Red 20 - 20 6th Street NE

[FISHMANPET]

Yeah. Where was that first shot in the album, of what looked like old rail passenger cars?

[grant1simons2]

Oh that was a shot I got well walking down Harrison St north of Legends bar. From what I looked up; they're passenger trains from the St Louis Steam Train Association. There isn't much info online about the group that once was so I gather there aren't any left but I couldn't get any closer than I was due to "Federal Regulations"

[PhilmerPhil]

Fun fact: That triangular area between the tracks where there's a concrete foundation still in place used to be a well used DIY skatepark back in the late 00s. In your photo you can still see the ruins of an old quarter pipe. That was fun while it lasted, but I guess federal regulations, you know?

[FISHMANPET]

After some Internet sluething...

The SLSTA was formed to run a specific locomotive (Frisco 1522), but they disbanded in 2002. All rolling stock was owned by the Museum of Transportation in St Louis and leased by SLSTA, or purchased by the SLSTA. In 2002 costs became too high and they disbanded, returning everything to the Museum of Transportation (source: http://www.gatewaynmra.org/2006/frisco- ... dventures/). At some point Friends of the 261 purchased the car (in 2011 according this Flickr photo https://www.flickr.com/photos/23711298@N07/8372042400/). If you zoom in on that Flickr picture, you can see the reporting mark of Friends of the 261, NSRX, in the lower left corner of the car.

Anyway, how about that Red 20?

[grant1simons2]

Yes. That. I tried to get an interior shot but there was too much glare. It looks very artsy and cool I guess. There are red chairs as well.. seemed fitting

[contrast]

Thanks for the recent photos! Always liked the red on this one, and the balconies add a lot. But a wider cornice would have been nice. Looks so awkward at the top.

[Didier]

This story says one of the Red 20 retails spots will have a new 24/7 yoga studio by the Snap Fitness people.

http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/n ... ng-in.html

[trigonalmayhem]

That yoga place is open now. There's no sign of the restaurant that was supposed to open in the space facing central, though. I get the impression it's either severely delayed or dead and no one bothered saying so.

Also, I know a lot of people didn't care much for this building but it's pretty nice to live in and it's really on the affordable end of new construction.. This neighborhood was one of the first places I lived when I moved to town, but I hadn't been able to move back because there was no decent housing that wasn't expensive condos (or the rent-controlled units I originally lived in and don't qualify for anymore). I'm really glad this place opened up because there needs to be more rentals in NIEBNA here. I'm super excited for all the other new developments proposed because it will mean options and hopefully keep the prices from getting even more unreasonable.

[TommyT]

That yoga place is open now. There's no sign of the restaurant that was supposed to open in the space facing central, though. I get the impression it's either severely delayed or dead and no one bothered saying so.

Also, I know a lot of people didn't care much for this building but it's pretty nice to live in and it's really on the affordable end of new construction.. This neighborhood was one of the first places I lived when I moved to town, but I hadn't been able to move back because there was no decent housing that wasn't expensive condos (or the rent-controlled units I originally lived in and don't qualify for anymore). I'm really glad this place opened up because there needs to be more rentals in NIEBNA here. I'm super excited for all the other new developments proposed because it will mean options and hopefully keep the prices from getting even more unreasonable.

I'd be curious to hear more about what you like about Red20. If I stay in town this fall, it's probably where I will try and get into myself. My first solo apartment was in Marcy Holmes at 4th and 6th and I absolutely adored living over there, except right after I moved in was when the bridge collapsed, so that made things a bit more inconvenient.

[xandrex]

I don't live there, but I've been inside a few times. There's something odd about the building in that it was eerily quiet (which is nice in a way), but the units seemed incredibly nice (if small). It is nice to see the prices are a bit lower. If my income was just slightly higher, I think I'd consider staying in the neighborhood during my next move and get into Red20.

I was kind of surprised that the First Ave NE side has not one, but two, retail spaces. Seems like a bit of a tight fit, but they really did pack a surprising amount of retail here. With the coming development of the Superior Plating site and it's accompanying retail, I think we're going to a see a transformation of the entirety of First Ave as well as infill for the northern parts of the neighborhood.

[trigonalmayhem]

I'd be curious to hear more about what you like about Red20. If I stay in town this fall, it's probably where I will try and get into myself. My first solo apartment was in Marcy Holmes at 4th and 6th and I absolutely adored living over there, except right after I moved in was when the bridge collapsed, so that made things a bit more inconvenient.

It's pretty nice. I really like the unit itself, although I haven't really used the common areas much. I'm not a huge fan of the neighbors, but I think I'd have that problem in most new/luxury buildings and they're probably more tolerable on average than the new uptown buildings (I'm not really a people person, honestly). You can definitely see where they cut a few corners to save money, but considering the rent is a couple hundred bucks cheaper than other new buildings I can look past most of that. The one thing that can be kind of annoying is if your upstairs neighbor is a stomper and/or wears heels, because that gets annoying fast. I think I might just be unlucky there, and a complaint to the office mostly cleared that issue up. I'm guessing that's just a side-effect of stick construction and hardwood floors. Not sure if they're actual wood or not, because they're those pre-made boards that snap together and have repeating patterns to look like wood.

