Rochester

grant1simons2
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Re: Rochester

Postby grant1simons2 » April 28th, 2017, 8:58 am

Wait, the Center Street ramp is going away? Sweet!

matthew5080
Rice Park
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Re: Rochester

Postby matthew5080 » April 28th, 2017, 10:14 am

Fantastic news! Hopefully they won't have to cut off a few floors like they did for the Hilton. Anything that can get rid of that awful Center Street Ramp is fine by me though.

go4guy
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Re: Rochester

Postby go4guy » April 28th, 2017, 1:23 pm

Great news. This was originally hinted at in December with news coming before the new year. Been waiting 5 months for this announcement. Great news, and I love how they are using both main corners for a tower.
-The hotel corner is a perfect spot for a hotel.
- I would assume the residential portion will be apartments, as it would be tough to compete with a 26 story condo tower being built by Bloom. I dont assume another condo building until that one nears full occupancy.
- This will be a game changer for the street life in this area. A complete dead zone right now with that ugly old ramp straddling the street. Hope this one gets going soon

Could be a lot of tower cranes in downtown with this project, Hilton tower, Bloom towers, Mortenson office building announced yesterday, hotel on the Legion site, and assuming some Mayo vertical expansions as well!

go4guy
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Re: Rochester

Postby go4guy » April 28th, 2017, 1:31 pm

Fantastic news! Hopefully they won't have to cut off a few floors like they did for the Hilton. Anything that can get rid of that awful Center Street Ramp is fine by me though.
Hilton seemed to be more of a Titan project, with Harbor Bay assisting at the last minute to get the project going. This one seems to be more of a Harbor Bay project with partnering with local developer Titan. Harbor Bay seems to have better financing muscle.

Anyone know what kind of track record Harbor Bay has? They seemed to come out of nowhere with The Hub project, but have been making some noise lately.

mattaudio
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Re: Rochester

Postby mattaudio » April 28th, 2017, 2:21 pm

Image

User avatar
Mooglemuffins
Nicollet Mall
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Re: Rochester

Postby Mooglemuffins » April 28th, 2017, 3:28 pm

I really have a hard time understanding the "I want to live in a city but not in a 'city' and have everything stay the same people" because I love seeing growth and change. What is it they are afraid of about growth and development? Is it just fear of change? Underlying racism towards the diversity that comes with urban areas? A need to preserve their towns unique feel instead of becoming 'just another big city'?

go4guy
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Re: Rochester

Postby go4guy » April 28th, 2017, 5:11 pm

Matt, where is that convo from?

Some of the commenters here in Rochester are very ignorant. It is unreal. They don't realize that a project like this will actually HELP the parking and traffic situations. Not only will this project have parking for its residents, but the city is building a bigger parking ramp to replace this one. And 300+ residents being able to walk to work instead of commuting and taking up parking spaces is a plus for the city.

Sorry to vent, don't have to tell anyone on here this info.

Thorondor
City Center
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Re: Rochester

Postby Thorondor » May 1st, 2017, 11:58 am

60,000+ sq. ft. of retail is very impressive. This is very similar to what I was envisioning with three towers of slightly differing heights with the tallest in the middle. Hopefully Harbor Bay continues to have the finances to re-develop this entire site. Looks like there is also a portion of the development across center street on the remaining portion of the center street ramp. Not mentioned in the article but appears to be 6-levels of parking and apartments.

I completely agree, go4guy. Projects like this along with a fully-implemented DMC transportation plan will do a lot towards limiting traffic congestion downtown.

go4guy
Foshay Tower
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Re: Rochester

Postby go4guy » May 1st, 2017, 1:21 pm

I believe the retail is so big is due to a lot of it being on the second floor to to expand the existing University Plaza retail. Skyway will now flow from the new parking ramp, through the new Hilton, across Broadway to this property and then follow the Shoppes at University Plaza. Hopefully get a restaurant at each corner one each under the hotel and apartment tower.

matthew5080
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Re: Rochester

Postby matthew5080 » July 14th, 2017, 9:02 pm

Some news was given in regard to the new parking ramp. According to the Post Bulletin, the city is currently seeking proposals for the apartment tower that is to go above the parking ramp being built behind the Broadway Plaza and Hilton Hotel towers.
The city's timeline sets a Sept. 22 deadline for proposals, with a monthlong review process. Under the plan, the council would make a conditional selection by Oct. 31, with plans for a contract to be awarded Dec. 4.

Spaeth said the ramp isn't expected to be complete until August in 2018.

