in the future.

[min-chi-cbus]

Nice! It'll be nice to see how this area transforms, especially if SWLRT comes through here.

5 stories looks like much less of a big deal when it's part of a smaller building. These goliath projects we do today are so massive that even 5 stories seems oppressive, when usually it's barely noticeable.

[Anondson]

City voted final approvals for the site.

http://sailor.mnsun.com/2016/09/07/st-l ... iscussion/

Very interestingly a larger discussion about the actual name for the highway came up, notes that while the official name is County Road 25, nearly all buildings on the frontage roads are addressed as being State Highway 7.

While the development is proposing parking along the frontage road some noted that the city envisions changing the configuration of County 25 to an urban boulevard and eliminating the frontage road. (That parking would need to be made up elsewhere if that happens.)

I had only heard reference to the city pushing towards redesigning 25 at some of the SWLRT station area open houses. I really hope County 25 can get its highway removal "urban boulevard" makeover ASAP.

How about the name change? Belt Line Crossroad? Belt Line Parkway? Something else?

[twincitizen]

To provide ultimate confusion, I propose Lake Minnetonka Blvd

[David Greene]

St. Louis Ave.

Sent from my Z958 using Tapatalk

[Anondson]

You know, I could go for St. Louis Ave, it fits with the proximity of St. Louis Ave in Minneapolis. Then of course the fit to the city name.

Maybe even Sunset Blvd could work if we pull influence out of nearby Minneapolis streets that converge towards it...

[twincitizen]

St. Louis Parkway!

[David Greene]

An extrapolation of St. Louis Ave. runs almost right into CR-25, which is why I suggested the name. It also parallels the old M&StL ROW, which is of course how St. Louis Ave. got its name. I like St. Louis Parkway!

Sunset Blvd. already extends west of France so it doesn't fit as well.

[min-chi-cbus]

I like it! Confusing, yet so straightforward.

[Anondson]

Parkway 25 due to start very soon.

http://finance-commerce.com/2017/04/sel ... e-calhoun/

[sdho]

City voted final approvals for the site.

http://sailor.mnsun.com/2016/09/07/st-l ... iscussion/

Very interestingly a larger discussion about the actual name for the highway came up, notes that while the official name is County Road 25, nearly all buildings on the frontage roads are addressed as being State Highway 7.

While the development is proposing parking along the frontage road some noted that the city envisions changing the configuration of County 25 to an urban boulevard and eliminating the frontage road. (That parking would need to be made up elsewhere if that happens.)

I had only heard reference to the city pushing towards redesigning 25 at some of the SWLRT station area open houses. I really hope County 25 can get its highway removal "urban boulevard" makeover ASAP.

How about the name change? Belt Line Crossroad? Belt Line Parkway? Something else?

Super late to this, but... my understanding is that the name "Highway 7" was the local name applied to both TH 7 and CSAH 25. (In the same manner that "Central Avenue" is a local name applied to TH 65.)

St. Louis Park is the only city I'm aware of in the inner-metro that uses a highway number (or former highway number) as the address of a property. (Not just Hwy 7... several older businesses in the West End area have addresses on Highway 100 South.) Most other suburbs either use a local road name that preceded the highway (e.g., Normandale Rd in Edina for Hwy 100), or just assign addresses on adjacent streets -- either the cross street, or next block over.

I don't know why SLP does this -- and I really don't get why developers want addresses assigned there. I mean maybe for a car dealership, it's nice to have recognition, but I find it bizarre that developers want those addresses assigned to residential buildings. (Presumably, there is some discretion for larger sites.) Personally, I like development like PLACE, but would not want my address to be "5725 Highway 7"

But anyway -- regarding the stub, I think it would make sense to rename it "Old Highway 7" for the local name. If they want a truly urban boulevard replacement -- remove the thing and develop the area in connected grid.