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Re: Hiawatha-Minnehaha Avenue Development & Grain Elevators/Freight Corridor
Posted: July 10th, 2017, 7:09 am
by Sara Bergen
New affordable development proposed for VA stop on the light rail:
http://finance-commerce.com/2017/07/aff ... blue-line/.
With rents at 30% of income this seems to be a truly affordable development, rather than LIHTC "affordable".
Re: Hiawatha-Minnehaha Avenue Development & Grain Elevators/Freight Corridor
Posted: November 8th, 2017, 10:14 am
by minneboom
Development proposal at the corner of 42nd Street and Hiawatha Avenue. It would include a Starbucks and Dominos, each with a drive thru. This would make the bike lane on 42nd Street even more dangerous. There is also no way for pedestrians to access the site from the sidewalk on Hiawatha Avenue.
Re: Hiawatha-Minnehaha Avenue Development & Grain Elevators/Freight Corridor
Posted: November 8th, 2017, 10:36 am
by fehler
Source? That is one ugly set of plans, right next to the ugly U-Haul proposal. And since when do Domino's do drive thrus?
Re: Hiawatha-Minnehaha Avenue Development & Grain Elevators/Freight Corridor
Posted: November 8th, 2017, 11:13 am
by MNdible
In what world does a Domino's ever possibly need a drive thru?
Re: Hiawatha-Minnehaha Avenue Development & Grain Elevators/Freight Corridor
Posted: November 8th, 2017, 11:56 am
by minneboom
Longfellow Community Council’s Neighborhood Development and Transportation Committee.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/4lck8r5ouo24v ... .docx?dl=0
Re: Hiawatha-Minnehaha Avenue Development & Grain Elevators/Freight Corridor
Posted: November 8th, 2017, 2:03 pm
by twincitizen
The Longfellow n'hood org seriously held a committee meeting on election night? WTF.
How were there any nerds left to attend?
Re: Hiawatha-Minnehaha Avenue Development & Grain Elevators/Freight Corridor
Posted: November 8th, 2017, 2:54 pm
by John21
I'd rather keep the car wash.
Interesting to see Longfellow Station made a presentation. Maybe they have some tenants lined up?
Re: Hiawatha-Minnehaha Avenue Development & Grain Elevators/Freight Corridor
Posted: November 8th, 2017, 6:48 pm
by grant1simons2
The Longfellow n'hood org seriously held a committee meeting on election night? WTF.
How were there any nerds left to attend?
Marcy Holmes did too but had good turn out. We apparently needed it for the General Mills project, which is probably true.
Re: Hiawatha-Minnehaha Avenue Development & Grain Elevators/Freight Corridor
Posted: November 8th, 2017, 11:47 pm
by Tiller
A blue line station at 42nd St would be sooo worth it if it'd stop some of this garbage from being built. This site plan is the perfect visual argument for 1/2 mile station spacing. Really, a dominoes drive-thru?
Re: Hiawatha-Minnehaha Avenue Development & Grain Elevators/Freight Corridor
Posted: November 9th, 2017, 9:53 am
by amiller92
Ugh, that's terrible. Why are developers so lacking in ambition for these parcels??
Re: Hiawatha-Minnehaha Avenue Development & Grain Elevators/Freight Corridor
Posted: November 9th, 2017, 11:45 pm
by sdho
One idea I'd thought about in general re: drive-thrus is that, rather than only restricting them in select pedestrian-friendly districts, we might reach a point where they are disallowed in all districts *except* in specific highway overlay districts, where the benefit is highest and the impact to others is the lowest. In my mind in Minneapolis, places where that might apply would be locations like New Brighton Blvd, parts of Hiawatha Ave, and maybe the west side of 280.
What's striking about this site is that if we did have a set-up like that -- wouldn't this exact site probably be what we might call a "highway overlay district"? It's between Hiawatha and the LRT, evenly spaced >1/2 mile from stations.
I'm not sure there's ever a right place for a Dominos drive-thru, but if there were, it seems like this as good as any. However, I would really like to see the pedestrian circulation improved. If coming from Hiawatha to go to Starbucks, your sanctioned route would be to go down 42nd, cross the first drive-thru exit to the street, and then cross two more drive-thru aisles within the site -- all while walking around 2 sides of a triangle.
The westernmost curb cut seems way too close to Hiawatha to allow for a new development.
Re: Hiawatha-Minnehaha Avenue Development & Grain Elevators/Freight Corridor
Posted: November 10th, 2017, 11:37 am
by amiller92
I agree that if we're going to have drive thrus, this is where we'd allow them. I'd probably prefer that we decide not to, but yeah, I don't expect my view to win out.
But my issue isn't primarily the drive through. It's why not do a not more with this space? Granted, it's not terribly big and it's right next to a busy highway-like road thing, but if it works to renovate the old warehouse/factory up the street for housing, why not some housing plus retail here?
Re: Hiawatha-Minnehaha Avenue Development & Grain Elevators/Freight Corridor
Posted: November 10th, 2017, 11:59 am
by FISHMANPET
With the light rail there I'd say we shouldn't plan for this area to be a freeway area in the future. Remember, comp plans and zoning are aspirational, it's not about what is, but what we want to be. Do we want this corridor to be a highway, or do we want something better?
