Montage (Nye's redevelopment) - 116 E Hennepin Avenue

Northeast, Near North, Camden, Old St. Anthony, University and surrounding neighborhoods
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Montage (Nye's redevelopment) - 116 E Hennepin Avenue

Postby twincitizen » December 1st, 2014, 7:53 pm

11/2015 Update: Jump ahead for latest plans/renderings: https://forum.streets.mn/viewtopic.php?f=14& ... 00#p103735
Nye's to close after 65 years in business, redevelopment speculation abounds.

CLOSING NEWS:

http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/n ... ?full=true

http://www.startribune.com/local/minnea ... inneapolis

SPECULATION:

http://www.startribune.com/blogs/284502891.html

CONFIRMATION OF POSSIBLE DEVELOPMENT: http://www.startribune.com/local/minnea ... 49121.html

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Re: Northeast - General Topics

Postby acs » December 1st, 2014, 8:06 pm

I guess it should be mentioned that this news was preceded on another forum by a very much unsubstantiated rumor that this site is the target for a 25 story building. As much as I support density and would love to see northeast develop its own skyline, I still don't think that's a good trade. Go to the Wikipedia page for Northeast, and under economy you see a picture of Nye's with the caption "At the gateway to Northeast, Nye's Polonaise Room, a longtime polka bar".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northeast,_Minneapolis

I'm debating going on a longer and slightly more controversial diatribe related to this, but I don't think this thread is the place.

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Re: Northeast - General Topics

Postby Nick » December 1st, 2014, 8:39 pm

There's been a lot proposed in this area in the past five years or so, but little of it has seen the light of day. I mean, Red20, and that's about it, right? Maybe Mill & Main, but that feels like a slightly different submarket. The Archive renovation/addition, that parking lot at 1st Avenue and 2nd Street, Rampton, various iterations of things at the Superior Plating site, etc. Maybe the idea of a future streetcar is magic, but it's hard to see 300-400 units in the Alatus tower and the 400-500 in the current Superior Plating proposal getting built (both feel like they're happening) and then another 25 story building.

Good spot, though, view-wise. Not too many of those left over there.
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Re: Northeast - General Topics

Postby grant1simons2 » December 1st, 2014, 9:07 pm

Economically we were in a different place 5 years ago, even just 2 years ago we were as well. I think that there's a pretty optimistic look in NE for developers. Lots of little lots that people are starting to buy out and build up. Forecast calls for density. If Jacob Frey is involved, which he is, I think we can see things happen.

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Re: Northeast - General Topics

Postby Nick » December 1st, 2014, 9:21 pm

Is he a developer?
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Re: Northeast - General Topics

Postby MNdible » December 2nd, 2014, 11:13 am

Apparently the future redevelopment of the Nye's site is a very poorly kept secret. Several people that I've spoken with about it have told me who the players are that will be involved. Too bad none of the news stations did any more digging to uncover anything beyond the owner's press release explanation.

Anyway, this is apparently a thing, and should probably be broken of into its own thread.

The optimistic part of me would like to think that they could redevelop most of the site but still maintain at least the original side bar and the Polonaise Room. The back bar rooms could probably go and nobody would miss them (except that the main restrooms are in that part of the complex).

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Re: Northeast - General Topics

Postby twincitizen » December 2nd, 2014, 11:40 am

I'd prefer not to see a separate thread until there is some kind of media confirmation. We tend to get pretty carried away and then there are no details on an actual project until we're on page 5. I think we can keep the discussion simmering here and in the rumors thread until there's some confirmation by the media or by CM Frey (seems like the kind of thing he'd mention on Facebook, or would fess up if directly asked about it).

I agree that both of the historic buildings (2-story at the corner and 3-story "Harness Shop") should be retained as part of any redevelopment. The 1-story sections that fill out the complex don't really provide any value (to the exterior, I'm assuming the interiors would be fully gutted anyways). Regardless of what is saved and what is lost, there sure is a whole lot of surface parking there to redevelop. Presumably, you could add a large L-shaped building along 2nd St and behind without actually touching any of Nye's.
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Re: Northeast - General Topics

Postby MNdible » December 2nd, 2014, 12:03 pm

Even if nothing gets built here, this is a big deal worthy of its own thread. Nye's is an institution, full stop. But from what I've heard, this project is a real thing -- including the unusual step of announcing a year in advance that you're going to be shutting down, because the redevelopment plans will hit the street before they actually want to sell.
The 1-story sections that fill out the complex don't really provide any value (to the exterior, I'm assuming the interiors would be fully gutted anyways).
To the extent that these buildings are worth fighting over, it's because of what's inside. I'd hope that they're able to partner up with somebody smart enough to realize that.

The other thing worth considering on this site is the adjacent Our Lady of Lourdes church, which is very much a historic resource that will need to be respected.

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Re: Northeast - General Topics

Postby lordmoke » December 2nd, 2014, 12:14 pm

Building anything substantial here is going to be challenging, given the site's location in the Saint Anthony Falls Historic District and proximity to Our Lady of Lourdes.

