|
Plans for development around Twins stadium taking shape
|
By Michelle Bruch and Kari VanDerVeen
North Loop Village plan would feature a new ‘Dock Street’ lined with diners and retailers
As plans for development surrounding the new Twins ballpark come into focus, developers and city officials are considering whether public financing might go into the project area.
Hines Interests, the developer for North Loop Village — a major mixed-use project planned for the north end of the stadium — is collaborating on the proposal with local architect Elness
Swenson Graham Architects (ESG) and Ehrenkrantz Eckstut & Kuhn Architects, a New York-based design firm.
As described by ESG Principal David Graham, the North Loop Village plan is marked by the following “big ideas”:
• Traffic calming measures would be implemented on Interstate 94 entrance and exit ramps. Development would occur below the ramps and stretch up to the freeway viaducts. “It’s to create a neighborhood street and not have cars going 60 miles per hour,” Graham said.
• Dock Street would run below the viaducts, roughly parallel to 3rd Avenue, and would connect the ballpark to Washington
Avenue. “It feels like an old-town kind of street lined with bars and restaurants and shops,” Graham said.
• Designers would create a Minneapolis interpretation of the Spanish steps of Rome, connecting a series of cascading stairs from the upper viaduct level to the lower street level. The stairway would be located in the triangular section shaped by the freeway viaducts, and would allow people to spill down to Dock Street below.
• An intermodal transit hub at the Northstar line would rise above Metro Transit’s current station plans. The structure would include an open, sky-lit canopy at 5th Street and 5th Avenue North.
In recent weeks, Hines has presented the development concept to public officials and area stakeholders.
Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak called the plan “inspirational.”
“I think this is a truly visionary way of reforming that area,” Rybak said. “One of the greatest challenges of the area has been that there are a lot of imposing pieces of infrastructure in freeway ramps and parking. This plan very cleverly turns those into an asset by looking at having us convert freeways into city streets, having interesting ways to get from one level to the next and even creating a new, meandering street that could be incredibly lively.”
The layout of buildings within the development is not yet mapped out, according to Hines Project Manager Bob Pfefferle.
“The main thing is to maintain flexibility, depending on what parcels are available and depending on market conditions,” Pfefferle said. Structures could include a hotel, commercial space and both rental and for-sale housing, he said. Early “Twinsville” plans called for 2,000 housing units.
Pfefferle said North Loop Village could begin development in the next six–12 months, starting with a Dock Street connection to Washington Avenue.
Hines originally planned to build on the south side of the ballpark as well, but during land negotiations the county granted the Minnesota Twins the air rights above a surface parking lot south of 7th Street. Pfefferle said Hines is not pursuing a development above the Twins’ surface lot.
Pfefferle said that enhancing the public realm could ultimately mean a private-public partnership and some type of public funding, but specific funding sources are still under study. The project can move forward without a public partnership, he said, but the proposed design is ideal.
Whether public officials are receptive to investing in the developer’s vision remains to be seen.
City Council President Barb Johnson (4th Ward) said she supports plans for development adjacent to the ballpark and would consider public funding within the context of all other proposed developments, such as a Vikings stadium and a Convention Center hotel.
“A lot of people have got their hands out,” she said.
One fast-approaching scenario that could incorporate public investment relates to the 5th Street bridge. Construction begins in June to flatten half of the bridge for the light rail line. One bridge span will remain arched, and the uneven roadway is a potential eyesore for Hines. Advisors on the ballpark design have also noted that the 8-foot wall separating light rail from traffic on 5th Street is a blow to the pedestrian environment.
“What’s best for design is not necessarily easiest from a funding perspective,” Graham said. “Who pays for the flattening of the 5th Street bridge? That’s the dilemma.”
Graham said the developer would like the city to consider funding the bridgework up-front, in exchange for future revenue from private development.
Pfefferle said a funding mechanism such as a TIF [Tax Increment Financing] District could be used to support a public infrastructure project. In a TIF District, government bonds are repaid through rising property values.
Johnson said city staff is investigating the possibility of realigning 5th Street, although she hadn’t heard any discussion on who might pay for such a project. She said the most likely source for public funding would come from creating a TIF district.
Rybak emphasized that he thinks it’s too soon to speculate on future funding.
Yet the mayor did say he views realigning the 5th Street Bridge as essential to the project. Rybak said city money for the bridge became more complicated, however, when Gov. Tim Pawlenty vetoed a tax bill that would have resulted in more funding for local governments.
“I’m looking hard at that in my budget. The prospects looked good until the governor vetoed the tax bill,” Rybak said.
Meanwhile, Jim Ufer, a county consultant on the ballpark project, said the 5th Street bridge is one of many variables under discussion in land settlement negotiations.
Ballpark Authority Chair Steve Cramer said most people agree it would cost an extra $5 million to build the bridge without a “hump,” and although nearly everyone agrees the bridge should be flattened, no one has volunteered to cut the check.
“If the landowners close to the 5th Street bridge can be viewed as one of the beneficiaries, does that impact what the land is worth?” Cramer said. “It’s hard to quantify, and there are disagreements as to how much that benefit might be, and whether public infrastructure there is a public responsibility.”
Rybak said the ongoing negotiations between Hennepin County and the ballpark landowners will play a critical role in determining whether public financing will be on the table for the development plans.
“This is a bold vision that’s going to require aggressive public and private partners. That can happen, but not if the negotiations over the stadium leave the public with the sense that the private sector owners have been too tough in negotiations,” Rybak said.
Graham said he doesn’t want the taint of contentious ballpark land acquisition talks to spread into the discussion about area development.
“First of all, we need to agree on the vision,” Graham said. “The next step is sorting out the business arrangement.”
Kari VanDerVeen contributed to this story. Reach Michelle Bruch at 436-4372 or mbruch@mnpubs.com.
|