Overall if it's in your price range I'd recommend it, as long as you don't plan on having parties or stomping on the floor.

[seanrichardryan]

Sounds like a laminate floor, which are echo-y in most installations because they float on an underlayment. I don't care for them for that reason; Floors should feel solid.

[maxbaby]

A little info on this place.
http://finance-commerce.com/2015/03/bui ... partments/

[aweeshnavidad]

I have lived in these apartments since November 2014. Our jobs required us to move to Minneapolis from Wisconsin, about 4.5 hours away. The longer I live in these apartments, the less I enjoy living here.

Management: As I mentioned previously, we moved here from out of state. The management failed on numerous occasions when telling us we needed to have forms submitted, and they would not contact us when they said they would. I would call into the office and every single time, whoever I ended up talking to, would blame it on another coworker. "Yes, he should have received a call from Helen yesterday!" Since we have moved in, the managers are still telling us conflicting information. We will get an email from one person regarding a bill, then will stop down in the office after work to discuss the bill, and the person who is in the office seems to have no clue about the email that was sent and assures us that everything is taken care of. These apartments opened up in October, yet the resident brochure with all of the rules and information was emailed to us in March and had conflicting information with the information we were given when we first signed the lease. They seem to keep making up rules during the middle of our lease - we got an email yesterday saying that we aren't allowed to have a rug in the hallway outside our apartment, because it is a tripping hazard. Either the cleaning staff is tired of vacuuming around our mat, or people are complaining about the Green Bay Packer mat (the Minnesota Wild mat owner down the hall hasn't had to move her mat) because we were JUST notified of this in April, and we have had the mat outside since Christmas. We were scheduled to move in on a Saturday, and I received zero information regarding move in. I ended up calling the building about a week before we moved to double check and make sure that we were all set. The first lady I talked to made it seem like it was foolish that I was calling them to confirm that we were indeed moving in that Saturday. I asked them what I thought seemed like simple questions such as where should I park when we are unloading our stuff and then confirmed our move in time (3 pm). I got a call back from a different manager later that day who seemed like she had not communicated with the first lady I talked to. She asked what time we were going to be moving in, and I said 3 pm. She told me that I had to come sooner, because their office closes at 3 pm. Their website said that Saturday hours were from 10-4. I figured an hour would be enough time to go through paperwork and unload, because we had only rented a minivan and would be driving back and forth over the next few weeks for work which would allow us to bring stuff over gradually. She told me that I would have to be at the apartment by 1:30 at the latest. Since we had to make a long drive, there would be no way we could pick up our rental car, pack up our belongings, and drive to our apartment by 1:30, I had to rent the van for an additional day, which cost me more money. When we got to the apartment the next day, I asked the lady who we met with what time the office was open until, and she said it was open until 4 pm that day. Simply put, they could have done a much better job communicating with us, especially since we were moving from out of state.

Parking: When we were first communicating with these apartments, one of the amenities was guest parking. Once the resident brochure came out in March, it stated that there was no guest parking, and it advised us to tell our guests to use street parking. Okay, but what about overnight guests? We have out of state friends who want to visit us, and you give us no option of guest parking. The underground parking is fine. Due to the odd shape of the building, it is a bit hazardous going around the sharp angles right when you enter the parking.

The unit: The inside is ok. Looks fancy, but you can tell some of the materials are pretty cheap such as the floor, appliances, cabinets, and fixtures. The mechanical closet was insulated very poorly, and we always had cold drafts coming from under that closet in winter. The kitchen space is big. It comes with a large quartz movable island. The island is more like a giant table, that looks cool according to our guests. The height is kind of awkward, and the table is over 6 feet long. Our apartment is pretty small, just under 700 sq ft, so there is no need to have this giant table that can seat 8, taking up space in our kitchen. When I toured the unit just before signing the lease, the apartment I toured had everything completed in the unit, except for the island. If I would have seen how massive that thing is, I probably would not have moved in there. We have switched out the shower head in our bathroom due to poor water flow. We spent $13 on our new shower head which works great, so I'm not sure how much they paid for that piece of junk that was in there previously. The appliances in the kitchen are stainless steel, but I'm sure that they are the cheapest stainless steel options out there. The microwave vent is terrible, and the smoke detector is overly sensitive, which means we usually have to cook with our patio door open. We have to run our dishes through the dishwasher 2-3 times and have tried several different kinds of dishwashing detergent, but the dishes still don't seem to get clean. The stackable washer/dryer are not full size as advertised, and it is very hard to get clothes out of the washer.

