Hampton Inn Prospect Park - 2812 University Ave SE

[mulad]

A mention in another thread reminded me to start a thread on this one -- The structure at 2812 University Ave SE was destroyed by fire on the night of July 31-August 1, 2013. It contained 3 businesses: Sabrina Grocery and Deli, Milano Child Care Center and Jeff's Top Line Auto Body. Some details in this article from the Minnesota Daily:

http://www.mndaily.com/news/metro-state ... building-0

Here are the approximate bounds of the parcel, which is very close to the Prospect Park (29th Ave) station on the Green Line:

[TheUrbanGopher]

Interesting note: The auto shop business put in a request to change the zoning of the adjacent house at 2827 Williams Ave SE to C2. The motion was to be continued in discussion.

http://www.minneapolismn.gov/www/groups ... 110083.pdf

[TheUrbanGopher]

Another update: The motion is listed as topic #7 in today's Planning Commission meeting.

http://www.minneapolismn.gov/meetings/p ... S1P-112477

[min-chi-cbus]

Interesting note: The auto shop business put in a request to change the zoning of the adjacent house at 2827 Williams Ave SE to C2. The motion was to be continued in discussion.

http://www.minneapolismn.gov/www/groups ... 110083.pdf

For those less in-the-know, what entails zone C2?

[mulad]

Oof, sounds like the guy wants to demolish the house and make more parking for one of the adjacent properties? Just like the proposed demolishing of the hotel by Regions Hospital in St. Paul, this is not a good thing when it's a block from an LRT stop. I see that CPED has recommended the request be denied.

[exiled_antipodean]

house was demolished last summer. it's a vacant lot right now.

[exiled_antipodean]

Here's some photos from day after the fire, before the place got boarded up.

http://flic.kr/s/aHsjHhSQ9o

The adjacent property at 2820 is owned by the same ownership group. They purchased the adjoining residential lot which fronts Williams to add more parking space for the DEQO daycare which has since been shut down. I think they hope to get a new daycare in the 2820 building.

The previously existing structure on Williams was demolished in summer 2012, so it's just a vacant lot. But you can't just use a vacant lot for parking. If you want to use R4 space for parking you have to get a certain proportion of neighbors to agree, which hasn't happened. If the zoning was just changed to C2 they could use it for parking right away.

So, the situation at 2820 with the parking is a bit of a mess. IMHO, they over-estimate the demand for parking, but it's their property etc etc ...

I think the more interesting thing will be watching what happens at 2812 which is now vacant and also zoned C2. There's got to be a higher and better use than the now burned out single story building and auto-body shops.

On the other hand the parking lot situation suggests the owners might under-estimate the return they'll get from a more "transit oriented" building that goes high. We'll see.

[Nathan]

Sad, that's a really cute building

[schmitzm03]

Planning Commission COW has a rendering on a new Hampton Inn near Prospect Park Station. It looks like it is proposed for the lot where there was a fire last year.

http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/www/gro ... 128743.pdf

[go4guy]

Good infill project.

[EOst]

Seems like a lot of surface parking for something that close to the Metro stop, but I suppose you do need a fair bit of parking for hotels.

[RailBaronYarr]

With left turns presumably prohibited from NW-bound University, wouldn't it make sense for the city to lean on them to remove the curb cut against University? Access via St Mary's Ave is *right* there, and the parking lots are already connected (though it wouldn't take much to poke out another entrance if need be). This is a mere 250 ft from a LRT stop, an area that should be as urban and pedestrian-focused as possible, and curb cuts don't add to that.

Otherwise, very cool project.

[nickmgray]

It's not offensive, but it would be nice if they spent a little extra effort making the front of the building look more attractive.

As for parking, 35 spots for a hotel this size seems about right. While there are good public transit options in the area, none of them connect directly to the airport. This hotel will mainly be serving families of college students and people coming in from out of town for different functions at the U, so I'd expect most guests to be arriving by car.

[grant1simons2]

Suburban style hotels going in

http://www.minneapolismn.gov/www/groups ... 128743.pdf

Hit's the planning board Monday

[uptowncarag]

Suburban style hotels going in

http://www.minneapolismn.gov/www/groups ... 128743.pdf

Hit's the planning board Monday

Like the "suburban" Days Inn that has been on University for years.

[transportationist]

This is hardly suburban, there is parking in the back, but the building fronts the sidewalk. You can't have a hotel in the modern world of Minneapolis without parking. My guess is the economics for structured parking don't work here, since land is still plentiful. This is far better than either of the Days Inns on University, or even the Commons Hotel at the U.

[Tom H.]

I don't mind this - it definitely addresses the street well. As for the curb cut and parking: the curb cut already exists, but I think if it could be eliminated, then the rear parking could be "squared" up a little better in the back to simplify a (distant) future redevelopment.

If the developer insists on keeping the curb cut, then I say force them to build the driveway instead as a narrow public street that connects University to Williams Ave. The developer gets some on-street parking, and the neighborhood gets some sidewalks that improve the connections between the multifamily housing on Williams Ave and the LRT station.

[exiled_antipodean]

Not sure the neighborhood would actually want a street running through here. The company that owns 2820 (adjacent up the hill) wanted to do pretty much that there, and the neighborhood (PPERRIA) didn't support their proposal for that to the city. Their argument was to keep commercial traffic on university, and keep the residential street (WIlliams) quieter.

The street behind is pretty heavily used by kids playing from the Glendale MPHA site, so bringing hotel traffic up there would not be a win.

It is possible to cut through the 2820 parking lot from Glendale to the LRT, so that issue is already addressed.

[MinnMonkey]

I didn't get a good look, but it appears that site cleanup may have started.

[Enrique612]

Yea I think you are right, I have seen an excavator on site the past few days removing pavement here.