Capri Block RFP

Northeast, Near North, Camden, Old St. Anthony, University and surrounding neighborhoods
alleycat
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Capri Block RFP

Postby alleycat » September 20th, 2013, 1:13 pm

...an RFP for redevelopment at the southeast corner of the Penn-Broadway node (“Capri Block”). We are in need of your assistance to create a list of Development Objectives which would be included in the RFP document...We would like to issue the RFP for The Capri Block in mid-October, so time is of the essence.
Received this email through the Jordan neighborhood director this week. I know that United Properties and Artspace were collaborating on a development that was initially a part of the Workforce Center move to Broadway. They didn't get it in on time (something like 15 minutes late). The Workforce Center development is likely going to Sherman and be at 800 W. Broadway.

From conversations with the architect, the developer still wants to develop the Capri parcel. My guess is that the RFP is in place to make the United Properties purchase of the land legitimate. A piece of land at Penn and 27th earmarked for Alliance Housing was forced through the same process after the city realized it couldn't just hand the land over from GHMC to Alliance.

The site has been cleared of all buildings apart from a lonely, but charming arts and crafts home on 23rd. The Broadway Rental building and the two buildings next to the Capri were taken down this past year. The Broadway Rental building needed to go after tornado damage, but the other two should've been a part of this redevelopment. CPED loves to use mold as an excuse to tear any and all buildings in north down.



With Broadway Flats, Broadway Crescent and this development complimenting the charming existing buildings including the entire northside of Broadway, the Capri and Five Points, I'm hoping this area will be ripe for some new businesses. Otherwise I might have to sell my house at 27th and Queen.
Scottie B. Tuska
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Re: Capri Block RFP

Postby Moderato » October 6th, 2013, 10:49 pm

Alleycat, as an aside, don't make the mistake of spending years waiting for these proposals to come to fruition in hopes that they will turn things around on Broadway or elsewhere in Jordan. If you are inclined to sell and can do so, do it and move on. So few of these Northside projects actually get realized, and those that do don't turn out to be the game changer you were hoping for. I own a house very near the new MPS headquarters. If any project had the potential to attract new businesses and generate legitimate street traffic along Broadway, it was this project. So far, I can't point to one new restaurant, coffee house or retailer to have opened nearby as a result. The gas station across the street from MPS won't even fix their sign, and the brand new spaces in the 1200 W. Broadway building remain vacant. Really sad. We moved into North with high hopes and ideals, and after eight years waiting for things to move in a positive direction in our immediate neighborhood, I have become extremely pessimistic and am looking for a way out. Several good projects have been killed by the City itself for one reason or another. Unfortunately, we are pretty stuck with mortgage, home prices, etc. I've heard it said that every city must have its slum, and for Minneapolis its the Northside. That idea is so entrenched in the metro area consciousness that it will take generations to change.

min-chi-cbus
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Re: Capri Block RFP

Postby min-chi-cbus » October 7th, 2013, 8:42 am

Maybe what the area needs is concentrated immigration. I know the area is already home to a moderate Hmong and Hispanic population (moderate is a relative term), but what about African immigrants as well? It doesn't really matter which sub-group of immigrants it is, just as long as they put down roots and invest in the community through entrepreneurship like we see on Lake Street and Cedar-Riverside. To me, that would be the most natural course to follow from its current status: a mini-slum.

I'm not too sure how this could be achieved, other than offering subsidies to local entrepreneurs who decide to put their business on Broadway (vs. other parts of the city or metro).

alleycat
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Re: Capri Block RFP

Postby alleycat » October 7th, 2013, 11:39 am

Moderato, while the Capri Block is very much up in the air, the Crescent and Broadway Flats are inching closer to construction. Affordable housing has extremely complex funding schemes. I was actually relatively happy with the state of Penn and Broadway before the tornado. Unfortunately the loss of the Broadway Liquor building compounded with the demo of the Fire and Ice/former Burger King building across the street and the rest of the block really destroyed any momentum. Currently all of the spaces are occupied along this stretch or are vacant parcels. Without new construction there isn't any opportunity for businesses with broader appeal.

Ackerberg's properties (Ie 1200 West Broadway, 5 Points, 1101, etc) are all asking too much for rent. I understand he remodeled these buildings without much of any subsidy, but you cannot rent at downtown rates and expect anything more than nonprofits and national chains being able to afford the rent. This isn't Uptown, Dinkytown or even Eat Street. 5 Points was earmarked for a restaurant, but never got interest because of rent and the need for a kitchen build out.

Avenue Eatery (in Ackerberg's 1101 building) may have not changed its name, but changed ownership and has done very well since the MPS completion. I'm actually not sure why the MPS building would be such a catalyst. The old location was only incidentally located next to the NE Arts District and Uncle Franky's and Ideal Diner were the only restaurants in walking distance. I believe the health of the main drag of Broadway (between Irving and 2nd Street) and the Penn cluster are very much independent of one another as much as Lowry is it's own thing.