Noise: When we first moved in, we were one of the few units occupied on our floor. Now, the building is about 80% full, and you can hear neighbors much more than before. Our side neighbors are fine, but the noise from the street (we face the inside balcony) can be heard at night and early morning. Our upstairs neighbors are terrible. I feel like I'm back in college. It's one thing to be able to hear the bass from the music, but I am able to clearly hear the lyrics of the song that is being played above. On the weekends, we typically hear loud shoes stomping around up there around 10-11 pm, and then they go out to the bars, and then they come back and are loud again around 2 pm. One night they had a party, and I happened to be dog sitting for a coworker's puppy. The dog was so scared by the loud noise, he was whimpering, and we both hardly slept. Around 1:30 am, I called the number listed in my resident brochure to file a noise complaint. I'm not usually that person, but I just wanted to get some sleep. The person who responded worked for Steven Scott, the management company who owns RED 20.
Steven Scott guy: "Hello this is ___ from Steven Scott, how can I help you?"
Me: "Hello, I would like to file a noise complaint. I was told that this is the number to do that, am I speaking to the right person?"
Steven Scott guy: "Your building does not have a security guard, so you will have to call the police."
Me: "Oh, ok. goodnight"
Notice that the guy never asked which building I lived in, he automatically assumed that I didn't have a security guard. I did not end up calling the police, but I was very confused as to why my apartment brochure listed that number to call if I wanted to file a noise complaint. A week after that, the same upstairs neighbors were on their balcony between 3 and 4 in the morning, on a Wednesday night. I am a light sleeper, and needless to say, I was tired at work the next morning. I am paying too much money to be kept awake by noisy neighbors.

The price is ok for new construction, but I wish that more things would have been clearer when we were going to sign the lease. The things that annoy us are lack of garbage disposal, cheap appliances, apartment layout, noisy neighbors, and clueless management. The workout room is a little small, the machines are good, but the management rarely refills the sanitizing wipes. The temperature is usually really high throughout the building as well. We love the area, but the apartment hasn't really met our expectations.

[Anondson]

Wow. Thanks for that long review! Out of curiosity, are you looking around for when your lease is up?

[nickmgray]

What you describe isn't much different from what my wife and I experiences at two newer apartment buildings in the early 2000s. Half the issues we experienced were based on poor communication of a new management team and misrepresentation of rule or amenities. Most the issues we had were sorted out over time, but dealing with loud neighbors is the one thing that we couldn't stand.

My recommendation would be to befriend the neighbors around you. Once you get to know them, they'll be a lot more considerate. It's just tough trying to be "friends" with someone who is a regular annoyance.

[go4guy]

This right here is why I would never live in stick construction. In college, I lived in UV, and it was unreal how much you could hear from your neighbors. My senior year I lived in 1301 University, which was concrete built. We could blast our music with the bass turned up, and the neighbors wouldnt hear a thing.

[BoredAgain]

This right here is why I would never live in stick construction. In college, I lived in UV, and it was unreal how much you could hear from your neighbors. My senior year I lived in 1301 University, which was concrete built. We could blast our music with the bass turned up, and the neighbors wouldnt hear a thing.

Not all stick construction is equal.

I lived for three in years in Grand Apartments (24th and Chicago in South Minneapolis). It is a pair of L shaped buildings with a small parking courtyard between with a full level of underground parking. Four story buildings, brick exterior, but almost certainly stick built considering the size and economics. It was built in the early 2000s when I lived out of state and was supposedly built as condos, then converted to apartments after the bust. All of the ground floor was retail, but most of it was vacant when I lived there. Some of that vacant space was converted to new apartments after I moved out.

The rents were low, but only because of the neighborhood. That part of Minneapolis (Northwest Phillips) doesn't have a lot to offer for amenities unless you work at the Hospital. Still an active area and a short distance by bike, foot, or transit from a lot of stuff worth going to.

The building itself was solid and quiet. It may have attracted a different demographic than Red20, but I rarely heard anything from upstairs or either side. Not radios, not TVs, not parties. I thank good construction designed to quiet noise, which is much more common in Condo buildings than in Apartment buildings because "permanent" residents are perceived to be more selective.

[Mcgizz]

Papa Johns will be moving into one of the retail spots here (according to the flyer on their delivery box). This is a good location for them since their other one is being demolished. It's a little further away from the activity going on at their other location but I doubt any significant amount of their clientele were walk-ins.

[Wedgeguy]

They will still be on Hennepin or Central which are major arteries. They lost their 4th street drive byes, but one block will not kill them. In fact I think that it will probably help them with a new store that as better economics, (new ovens, new computer system for ordering and inventory control, and possibly a better pick up parking than their current location). The big plus is you have how many customers that only have to take an elevator down to pick up.

Does anyone out there know what there will be left for vacancies of retail spaces left in that building? To the best of my knowledge there is a restaurant, (besides Papa Johns), and a women's shop. Thought there were something like 6-7 retail spaces spread out on the ground floor.