Re: Hiawatha-Minnehaha Avenue Development & Grain Elevators/Freight Corridor
Posted: November 10th, 2017, 2:29 pm
by MNdible
Get rid of zoning, let the market decide what's best, except for when the market decides that's what best is a stupid Domino's drive thru.
Re: Hiawatha-Minnehaha Avenue Development & Grain Elevators/Freight Corridor
Posted: November 10th, 2017, 3:05 pm
by RailBaronYarr
Yeah there's a real good
hot take that already made that point.
If I'm being honest, if you told me that we could eliminate every part of zoning but segregating truly noxious uses that can't be mitigated through design (your standard pig farm or refinery boogeyman) for the next 50-100 years and let housing and commercial of any kind go anywhere and everywhere even if it mean crummy drive-thrus and gas stations here and there, I'd take it. As it is, most liberal pro-market urbanists fight a more nuanced fight making the case for why allowing more housing in neighborhoods has few negative externalities and many positive ones, while things like drive-thrus are the opposite, and our regulatory environment should reflect that.
As for this site/corridor - I think path dependency and MnDOT designations will need to change before the market will follow. Even if we zoned every parcel along Hiawatha as if it were a beautiful boulevard in Paris, nobody gonna build that until Hiawatha is redesigned.
Re: Hiawatha-Minnehaha Avenue Development & Grain Elevators/Freight Corridor
Posted: November 10th, 2017, 5:03 pm
by tmart
That article is arguing a deeply flawed premise. It's kind of dangerous in my opinion that American politics is so obsessed with arguing about whether "regulations" are good or bad, on an abstract or even moral level. It's an utterly meaningless debate that goes back, basically, to our nation's founding.
Some regulations are effective and some aren't. It's OK to evaluate each one critically, and it doesn't make you a hypocrite to say that our land-use laws are too restrictive, and our conditions for building drive-thrus are too permissive.
Re: Hiawatha-Minnehaha Avenue Development & Grain Elevators/Freight Corridor
Posted: November 11th, 2017, 9:26 pm
by sdho
With the light rail there I'd say we shouldn't plan for this area to be a freeway area in the future. Remember, comp plans and zoning are aspirational, it's not about what is, but what we want to be. Do we want this corridor to be a highway, or do we want something better?
I think "what Hiawatha should be" seems to remain unanswered and confused. The way it's cut off from the neighborhood to the west seems like it would make it really hard to be a good urban boulevard. I'm not sure a freeway would be terrible, as long as it stays limited to two lanes in either direction. In all likelihood, it will probably stay the half-baked expressway with some redeeming urban nodes it is today. I think that conflict is best exemplified by 15-year-old SPUI that they are now looking at how to largely undo.
The upside with the mediocre uses on this site is that they're not particularly valuable improvements. If a 42nd St LRT stop were added, or something shifted in the market, the barrier to scraping these and redoing the site would not be nearly as much as if it were built as an apartment or office building.
(I've been reminding myself of this when I've been bummed out about a similar disappointing drive-thru in my own neighborhood)
Re: Hiawatha-Minnehaha Avenue Development & Grain Elevators/Freight Corridor
Posted: November 12th, 2017, 2:01 pm
by mattaudio
If a 42nd St LRT stop were added
I've actually wondered if we could get some infill LRT stops here, 42nd and 26th Streets being the two I'd like to see happen.
Re: Hiawatha-Minnehaha Avenue Development & Grain Elevators/Freight Corridor
Posted: April 17th, 2018, 1:29 pm
by fehler
Also from Nextdoor, Andrew Johnson notes a meeting on the Dominos/Starbucks and a meeting next week for the U-Haul proposal.
Andrew Johnson, Howe 4d ago
The meeting today was an informal step where the Planning Commission provides feedback to developers on their proposals before they submit their final application (which results in a formal public hearing, a staff report, discussion, and a vote).
My understanding is that the Domino's up the street will be relocating here (should the project be built). I strongly encouraged the developer to add greater density/housing to this site, but he will not be doing so.
Residents with an opinion on this project are strongly encouraged to participate in the process by sending a letter to be added to the record, along with attending the public hearing (once it is scheduled). You can email comments to me and I will pass them along to our staff for inclusion in the public record:
[email protected]
Another proposal happening across the street is for a five-story tall self-storage and truck rental facility being proposed by U-Haul (SE corner of 42nd and Hiawatha). The public meeting for that one is scheduled for Monday, April 23, 2018 at 4:30 p.m., in Room 317 City Hall, 350 S. 5th St., Minneapolis, MN. Plans will be available for your review a few days before the meeting via
http://www.minneapolismn.gov/meetings/planning and comments can be emailed to the assigned City Planner for inclusion in the public record at:
[email protected]
I believe Longfellow Community Council and Standish-Ericsson Neighborhood Association have both formally expressed concerns to the City regarding the U-Haul proposal.
(Please note: Because of the quasi-judicial nature of zoning decisions, I am legally prohibited from expressing support or opposition for these projects prior to a potential vote on them.)
Re: Hiawatha-Minnehaha Avenue Development & Grain Elevators/Freight Corridor
Posted: April 17th, 2018, 9:46 pm
by minneboom
They are going before the planning commission on April 23rd to try and get approval for the project. You can find the plans at the link below.
https://longfellow.org/2018/04/06/publi ... ha-avenue/