Image

http://www.postbulletin.com/news/local/ ... 51b7b.html

Anondson
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Re: Rochester

Postby Anondson » July 14th, 2017, 9:10 pm

Seems like it will have actual awnings Minneapolis should be jealous over.

go4guy
Foshay Tower
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Re: Rochester

Postby go4guy » July 14th, 2017, 9:23 pm

It would be really nice if they would shut down that Seneca spur and turn that into a trail similar to the Douglas Trail. From the rendering, it looks like that is their future plan.

bubzki2
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Re: Rochester

Postby bubzki2 » July 17th, 2017, 8:04 am

The Mayo Clinic itself tried a few years back to remove that segment (or re-route). They fought hard and still failed. I'm not saying they couldn't succeed now, but I really don't see that track going anywhere for a very long time. A shame as I think it really creates a scar through the core of downtown.

go4guy
Foshay Tower
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Re: Rochester

Postby go4guy » July 17th, 2017, 7:03 pm

Yet, if it was turned into a greenway, it would be a HUGE asset

MNdible
is great.
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Re: Rochester

Postby MNdible » July 18th, 2017, 8:25 am

Does anybody have any sense how many trains the Seneca plant is actually taking? I'd tend to think that fresh vegetables are much more likely to be delivered by truck than train. The spur (as opposed to the mainline) really does seem like the sort of thing that Mayo could just right a check for and make go away.

mattaudio
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Re: Rochester

Postby mattaudio » July 18th, 2017, 9:01 am

It would also be wise to capture the spur ROW south of Hwy 14 (12th St SE) for transit right of way... Eventually part of a north-south spine connecting the growing Hwy 52 corridor to the northwest with the Hwy 63 corridor to RST airport in the south.

Some Rochester Pantasy Maps I've made over the last decadeish:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=10tckL ... sp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/open?id=10GgFe ... sp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1wwAgH ... sp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Sx7qq ... sp=sharing

Fun facts: This was once part of a secondary mainline for the Chicago Great Western: http://www.american-rails.com/images/cgw-map.jpg
To the north, it connected via Pine Island, Zumbrota, and Hay Creek to Red Wing, then west along the Cannon River to Randolph.
To the south, it went to the Simpson Wye which then split east to Winona and south to Iowa. What's fascinating (and sad) to me is that the great majority of their right of way was simply abandoned, never rail banked or preserved in any form. This was likely because many segments paralleled other railroads, such as the Chicago Northwestern line between Rochester and Winona (now CP via DM&E) etc. My understanding is the Cannon Valley Trail is on CGW trackage even though there was also a Milwaukee Road branch line from Red Wing up the Cannon River to Cannon Falls. Fun times!

go4guy
Foshay Tower
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Re: Rochester

Postby go4guy » September 20th, 2017, 5:00 pm

Updated plans for the new Legion hotel project on Civic Center and 1st. Cant figure out how to copy the image, but here is link to he plans submitted to the city.

http://www.rochestermn.gov/home/showdocument?id=15064

Plans have changed the design nicely, but I am torn about the curb cut on Civic Center. What are other's thoughts on this updated design. Any issues? Things you would like changed?

Thorondor
City Center
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Re: Rochester

Postby Thorondor » September 21st, 2017, 11:35 am

I'm quite impressed with the building overall. The constraints imposed by the rail line running through the property have forced them to come up with a more interesting design than just your typical box-shaped hotel. I agree the curb cut isn't ideal, but again, the rail line would make it difficult to have a porte-cochere on the south side. Would have been nice for them to add a restaurant either to the ground level or the balcony level.


From the North:
Image



From the South:
Image

go4guy
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Re: Rochester

Postby go4guy » October 10th, 2017, 9:36 pm

While reviewing the hotel, I went to the developer's website. I noticed they have mention of a proposed hotel and condo project near St Mary's that would open in 2020. Mentions 150 hotel rooms and 80 residential units. Could be a nice sized project if it does indeed happen. I assume they are waiting to break ground on this hotel before diving full speed into the next project. I would assume we should hear something about this project early next year if all goes as planned.

matthew5080
Rice Park
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Re: Rochester

Postby matthew5080 » October 11th, 2017, 10:32 am

While reviewing the hotel, I went to the developer's website. I noticed they have mention of a proposed hotel and condo project near St Mary's that would open in 2020. Mentions 150 hotel rooms and 80 residential units. Could be a nice sized project if it does indeed happen. I assume they are waiting to break ground on this hotel before diving full speed into the next project. I would assume we should hear something about this project early next year if all goes as planned.
Hopefully it would be built on the surface parking lot across from St. Mary's. I'd also love to see the Caribou torn down and the entire property redeveloped, as so much of it is wasted on parking.


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