By Michelle Bruch

Forget Twinsville, and forget North Loop Village — “North Loop Green” is the moniker for the multiblock development that will stretch north of the new Twins stadium.

The “Green” title refers to a couple of things. The development would feature a new park in the middle of what is now a surface parking lot, with a seasonal restaurant and a public art centerpiece. Hines Project Manager Bob Pfefferle said the park would feel very urban, with light shining between the freeway overpasses overhead and the Cedar Lake trail rushing by along one end of the park. The developers are considering ideas like a winter skate park to keep the area active year-round.

The developer would also go after LEED certification, a “green” building designation that stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

Hines Interests is planning to build at least six new buildings scattered between 5th Street and Washington Avenue that would range from 15–35 stories, depending on market conditions. The development would go up over the course of several years, with the first phase of construction starting near Washington Avenue. Staff at Hines hope to start construction in the next 12 months, before the ballpark opens.

Hines is currently looking for partners in the venture, and it isn’t seeking public financing for the first phase of the project.

The first phase would likely include rental housing, but other elements of the project could range from hospitality and for-sale housing to office space and retail.

“We’re looking at trying to figure out how all the pieces will fit together and what both market demand is and product type, and then just how you get those pieces to work together, especially given the current financial environment,” Pfefferle said.

The Cedar Lake Bike Trail would run along the western border of the project. The project would convert an abutment near JJ’s Dry Dock Café into a new pedestrian or bicycle bridge that would hook up to the trail and cross the railroad tracks.

The eastern border of the project is 3rd Avenue North. Running parallel to 3rd would be a new street called Dock Street, which would be lined with shops and new construction. Hines might also renovate the Union Plaza office building at 333 Washington Ave. N.

Early concept plans for North Loop Village called for slowing traffic on entrance and exit ramps and building structures up to the freeway viaducts. Whether that concept stays on the books depends on the market, according to Pfefferle, and current plans don’t stretch up to viaduct levels.

Trocaderos pushing for sidewalk café

Trocaderos Nightclub is looking to open a new sidewalk café at 107 3rd Ave. N., a request the city denied in the summer of 2006.

The business would not have any live entertainment outdoors, according to the city, and it would feature five tables with a capacity to seat 20 people along 3rd Avenue North. The sidewalk café’s hours of operation would be 11 a.m.–10 p.m.

The club has had a strained relationship with the city. It disputed the city’s noise regulations as being unfairly vague, and won a lawsuit on those grounds in late 2007. The club lost a separate claim against the city arguing that City Council Member Lisa Goodman (7th Ward) had defamed the business, and the club is currently appealing that decision. The appeal argues that the facts of the case were in dispute, so the judge prematurely decided the case.

Reach Michelle Bruch at 436-4372 or mbruch@mnpubs.com