Rampton Apartments - (201 2nd Avenue Southeast)

[Aville_37]

Have to give them some credit for trying to be creative. Will hold off my judgment until the project is complete. Won't the apartments be terribly dreary, though. Many of the apartments will only have south facing windows, etc.

[RailBaronYarr]

How will south-facing windows be dreary? If anything, that gives greatest exposure to sunlight. Most apartments out there only have windows on one face of their building. I think the dreary part would be facing the surface parking lot, but 1) lots of apartments do that today to their own surface parking and b) that will also probably change sometime soon.

[frenat]

This would be awesome as it would add some great density to an already very live able/walkable neighborhood.

[MplsSteve]

What is the life span of a parking ramp like that anyway? Does it really make sense to incorporate it into a new development?

[Wedgeguy]

What is the life span of a parking ramp like that anyway? Does it really make sense to incorporate it into a new development?

That structure will stand a very long time. It may require deck maintenance and possible new decks in 15-20 years, but as of now It has a long life ahead.

[Aville_37]

How will south-facing windows be dreary? If anything, that gives greatest exposure to sunlight. Most apartments out there only have windows on one face of their building. I think the dreary part would be facing the surface parking lot, but 1) lots of apartments do that today to their own surface parking and b) that will also probably change sometime soon.

True.

[woofner]

I'd think they could cantilever over the University Ave sidewalk and have enough room for a few units per floor on that side, too. Maybe they can't get enough units to make it worth it. Also, those would really be the dreary units so maybe they want to test how quickly they can fill the 2nd Ave units before trying out University.

[RailBaronYarr]

Also, those would really be the dreary units so maybe they want to test how quickly they can fill the 2nd Ave units before trying out University.

This is exactly the kind of great, incremental change we need. If we rely solely on megablock 6 story structures to fix our urban environment we'll end up with some pretty blah areas due to lack of variety.

[fehler]

They'll have great views, I could see the ramp huge from the Guthrie this weekend.

[John]

An interesting and unusual project. A creative way to to try humanize this parking ramp monstrosity. Would be nice to see better renderings to get a clearer picture of how the whole thing fits together.

[contrast]

It's very interesting reading about the Development Commitment- I had totally forgotten about that. Does anyone else recall when the city sold these ramps what other commitments the other ramps had? E.g. Downtown East ramp?

Very interesting/odd concept and layout. I'm glad they are pursuing it- difficult to tell whether this will be a great solution for a very difficult site, or just lipstick on a pig. I lived in Symphony Place on Marquette for a year- I do not like how that building cantilevers over 12th Street and I think this cantilever will be much worse as it is a significant distance. I hope not.

I have long thought the parking lots to the east would be the best place to own a condo- a block off the riverfront to avoid the noise, still close to it all, and the best views- permanently preserved due to the historic nature of St. Anthony Main.

[twincitizen]

Looks like the Committee of the Whole will discuss this again: http://www.minneapolismn.gov/www/groups ... 109597.pdf

There are a few new renderings towards the end of that document.
If this thing makes its way through PC & Council effortlessly (and who in their right mind would oppose or appeal this?), they could start construction in Late 2013.

Does anyone know if, as part of the ramp purchase / development contract with the city, they have to make a certain percentage of the units affordable?

[John]

The project does a great job of reclaiming the street with a more pedestrian friendly scale and a nice, bold, red facade. I think what happens across the street actually becomes important in determining the success of this project aesthetically. Having a well done residential building with strong street frontage retail or a row house concept facing Rampton would be ideal.

[TWA]

Can I just say that this may be my favorite project in town? I just mean from the stance of covering up a ramp and the creativity of it all. These are the types of projects we need in the future.

[Seth]

I get the excitement TWA, but I'd hope that in the future Minneapolis could demolish these mega ramps for multi/higher use projects that may or may not incorporate parking into them. Now if you're just speaking to creative re-use of existing structures....totally, all for that!

[RailBaronYarr]

Here's my take on it, long-range thinking and why I'm such a fan. It adds residents to the area, makes the street far more walkable, and makes the lot across the street that much more enticing. As John says, what goes across the way may be just as important if not moreso. If this works out, what a great way to signal to other developers and owners of parking ramps that something can be done to make our streetscapes better, at a profit! Declining VMT and increased transit infrastructure means that some of those parking spaces in ramps may be more under-utilized, so change repurpose your structure now to take advantage (Rampton is the blueprint). Long-range, if the lot across from Rampton develops, it might make sense to tear down the whole shebang in 20 years and do as Seth notes, build higher utility structures with appropriate levels of parking for market demand. In the meantime, super cool!

[John]

The other parking ramp where the Rampton concept could potentially work well ( perhaps a little taller) is the Loring Ramp as it curves around at the corner of Lasalle and Grant Street. A few years back there was a short-lived proposal to build housing there. It's very possible the nearby LPM apartment project may encourage another residential proposal to resurface at this site. My thinking ( and hope) is the Rampton is a prototype development , and we will see at least a couple similar projects occur over the next few years.

[Nathan]

Or the whole SW face of the Hilton Garage...

[mattaudio]

Or entirely wrapping the district heating plant on 3rd Ave between the Accenture Tower and the Ameriprise operations block.

[twincitizen]

Not much to report from the F&C story on this today, except that there is no financing yet, but they expect that to happen soon. Apparently the rooftop units will be quite expensive. Some will have a pretty incredible view. Hopefully breaking ground (and concrete) late 2013, early 2014.