| |
|
|
|
CVS moving into Elliot Park
UPDATED May 5, 2009, 2:28pm
|
By Michelle Bruch
CVS Pharmacy has purchased 10,000 square feet on the ground floor of the Skyscape Condominiums, the developer confirmed today. The deal closed on May 1, and construction started Monday on the new store at South 10th Street and Portland Avenue. A CVS spokesman said the store will open in September. “I think [it] really is a major statement for Elliot Park and Skyscape that a retailer of that stature has confidence in that neighborhood enough to buy [the space], not just lease it,” said Paul Dincin, principal of the Skyscape developer Tandem Partners. He said the pharmacy’s arrival in the midst of a difficult retail environment is particularly impressive. “There’s not a lot getting done, retail-wise, and it’s just going to be so wonderful for Elliot Park to have a true national tenant with a wide, vast array of stock,” Dincin said. The layout represents a full-scale, standard floor plate for CVS and it will span almost all of Skyscape’s first level. The store will occupy the old Otho restaurant space that shut down in late 2008. Free parking for CVS will be available through a Skyscape driveway off of Portland Avenue. “It’s going to be a very good urban use, and I think a huge convenience amenity to people that live at Skyscape,” Dincin said. “We’re thrilled they’re moving in.” CVS has demonstrated strong interest in the Downtown market in recent years. Another CVS Pharmacy opened a year ago on the other end of Downtown at 11th and Hennepin. Developers have also worked to bring CVS into the Mill District, although those negotiations did not pan out.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Carmichael Lynch drops Harley account
UPDATED August 30, 2010, 2:29pm
By Gregory J. Scott
When it comes to selling muscle bikes, three decades is enough. Downtown advertising agency Carmichael Lynch announced August 23 that it was resigning from its Harley-Davidson account, ending a relationship of 31 years with the iconic motorcycle brand. In a prepared statement, Doug Spong, president of Carmichael Lynch, said, "Our agency leadership came to the consensus that we've taken the Harley-Davidson brand as far as we can. It's in our best interest to part ways." Mark-Hans Richer, Harley’s CMO, said, "Our strategies have been moving away from a singular consumer target and a one-size-fits-all agency solution. Rather than accept this new reality, Carmichael Lynch chose a different path and we respect that." The
Full Article
|
|
|
|
|
Community notebook :: Florence Court apartments
By Gregory J. Scott
1 Comment
At Florence Court, new apartments up, courtyard staysThe mid-August groundbreaking came and went quietly for the FloCo Fusion Apartments, a chic rebranding of a ramshackle cluster of student housing near the University of Minnesota’s East Bank campus. Despite years of resistance from current residents, the new building is officially going up, fanfare or no. Florence Court, as the community used to be called, is one of the oldest apartment buildings in the Midwest, dating back to 1886. The L-shaped structure sits at the intersection of 10th Avenue SE and University Avenue, but is tucked back from the street, hidden until recently behind a BP gas station. The 33-unit complex surrounds a leafy courtyard, which its residents — a colorful
Full Article
|
|
|
|
|
Watching out for the homeless
By Sarah McKenzie
// Volunteer outreach worker Jerry Fleischaker honored with prestigious McKnight award //After Jerry Fleischaker’s wife died of Alzheimer’s disease, he came across a newspaper article about St. Stephen’s Human Services’ work reaching out to homeless people with mental health issues. The story inspired him to start volunteering for St. Stephen’s. Now the 79-year-old retired pharmaceutical sales representative volunteers full time for the Downtown-based organization. “My wife died of Alzheimer’s in 2002. I saw the care she needed,” Fleischaker told Monica Nilsson, director of street outreach and community education for St. Stephen’s. “I was haunted by the thought that people might be
Full Article
|
|
|
|
|
Downtown visioning session looks to 2025
By jake weyer
// Whether to add a park north of Central Library will be part of the discussion, meant to produce a 15-year plan for Downtown //It’s been nearly 15 years since Downtown business leaders got together with city staff and elected officials to hash out a long-term plan for the area. Back in 1996, those stakeholders came up with Downtown 2010, a vision that included such grandiose plans as a new ballpark for the Minnesota Twins, a light rail line along Hiawatha Avenue, a new Central Library, completion of the Target Center and the development of the Downtown Improvement District — all realities today. “We’re standing now, planless,” said Sam Grabarski, president of the Downtown Council. “And a lot of good
Full Article
|
|
|
|
|
A mountain out of a bronze molehill?
By Gregory J. Scott
// The Sid Hartman statue stirs debate about public memorials Downtown //
OK, no one disputes that the guy deserves a statue. Sid Hartman, the nonagenarian sportswriter who has spent the last 65 years reporting for the Star Tribune and WCCO, is probably getting bronzed. The Department of Public Works is ironing out technical details for installing a metallic Sid replica, complete with TV reporter microphone and newspaper tucked under the arm, right outside of Target Center and a block from the Twins stadium, at the corner of 6th Street and 1st Avenue. The Public Works assessment is the final stage in a roughly six-week approval process to get the statue out into the public. No one’s upset about that. As Nick Legeros, the artist who designed
Full Article
|
|
|
|
|
Biz buzz :: Construction costing Elliot Park businesses
By Gregory J. Scott
1 Comment
For Elliot Park businesses, street improvements come with a price
True to its motto, Band Box Diner can turn “grease into a feast.” But the Elliot Park gem can’t make much out of the road construction that’s transformed its streetscape into a scarred industrial zone.
The throw-back diner is one of the businesses standing to benefit from a sweeping, 15-block reconstruction of Chicago Avenue South — if only it can survive through to the project’s completion.
“It’s kind of like, if you have a half hour for lunch, and then you get lost for 45 minutes, what are you gonna do?” says Brad Ptacek, who has operated the diner for the last 13 years.
Ptacek’s breakfast
Full Article
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
