Cedar Square West

[Bob Stinson's Ghost]

I'm thinking that it may provide some context for Minneapolis' current infatuation with density to study what happened the last time. Here's what older residents of Minneapolis think of when they think of density:



The word "brutalist" hardly does it justice:



This was going up around the same time the members of the "Wedge Club" were buying their dilapidated houses in "Lowry East". It was a very high minded project. The best summary I've found is here:

http://www.startribune.com/1970s-utopia ... 107326213/

I believe this was the first ever use of the slip form technique for placing concrete.

I've been told by people who attended the planning meetings that when fully completed it was planned to go all the way to the river, although I haven't been able to dig up and renderings or plans of what that might have looked like.

They called it a "New Town in Town" and there were plans to build these in several cities, but this one is as far as they got.

And yes, I know it's currently named "Riverside Plaza".

So, whta do you guys think? Is it different this time, and if so, how? What can we learn from the past?

[Anondson]

Is what different this time?

[Bob Stinson's Ghost]

Is what different this time?

The goals and ambitions of increasing urban density are the same now as they were then. The urgency to increase density that existed then is similar to what we see now. Will we arrive at a result which is similar or different?

[Anondson]

The transportation system is at a far different condition (congestion/unfunded maintenance... ) today than then, so that part is different. Building housing near jobs IS more urgent now from that factor.

The nature of the density, and how we build it, is a necessary conversation when missing middle is outlawed.

[Bob Stinson's Ghost]

This project took shape partially as a result of a watershed moment in urban American history. In the mid 70's, for the first time ever, people started to question the supremacy of the automobile for personal transportation. The oil embargo in 1973 (gasoline prices quadrupled in a matter of a few months) added tremendous urgency.

In addition, heightened awareness of segregation caused people to ask themselves what it would look like if people of all races and classes could live together in close proximity.

This is what some of the best minds of the time came up with.

[Anondson]

Why pick this as the example of density when the more recent Loring Greenway apartments and condos project (and when equal numbers of the objecting Wedge Clubbers bought in) could be pointed to?

[amiller92]

And what's your complaint about it? That you don't like the architectural style of the time?

As far as I know, no one is proposing massive utopian redesign of the city, just adding more apartments and condos where people want to build them. Sure, there are a few towers here and there, but they've got a lot more in common with, say, Loring Green than Riverside Plaza, mostly.

[VacantLuxuries]

I'm thinking that it may provide some context for Minneapolis' current infatuation with density to study what happened the last time. Here's what older residents of Minneapolis think of when they think of density

So we're bringing back the same scaremongering from the 1970s too? Using this tower to scare homeowners out of accepting 4-6 story apartments in their neighborhoods is exactly how we got our backwards zoning in the first place.

[Bob Stinson's Ghost]

And what's your complaint about it? That you don't like the architectural style of the time?

As far as I know, no one is proposing massive utopian redesign of the city, just adding more apartments and condos where people want to build them. Sure, there are a few towers here and there, but they've got a lot more in common with, say, Loring Green than Riverside Plaza, mostly.

I actually do sort of respect it. It has provided a massive amount of truly affordable housing. They pondered the tough questions and they had a vision.