University of Minnesota - News & General Topics

[seanrichardryan]

'First domino' falling in East Gateway redevelopment project near U of M
By Kelly Busche – Reporter, Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal
May 31, 2022
Work could start on a 15-acre redevelopment project, called East Gateway, next to the University of Minnesota's Minneapolis campus within the next two years.'
https://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/ ... opmet.html
Highlights:
'According to the concept plan included in the environmental review, the following is currently planned for East Gateway:
939 residential units
130,000 square feet of hotel use
285,000 square feet of retail use
1.115 million square feet of office and institutional use'

It looks pretty dull.

[seanrichardryan]

Phased over 15 years starting west to east.
Of note: 'The project also won’t be known as East Gateway Redevelopment forever. UMFREA is working with a team to rebrand the area's name.'

[Anondson]

I mean, Stadium Village already has a name. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[seanrichardryan]

I think 'East Town' is available again.

[Silophant]

I don't know that there's any particular reason to think that the buildings that are built will necessarily look anything like the buildings in those images.

[Tcmetro]

I like how the rendering shows the buildings angling toward the intersection. Would be really cool if they tried to angle them more and build a cool plaza there.

[Tyler]

The wedge!

[BigIdeasGuy]

If you think those building are dull I have a few around the U I would like to sell you.
Starting with the University Office Plaza in the NW corner of that intersection.

Also this project needs even more housing.

[amiller92]

I'm concerned about Sterbs.

[seanrichardryan]

stub & herbs has at least 7 years left before they get torn down

East Gateway will be constructed in phases. The first five years of work will focus on the block between Huron Boulevard and Ontario Street, which is now home to ValU Liquors, Burger King, a University of Minnesota tech office and more.

Following this, the next five years will be spent on redeveloping the block between Ontario Street and Oak Street, home to Stub & Herbs, Raising Cane’s, Sidewalk Kitchen, among others. Some of the retail tenants could stay in the East Gateway area, but it will be on a case-by-case basis, Mascia said.

The remaining five years of work will then focus on redeveloping the Dinnaken student-living block. The selected housing developer will decide what type of housing to construct and who it will serve, Mascia said.

[uptownbro]

Stub and Herbs should not be removed imo but built around. A retail tenet that old(1939!) that can still drive traffic is important to keep. The strip mall can go

[MNdible]

Sterb's is the only place I'd bat an eye about losing on these blocks, and even though I have nostalgic college feelings about the spot, I'm not sure how hard I'd argue to save it. It might be nice to keep three storefront buildings on three corners of this intersection, though.

[eazydp]

As a large fan of both Sterb's AND the Korean Restaurant/Norebang (next to the fire station), I would be devastated to lose the businesses. Ideally they could be preserved, at least Sterb's. I fully agree that Oak/Washington screams so loudly for more dense development, that it is inevitable. I like the idea of preserving Sterb's in some way, but the Korean place will be hard pressed to survive. It is family owned and is that type of business that makes a city special. Same for Sterb's and it's legacy... We all know a new building would most likely command rent only a chain could afford.

This mostly turned into a some sort of nostalgia and anti-gentrification rant but supporting locally owned/operated commercial biz is definitely the challenge as this area densifies.

[pillsdoughboy]

Totally agree with you, eazydp. I'd also argue that a diversity of building types (old, new, short, tall, and what have you) creates a more vibrant urban landscape-- it exhibits history, fosters a range of businesses and preserves affordability, and it lends itself to an overall pedestrian friendly/human scale neighborhood. Planned neighborhoods often feel very contrived. I think it would be short-sighted for the U to demolish institutions that have defined its past.

[MNdible]

Sterb's is the only place I'd bat an eye about losing on these blocks, and even though I have nostalgic college feelings about the spot, I'm not sure how hard I'd argue to save it. It might be nice to keep three storefront buildings on three corners of this intersection, though.

I should clarify here that I'm talking about the buildings, not the businesses. There are a number of great businesses in this stretch, and I'd hope that the University would make plans to accommodate them in future redevelopment.

[Anondson]

The U wants to buy out its partner-owner of the Days Inn block.

https://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/ ... o-buy.html

[Tom H.]

Part of Northrop auditorium's roof at University of Minnesota collapses

[Mdcastle]

Discussions going on about the U buying back their hospital due to the proposed Fairview- Sanford merger.
https://www.startribune.com/university- ... 600242872/

Mentions the plan to move the entire hospital to three blocks along Huron and wanting state money to help. Unlike HCMC, they plan to pack up and move the entire thing to in their quest to build a modern facility with all private rooms.

[mattaudio]

Does that mean they'd close the existing east and west bank facilities minus the children's hospital? Or just close the east bank hospital?

[Mdcastle]

Might depend how how negotiations go. The U seems to be asking for everything on both campuses back, but might settle for less, maybe just the adult inpatient hospital component with the East Bank inpatient buildings.

The West Bank has be modern Children's Hospital, which of course isn't going anywhere, and all the psychiatric units. They can continue to use the old buildings for that purpose for the time being if they want, since standards of care don't require all private rooms for psychiatric units, and you don't have the issue of high profit "choice patients" choosing to go elsewhere to hospitals that do have private rooms.