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Re: Huron and Essex Hotel

Posted: February 3rd, 2015, 2:28 pm
by HiawathaGuy
So what is the actual new address for the hotel if the U bought their old site??
From this article: http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/m ... -east.html
It's just moving a block east, where it plans an even bigger hotel (155 rooms) on the site of an Everfresh Food building. CPM's got a purchase agreement for that property.

Red is where it was to be built (now sold to the U), Pink is the new location of the proposed hotel.
Image

Re: Huron and Essex Hotel

Posted: February 3rd, 2015, 3:35 pm
by mulad
There go my dreams of ever using that rail right-of-way again, but whatever...

Re: Huron and Essex Hotel

Posted: February 3rd, 2015, 8:35 pm
by kiliff75
Cool! I walk by there a lot and I was wondering how many years it would take to develop the Everfresh property into something else...it seems so out of place now since that other warehouse closed (and is now being converted into housing). Guess I didn't have to wait long!

Re: Huron and Essex Hotel

Posted: February 4th, 2015, 1:42 pm
by exiled_antipodean
There go my dreams of ever using that rail right-of-way again, but whatever...
Developers talked about leaving room on the rail right of way for a bike trail. I believe the railroad wants to sell the right of way from at least Franklin Ave north to this location, and possibly all the way from the CP bridge.

Re: Huron and Essex Hotel

Posted: February 4th, 2015, 1:51 pm
by twincitizen
You'd think Hennepin County (or maybe the U?) would be all over that.

I don't think it's super critical that the future trail extend to and connect with Essex (i.e. the portion circled above that is already under private, non-RR ownership). Before reaching this block, the trail could simply turn due north and run along 27th Ave, connecting to bike lanes there. Trail users heading to points west could turn left on Essex, from 27th, accomplishing the same thing.

The important thing is that a public entity obtains control over the remainder of the RR ROW, all the way down to the CP bridge. I don't really see a future for any type of rail service here, but it could be a hella useful bike connection.

EDIT for clarification: "CP Bridge" = Short Line Bridge, correct?

Re: Huron and Essex Hotel

Posted: February 4th, 2015, 1:53 pm
by mattaudio
It would be an excellent streetcar connection/extension between Seward and Stadium Village by way of the Capellan Bridge, 27th Ave, and this shortcut to Huron.

Re: Huron and Essex Hotel

Posted: February 4th, 2015, 3:01 pm
by mulad
I'm pretty sure I've mumbled something about using this rail corridor as an extension of the Midtown Greenway service -- I'm not sure exactly how useful it would be, though (and there could hypothetically be a service that ran the opposite direction to downtown St. Paul). But that's a topic for other threads...

Re: Huron and Essex Hotel

Posted: February 4th, 2015, 4:44 pm
by mattaudio
Uh well this ROW is officially used on my p-a-n-t-a-s-y streetcar maps, so they better not touch it.

Re: Huron and Essex Hotel

Posted: February 4th, 2015, 4:52 pm
by grant1simons2
Streetcar next to trail. Replace the giant rail bridge over the river with a ped/bike bridge that also supports streetcar. Could do something similar to what they're doing on Nicollet mall renovation, which is put in all of the little stuff and hook ups ready for streetcar while they're re-doing the mall. I guess that'd really only work well if they knew the streetcar was coming in the next couple years and there was already a solid plan down.

Re: Huron and Essex Hotel

Posted: February 10th, 2015, 9:15 am
by kiliff75
UMN Daily story on it with rendering:

http://www.mndaily.com/news/campus/2015 ... buys-block

Re: Huron and Essex Hotel

Posted: February 10th, 2015, 10:21 am
by min-chi-cbus
I'm not super familiar with the U of M area, so this may come off as ignorant, but that rendering looks like an older building.....is this a refurbishment project or ground-up? After checking Google Earth it seems like it's ground-up, meaning the design is just classy and elegant enough for me to mistake it for a turn-of-the-century building.

Re: Huron and Essex Hotel

Posted: February 10th, 2015, 11:54 am
by up north
Two points:

a)The rendering on the Daily page looks nice. It fits the area well.

b)Sucks that block on the west side of Huron will now be an empty field for the foreseeable future.

Re: Huron and Essex Hotel

Posted: February 10th, 2015, 11:57 am
by FISHMANPET
Oh c'mon, I'm sure the U will cover it in asphalt and make it a paid parking lot.

Re: Huron and Essex Hotel

Posted: February 10th, 2015, 1:16 pm
by widin007
^^ I think its pretty likely what they'll do as they just lost the parking block next door.

Re: Huron and Essex Hotel

Posted: March 13th, 2015, 2:07 pm
by schmitzm03
More detailed renderings:http://minneapolismn.gov/www/groups/pub ... 138678.pdf

Not sure...looks okay. Would be nice to see more of the color scheme. Why do all of the recent proposed and u/c hotels in town have so much stucco (or so it seems)?

Re: Huron and Essex Hotel

Posted: March 13th, 2015, 8:29 pm
by GILBball
I've looked and I can't find what brand this hotel is going to end up being. Has anything been announced beyond "extended stay" hotel?

Re: Huron and Essex Hotel - 501 Huron Blvd SE

Posted: March 15th, 2015, 2:57 am
by exiled_antipodean
Last I heard (at presentation to neighborhood zoning meeting) they had not settled on a brand for the hotel.

Re: Huron and Essex Hotel - 501 Huron Blvd SE

Posted: March 16th, 2015, 5:52 pm
by maxbaby
Does anybody know what is going to happen to the business that is currently there?

Re: Huron and Essex Hotel - 501 Huron Blvd SE

Posted: May 5th, 2015, 7:44 pm
by grant1simons2
Plans released from Planning commission

http://www.minneapolismn.gov/www/groups ... 141111.pdf

Re: Huron and Essex Hotel - 501 Huron Blvd SE

Posted: May 6th, 2015, 6:23 am
by go4guy
Love the unique design.