urbanMSP

Anything is artificially "nearby" at 60MPH on the freeway. Actually nearby is a different thing entirely.

Isn't that the beauty of terms like "nearby"? I've read articles about "Nearby Galaxies" and I am pretty sure that they are further away than National Camera.

As you approach the speed of light, the National Camera Exchange gets very nearby. Of course, the camera you purchase will have an infinite mass, so that's sort of inconvenient.

When approaching the speed of light, what's the best f-stop setting to use?

And what's a good shutter speed to get the best star trails?

The Arones spot is also prime for development. I could see something with street level retail (2 spots) and 5-6 floors (or more) above.

Anything is artificially "nearby" at 60MPH on the freeway. Actually nearby is a different thing entirely.

Isn't that the beauty of terms like "nearby"? I've read articles about "Nearby Galaxies" and I am pretty sure that they are further away than National Camera.

As you approach the speed of light, the National Camera Exchange gets very nearby. Of course, the camera you purchase will have an infinite mass, so that's sort of inconvenient.

I took an old flim SLR to New York a couple of years ago and had Nation Camera in Burnsville digitize it for me when I got back. For a reference on how I traveled to the suburbs please refer to: XKCD Relativistic Baseball



Back on topic this block looks prime for development, which I'm all for especially if it brings some green spaces as redisciple suggested, as long as it doesn't mess with Nye's.

I think the 17-story tower is adequate for now. Something of this scale would be nice on the block where Surdyk's currently is, whenever that could ever be developed (I assume a very long time).

Would be awesome to see the Surdyk's site redeveloped with a brand new Surdyk's as the anchor. I wonder if they would go for that if approached by a developer.

This part of town has always been one of my favorites and it's really continuing with this tower and the Alatus tower as well! I have a feeling it's about to become the next uptown as far as unit prices go.

I like your idea but I have to say that I can see it being tricky to convince a developer to have a liquor store as its primary retail tenant considering the types of people who may be hanging in and around the building during operating hours. I know other developments have beer/liquor stores in them (e.g. Bridgewater) but Surdyk's is like a regional liquor store, not a neighborhood shop to get a 6'er or a bottle of vino.

When I lived near Surdyk's I almost never saw sketchy characters there. They have a fancy cheese shop, for goodness sake. For a 40 or a bottle in a brown bag, people went to the store on Monroe.

When I lived near Surdyk's I almost never saw sketchy characters there. They have a fancy cheese shop, for goodness sake. For a 40 or a bottle in a brown bag, people went to the store on Monroe.

I'll have to agree, Surdyk's is more Haskel's than Chicago/Lake Liquor for clientele. But I will agree that Surdyk's is way to large to be a retail bases for an apartment tower. It would be like a Whole Foods for needed space for there storage and aisles. Not to say it can't be done. But part of their charm is it is an old established store that also has the Cheese shop along with it. The building is pretty much paid for so they can keep prices down due to scale and volume that they sell.

Surdyks keeps prices down? Huh. I like the place, but I'd never confuse it for being a good value.

I think the whole reason (based on their own radio advertisements) that they can have such good wine sales and variety is because of the fact that they own their building and it has a huge storage basement. I highly doubt they could lease that amount of space in a new mixed use project for the same cost (zero... except property taxes). They have a huge client base and about everyone on the metro knows where they are. I doubt they'll be moving anytime soon. My 2 cents.

In the same regard what I'd love to see is the banks moving into these mixed use projects, they can afford it and the space they need can easily be accommodated.

I'm inclined to agree about Surdyk's. It would take a clever and very dedicated developer to get that parcel changed.

Thankfully the design of the current Surdyk's building, while definitely suburban, is at least reasonably attractive.

Surdyks keeps prices down? Huh. I like the place, but I'd never confuse it for being a good value.

They're prices are very competitive and have a great selection, which is why I keep going there. Also look for the white un-advertised sale signs on the shelves for good deals. Of course if you want to spend a lot on a bottle of wine you have that option too.

I think the whole reason (based on their own radio advertisements) that they can have such good wine sales and variety is because of the fact that they own their building and it has a huge storage basement. I highly doubt they could lease that amount of space in a new mixed use project for the same cost (zero... except property taxes). They have a huge client base and about everyone on the metro knows where they are. I doubt they'll be moving anytime soon. My 2 cents.

In the same regard what I'd love to see is the banks moving into these mixed use projects, they can afford it and the space they need can easily be accommodated.

Thanks you for clarifying. That is what I was trying to get across. You hit every thing on the head. While they may not have the cheapest wines and alcohol in town. The size of their store and especially basement allows them to carry a huge variety of wines and alcohols with several different price points. I imagine their mailing list is huge!

You guys know there's a surdyks thread, right?

It's no Zipp's.

zipp's for beer. everything else is better at surdyks.

Has anyone noticed that liquor stores in Minneapolis almost never go out of business? State and city regulations create enough barriers to market entry that established stores are rarely threatened by competition. Given that Surdyks is one of the top high end wine retailers in the Midwest (and probably US as a whole) it will probably be the last low density parcel in the neighborhood to be redeveloped. The only thing that would change that would be if supermarkets were allowed to sell wine and beer.

^Surdyk's is enough of a regional draw that I just don't see them going without a parking lot. The way they are set up is pretty weird that even that strip to the NE of the building that they own is kind of necessary for deliveries.

I kind of enjoy the way the building looks. It's a shame the front faces a parking lot. Limits development if you want to maintain the facade for sure.