urbanMSP

I would prefer they approve the demolition of the Days Inn building, and then demand a great proposal with no TIF.

Some new information regarding the new ramp downtown...

The $20 million to $25 million ramp, on the east half of the Broadway Plaza block, will be six stories high, extending over a Canadian Pacific railroad track and all the way to the current centerline of First Avenue Southeast

The project will narrow First Avenue to two slim travel lanes and eliminate the on-street parking that's heavily used for downtown events, as well as by people doing business at the PB

Parking on both sides of the street will likely be removed but two-way traffic will remain

http://www.postbulletin.com/news/local/ ... 7ec13.html

The Titan/Opus apartment project on the southend of downtown passed the DMC board this morning and has been named "Urban on First".

On Thursday, the Destination Medical Center Corporation Board gave the go-ahead to a 156-unit apartment complex to be developed on the south end of downtown. The board's approval will allow $3.8 million in public funding — in the form of tax increment financing (TIF) — to count toward the city's $128 million obligation to DMC.

The project still requires final approval from the city council.

http://www.themedcitybeat.com/news-blog ... c-approval

The proposed arena to replace Taylor Arena at the Mayo Civic Center is still in the works. The Rochester Convention and Visitors Bureau plans on providing a report in May or June.

http://www.themedcitybeat.com/news-blog ... ns-ongoing

http://www.kaaltv.com/news/rochester-li ... a/4412876/

I just don't get this. How can a neighborhood group work with the city on a development plan, when the current owner of that same exact property currently has redevelopment plans of their own for this site. This kind of crap just baffles me. "Hey, we want to do this with a property we don't own and have no plans to purchase it"

I don't think there's anything wrong with pitching development plans on sites over which one does not have influence or ownership, as long as there's a grounding in the reality of that limited influence. Additionally, haven't there been potential legal blocks to the demolition of this Days Inn structure in Downtown Rochester? Finally, wasn't the city already involved in the redevelopment by providing TIF or other subsidies for the structured parking? Honestly, I lose track of all the places where the City of Rochester is subsidizing new parking, so forgive me if I misremember.

There are some roadblocks over the historical preservation, but i fear this city council is not smart and will say, "Oh, well we have this other proposal to redevelop the existing building. I like that better, so we will deny your request to demo"

TIF for structured parking is for the tower on Broadway. Not this one. But they are asking for some sort of TIF

City Council gave the final approval on the Titan/Opus project downtown Rochester!

http://finance-commerce.com/2017/03/roc ... -building/

The $200 million in private development benchmark has been reached, allowing access to incremental state funding for infrastructure projects around downtown Rochester.

On Thursday, the DMC Corporation Board submitted its 2016 private investment report to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. The report shows $297.7 million in private investment from July 2013, when DMC was first signed into law, through the end of 2016.

Nearly half the total investment — $145.3 million — came in 2016, DMC's first full year as an economic development program.

The vast majority of the private investment in 2016 — $107.2 million — came from the Mayo Clinic. Other notable Non-Mayo projects included the renovation of the Conley-Maass Building and the construction of several new apartment buildings.

http://www.themedcitybeat.com/news-blog ... -threshold


Four of the local "prototypes" have been chosen to be permanently implemented within Peace Plaza.

http://www.themedcitybeat.com/news-blog ... f-the-city

I'll be interested to see how much private investment there is this year--probably even more than 2016 with the Hilton (Broadway at Center) building going up. Now that the DMC projects can start moving forward into the construction phase, I'm looking forward to more renderings of the Heart of the City, Discovery Square, etc... Do you know what that raised platform running all the way up through the middle of Peace Plaza is supposed to be? maybe an indoor space underneath for shops/booths?

The developer of the Heart of the City North tower has withdrawn his proposal to demolish the Days Inn Hotel downtown.

In a statement released Friday to the Med City Beat, Dunn said the decision to withdraw the proposal was made "in light of our evolving development activities related to the proposed Heart of the City North project." However, he indicated his company is still interested in coming back to the table with a revised proposal.

http://www.themedcitybeat.com/news-blog ... ster-hotel

12-story tower proposed for American Legion site in downtown Rochester
http://www.themedcitybeat.com/news-blog ... egion-site

"The proposal from EKN Development Group would be the firm's first development in Rochester. Plans call for a hotel lobby on the street level; parking on floors 2-5; a private club space on floor 6; beverage, dining, patio, garden, pool, fitness and conference rooms on the seventh level; and guest rooms on floors 8-12."

https://goo.gl/maps/U3tkd8ADr1T2

The Post Bulletin has released an article on the new project which has been called "irregular in shape". EKN expressed interest in the location due to its proximity to the Charter House and Jacobson Building. According to the PB, early versions of the project so far have shown space to accommodate the American Legion AND the VFW in the club space. Apparently they'll be holding an informational meeting next Thursday.

Sokanthong said this hotel could just the beginning of EKN's investment in Rochester.

"We do plan to entertain more development there, if it's feasible," she said. "We got lucky with the site we found. We hope lightning will strike again."

http://www.postbulletin.com/news/local/ ... 64b86.html

"it's a pretty irregularly shaped building"
Sounds like a parking podium with an amenity deck, and a smaller hotel tower above.

City Council approved $26.5 million in costs for the ramp that will be built behind the 19 story Hilton that's currently under construction and the Broadway Plaza. This includes $512,000 that would ensure the ability to build 10 stories of apartments or offices on top of the ramp and a $2.3 million agreement with Kraus-Anderson who will serve as construction manager.

http://www.postbulletin.com/news/local/ ... 3e04d.html


Ryan Cos. is looking to demolish the unused Golden Hill building on South Broadway to make way for more retail. The plans propose 54,500 square feet of retail. The future tenants allegedly include Marshalls and Ulta. Ryan Cos. also owns the land of an empty BP station at a nearby corner and plans to transform it into a Starbucks.

http://www.postbulletin.com/news/local/ ... 157fb.html

EKN unveiled their plans for the 12 story building they're calling "Civic on First".

The plan is to demolish the Legion and build the 150-room hotel on a footprint of about two-thirds of acre or roughly 30,000 square feet.

If things go as planned, construction could start in early 2018. He estimated that it would take 14 months to build. It would include a public restaurant and bar with patio space with the top four floors for the hotel rooms.

Nakhjavani told the crowd that EKN is in early talks with the American Legion as well Rochester's Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2015 to provide a combined home for the clubs on the hotel's sixth floor.

"The Legion has always been here and they want to stay downtown. We wanted to be respectful of that," he said. "Then we learned that the VFW will have to move. We thought it would be a fabulous addition."

The veterans organizations would occupy the entire floor and would have its own separate lobby entrance.

http://www.postbulletin.com/news/local/ ... 8ebe5.html

That's ... actually really snazzy. Loads of parking, but no one is surprised at that. Hides it fairly well.

Would be a great addition to that end of downtown. I like that it has a unique design and not just another big box parking podium with small tower above it.

Would be a great addition to that end of downtown. I like that it has a unique design and not just another big box parking podium with small tower above it.

And then we'll see the panels slowly removed to comply with environmental standards. See: MoZaic.

Reshaping Rochester's skyline: 30-story tower proposed for Michael's site
http://www.themedcitybeat.com/news-blog ... haels-site



I don't know if we've discussed this Titan/Harbor Bay project on the Michael's site, but this is some big news for it.