urbanMSP

Not sure if this belongs in the U of MN category or general Minneapolis category, but I will let Nick decide that.

Anyways... the old iconic Bunge Mill is up for a cool development, according to the daily -
http://www.mndaily.com/city/business/20 ... imbing-gym

This would be an amazing asset to the area, and a very cool and appropriate reuse of old infrastructure.

FINALLY.

It's been a climbing gym for a while anyway (with the notable sad loss of lives). One question.. there is some pretty extensive and interesting graffiti throughout that tower. I wonder if there's any way to incorporate it into the design?

Interesting. I remember back in 04 or 05 when a plan to convert the site to condos fell through.

A college student thinks it would be a great idea to turn this into-- get this-- a climbing gym! How cool would that be, guys!?!

No. Just... no. Just knock it down. First off, he is way overestimating the profitability of a climbing gym, even a busy one. Second, this student has no idea what years of neglect and exposure to the elements could mean for the integrity of the structure, how expensive a building in that condition would cost to renovate and insure, and how close IT ALREADY IS TO 3 CLIMBING GYMS.

A climbing gym has been proposed for the West Publishing site in St Paul as well. Apparently we have a serious lack of climbing gyms in the metro.

Maybe this is a stupid idea because I really don't know much at all about climbing, but what about a climbing wall on the side of an existing building? Especially that space-ship-looking building at the U of M that's near all of the arenas -- that thing has all kinds of interesting angles to climb on!

There's a little climbing wall at the Minneapolis rec center at the U, and there's a bigger one in St Paul. We've got Vertical Endeavors in St Paul, and they also have a Minneapolis location. And there's a climbing coop somewhere in the city as well. We're pretty saturated for climbing gyms I'd think, especially if you have a car. Are there a lot of students without cars that want to rock climb that could walk to this place?

I disagree, I feel like climbing is a sport that will continue to grow as it becomes more accessible and people are more aware. I know a lot of people in South Minneapolis, who never climbed, but all of a sudden became climbers when vertical endeavors moved into the Icehouse complex. Then it was like a plague and everyone was doing it... I think it could easily gain a larger client base.

It's also worth noting that the unusual clear height of the grain silos would likely be much higher than any other climbing wall in the area. I don't climb, but I assume that's good.

I've got a 12 year old at home that would ride his bike there every day and spend every red cent he has to climb walls that high. I don't know exactly how large the climbing community is in the Twin Cities, but this would be unique in size. I could see groups like the Boy Scouts holding events here too.

A woman died after a 30-foot fall inside the elevator last night. The article notes that a 20-year-old student died in the structure back in 2006.

http://www.startribune.com/woman-falls- ... 306414971/

There's a good picture of the view of downtown from the building attached to the article. The site is still owned by the Project for Pride in Living (PPL).

Hey, that's my article!
I would love to see the tower used as a climbing gym but I don't think it's at all likely. When I touched base with the student/mastermind behind the project last summer he seemed to be less confident that the gym was economically viable.

There's certainly a lot of love for the tower on campus. People are endlessly fascinated with abandoned buildings, and this one is right in the heart of Como! Everyone would love to see the tower stay but it might be best to tear the thing down. (How many 'urban explorers' have died here? three?) It's a pretty great site for a housing project - large and right next to the park, and I imagine it would be easier to build from scratch than rennovate.

On the other hand, I never would have guessed that the A mill would become artist's lofts, so anything can happen I guess. If it was my project, I would tear down the silos, restore the tower itself and fill it with what would probably become the most sought-after apartments on campus. Then wrap the thing with a five-story stick-built structure for good measure.

http://minneapolismn.gov/www/groups/pub ... 174544.pdf

PPL has plans to convert this to galleries, family living space, and student housing.

Hope they keep the BUNGE signs.

finally! i wonder if the tower will be apartments? those views have to be crazy

That seems like a decent compromise. Retains a bit of the silos while avoiding most of the "what can you cost-effectively do with empty concrete tubes" issue.

Beautiful. I love the green, I love the bumped out windows, I love how the tall skinny windows accentuate the repetition of the silos, I love the multi uses of the project, the hidden parking... all of it.

Uh.. Now called the 'Namaste Apartments'... the tower is rendered as a giant peace pole.
http://www.journalmpls.com/news/develop ... northeast/

My first reaction- it is very odd, like an awkward one liner that falls flat, but it is creative thinking for a very difficult component- which I support.

Has there been any progress or movement on a proposed reuse of the Bunge Tower?