I spent the late fall 2012 photographing the state of West Broadway for the city (http://westbroadway.tumblr.com) and I'm a member of Jordan neighborhood board. I'm enmeshed in making the best of my time here. I also don't believe that any neighborhood is in a constant stasis. With that, I bought a very nice house (nearly turnkey) at the bottom of the market. Comparables seem to be selling for a good profit, so I have that opportunity. Heck I could rent it, but I do live on a very stable block with amazing neighbors and little crime even though we're only a block from Penn and 26th and two from Penn/Broadway.

Min-Chi-Bus, as a city we have to make a concerted effort to turn over the vacant and boarded housing stock so that a large enough population, even if poor, can frequent local businesses. That's the current focus of the Jordan neighborhood while the city seems intent on demoing the problem. I've heard rumblings of a TIF district for West Broadway, but at this point I'm guessing that might fund the Broadway-Washington streetcar. The Hmong/Asian population in Jordan in is near 25% of the neighborhood and I believe they represent a substantial portion of the population south of Broadway. We have three very good Asian markets and a great Asian restaurant, but they aren't on Broadway. They're all on Lowry. The Hispanic population is the fastest growing minority. There isn't much of an African immigrant population in my area, but they're seem to be a lot in Heritage Park/Sumner-Glenwood.

This may be controversial, but I think north needs a Sabri (minus the legal shenanigans and code violations) who will remodel cheap and rent cheap. Despite his inane building standards, his properties brought to life much of Lake Street before anybody heard the words Midtown Global Market.

I'd defintely be interested in hearing from this board to what they think can be done outside of policing to improve the northside. I love all the new developments and mass transit everywhere else in the city as much as the next board member, but what can be done in north to catalyze change. Sorry about the long response.
Scottie B. Tuska
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Nick
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Re: Capri Block RFP

Postby Nick » October 7th, 2013, 6:14 pm

I spent a spring semester in college working for a non-profit on West Broadway, and I was surprised how few of the businesses are black-owned, at least in early 2011. I didn't ask anyone "when they got there" per se, but almost all the small businesses aside from a couple barbershops and El-Amin's Fish House seemed to be run by recent immigrants--East and Southeastern Asians, Middle Easterners, etc. I don't know that it's necessarily a lack of entrepreneurs, as there seems to be a lot of turnover of the businesses that are there.
Nick Magrino
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alleycat
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Re: Capri Block RFP

Postby alleycat » October 7th, 2013, 11:22 pm

Nick I've worked closely with the West Broadway Coalition and I can vouch for you. Most of the greasy spoons are owned by Middle Easterners. I just wish they'd open a middle eastern place instead of a Chicago-style joint or bad pizza place. A few different businesses are Asian owned. Most of the barbers are in fact black owned. Friedman's and the liquor stores (which are well run) have white proprietors.

It's really a good mix. Though Broadway's surrounding neighborhoods are predominantly black, north is about as balanced racially as you can get.

I'm going to check out Travail's popup shop next week. Maybe they'll do so good that they'll leave it open. I doubt it, but a man can dream. Not sure how north gets away from the fast food, convenienience store, liquor store, barber shop, car parts store dominance of today.
Scottie B. Tuska
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Tom H.
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Re: Capri Block RFP

Postby Tom H. » October 8th, 2013, 6:09 am

I've read somewhere (can't remember where exactly) that first-generation immigrants to the United States, regardless of country of origin, have a significantly higher rate of entrepreneurship than basically any other demographic you can think of. This probably has to do with the fact that most of the countries that they come from haven't lost the merchant class to the same extent that we have in the United States.

Viktor Vaughn
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Re: Capri Block RFP

Postby Viktor Vaughn » October 8th, 2013, 8:23 am

They haven't lost their merchant class to international corporations to the degree we have, that's true. But also it tends to be the most motivated and driven folks in a society that decide to pick up and move halfway around the world to make a better life. It's no accident they become entrepreneuers in higher numbers. As a friend once told me, America is where people come to compete for the world's resources.

I'm not sure how to improve West Broadway. The best bet is probably to allow an organic transformation with immigrant businesses like Nicollet, Lake Street, or Central Ave NE already have. Somehow I don't think a streetcar would work it's development magic on this corridor.

Tcmetro
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Re: Capri Block RFP

Postby Tcmetro » October 8th, 2013, 8:38 am

Additionally, immigrants are able to create businesses that cater to the respective immigrant populations. It's a market that is hard to get into if you aren't of that immigrant group because of lack of familiarity.

DFPegg
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Re: Capri Block RFP

Postby DFPegg » January 29th, 2018, 8:45 pm

Capri Theater expansion aims to boost North Side's cultural life

"The Capri Theater has proposed building an addition to its existing structure across two adjacent city-owned lots left empty by the 2011 tornado that ripped through the neighborhood. The proposed $9.5 million addition, which would more than double the size of the 13,000-square-foot theater, includes a green room, rehearsal space, classroom and community hall."

http://www.startribune.com/capri-theate ... 471449434/


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