There are always plenty of people in Nye's when I've been there, and I see limos and taxis lined up out front every weekend, so I'm not sold on the lack of business. There is probably a buyer for this site.

I am displeased.

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Re: Northeast - General Topics

Postby David Greene » December 2nd, 2014, 12:18 pm

Sad, but I figured this would happen at some point. There's really no other place in the metro with a piano bar where people actually sing well. I tried it once but was so nervous it come out a total mess. :-/

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Re: Northeast - General Topics

Postby mullen » December 2nd, 2014, 12:47 pm

i can see some local restaurateurs forming a group to buy this. it's great location in a great area.

a generic multi-res building here would be a shame unless this legacy business is saved in some form.

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Re: Northeast - General Topics

Postby xandrex » December 2nd, 2014, 1:11 pm

Any redevelopment would either have to preserve Nye's or be a pretty fantastic replacement. If not, cries about the Metropolitan Building may change to "Remember what we did to Nye's!?"

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Re: Northeast - General Topics

Postby twincitizen » December 2nd, 2014, 1:44 pm

A pretty common complaint I'm seeing on the Strib article is that the food was terrible. Lots of compliments for the bartending staff though. Is bad food supposed to be part of the kitsch? I mean, even if alcohol sales are the primary revenue stream, not having a successful food component would make it really hard to survive.

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Re: Northeast - General Topics

Postby acs » December 2nd, 2014, 1:55 pm

http://www.startribune.com/blogs/284502891.html

Like clockwork, the speculation starts already.

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Re: Northeast - General Topics

Postby FISHMANPET » December 2nd, 2014, 2:08 pm

I've only really eaten the food once, but I thought it was pretty good. My wife and I had prime rib pierogis that were amazing, and I think we both had some kind of prime rib sandwiches that were really good as well.

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Re: Northeast - General Topics

Postby mullen » December 2nd, 2014, 2:27 pm

sorry i don't see this buliding going away, jacob frey will chain himself to the doors.

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Re: Northeast - General Topics

Postby MNdible » December 2nd, 2014, 2:39 pm

It's frustrating to see Victor Grambsch so willing to toss a community icon on the scrap heap.

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Re: Northeast - General Topics

Postby twincitizen » December 2nd, 2014, 2:57 pm

While his comments about growing the neighborhood, welcoming density, walkability, etc. are always super refreshing (compared to many SW neighborhood leaders), I too found his disregard for preserving either/both of the historic buildings really disconcerting. This is a pretty big piece of land with a crapload of surface parking surrounding the buildings. Any development here should at least explore the possibility of integrating those buildings. I'm not saying it absolutely must happen for a development to move forward, but to completely discard the possibility before a proposal even surfaces is pretty damn reckless.

Considering Jacob Frey's comments/actions on the Dinkytown Hotel situation, he is incredibly proud of the fact that they saved all of the buildings while (supposedly) getting a 17-story hotel on the surface lot out back. We haven't heard much about that lately, but it was brought up in his very recent MSP Biz Journal interview, so apparently it's not dead. I'd imagine he will push for a similar outcome here, otherwise he'd be a major hypocrite. This current City Council voted to preserve that unremarkable building in Dinkytown, full of modern, unremarkable/unhistoric businesses. It would be pretty strange for them to take an opposite tack here. The more I think about it, preserving these buildings, with a modern storefront, lobby entrance, or open courtyard between the two old buildings would look pretty cool. Of course, that would mean Nye's interior will not be saved in its current state, as the non-historic 1-story sections would go away. It sounds like the current owners are not interested in letting anyone else run Nye's anyways, as they'd like it to be remembered as it was/is, and not modified to keep up with modern times.

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Re: Nye's Polonaise Room - 100 block of E Hennepin Avenue

Postby mplsjaromir » December 2nd, 2014, 4:17 pm

Seems to me that this a culmination of a couple of factors. One obviously is high demand for this parcel of land. With all of the proposals in the last year this is the most prime location yet explored.

Second would be the current ownership likely finds this establishment too much work. If one looks at Nye's ownership's other restaurants it is easy to figure which one is the odd duck out. The menu for the five Jake's Suburban Grill is indiscernible from any Chili's/Applebee's/Friday's menu. The owners can easily call up their SYSCO rep on Tuesday and order all the food they need for the next week. With Nye's and it is somewhat idiosyncratic offerings much more time has to be spent procuring product. The added hassle of having to actually make food from scratch and booking live entertainment is a stark departure from what it takes to run their other restaurants. Add in the fact that Nye's alcohol offerings have been severely outclassed by the offerings in the immediate neighborhood. If the owners lost the lust for running an iconic joint, I cannot blame them. Hopefully someone comes forward who really wants to run Nye's Polonaise Room.

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Re: Nye's Polonaise Room - 100 block of E Hennepin Avenue

Postby seanrichardryan » December 2nd, 2014, 5:59 pm

Here we have a pedestrian-friendly building with an active use. Meanwhile, across the street is one of those clever towers on a podium. It has tinted glass windows, set behind planter boxes, with no flippin sidewalk on the street.
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