urbanMSP

It will be interesting to see how all of the new Dinkytown and Stadium Village apartments hold up. Student housing is notoriously terrible.

Of course the $89,000 single-family houses in the exurbs aren't exactly Stonehenge either.

Any evidence that student housing is "notoriously terrible" or is that just a gut feeling that can't be substantiated?

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Any evidence that student housing is "notoriously terrible" or is that just a gut feeling that can't be substantiated?

Perhaps Didier is just referring to the fact that college students tend to (especially when renting) trash their house. Or at least not take care of it. Student housing just generally receives more wear-and-tear.

There was a similar construction boom of student housing when I was in college from 2004-08. All of the new buildings look great on the outside but they are cheap and fall apart pretty much immediately. Cheap cabinets, cheap appliances, cheap everything. Maybe Dinkytown is different.

Another issue is that when these construction companies then decide to go bankrupt and then they restart with a different name which then allows them to continue their shoddy construction.

Yep. That happened to the building I live in. As soon as the exterior walls started leaking water the contractors suddenly no longer existed.

In Road building they form Joint Ventures and when the job is done. They disband back to their prospective companies. Can't Sue them anymore.

Of course the $89,000 single-family houses in the exurbs aren't exactly Stonehenge either.

Topical: http://www.startribune.com/local/yourvo ... 82001.html

The idea of those wood skyscrapers worry me! Not sure how high up I'd go..

Although there's no denying it looks pretty rad.

I'm pretty sure most buildings will be using things like Newark's recycled concrete tubes- It seems authorities are approving of much more concrete-focused infrastructures, as long as they're recycled.

This interview with David Graham of ESG architects sheds some light on various topics such as stick vs. concrete, massing, unit count, finances, and monotony of recent designs, etc. Definitely worth a read.

http://www.startribune.com/housing/233862501.html

This interview with David Graham of ESG architects sheds some light on various topics such as stick vs. concrete, massing, unit count, finances, and monotony of recent designs, etc. Definitely worth a read.

http://www.startribune.com/housing/233862501.html

Awesome!

And here you thought architects design buildings. Turns out it's the bankers. Who'd have guessed?

A friend just posted this on their facebook- It's Houston

Stick development meets fire.

MRRVDL or whatever is gonna love this.

Is this why CIDNA liked the 6-story revision on north Calhoun?

Is this why CIDNA liked the 6-story revision on north Calhoun?

Yes. They had the opportunity for a high quality 11 story concrete structure beautifully designed that would have endured for at least a century. Now they are stuck with a fire trap that will deteriorate in 30 years.

The Strib has video of a construction worker being rescued from the site:

http://www.startribune.com/video/252450691.html

While I'm wary of stick construction, this was not yet a habitable structure, probably without water hooked up.

Things like sheetrock, doors, and other finishes are fire rated for a reason too. This wouldn't have happened on a finished building.

Things like sheetrock, doors, and other finishes are fire rated for a reason too. This wouldn't have happened on a finished building.

You're right . But when I see the amount of wood going up in these stick built apartments, I just can't imagine there isn't some significant higher risk for a more widespread fire versus concrete construction. Of course it's the smoke that's the biggest contributor to mortality in a residential fire, so concrete won't necessarily save you from that.