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Submitted image
A rendering of the MCTC renovation.
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Development update: MCTC renovation
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By Amanda Kushner
MCTC renovation increases accessibility, sustainability
Minneapolis Community & Technical College (MCTC) is transforming their outdoor plaza.
The renovation will increase accessibility. Existing conditions of the plaza have quite a few steps and a considerable amount of concrete, which will be eliminated, said MCTC President Phil Davis. It will be an easy grade to move from Loring Park to the college. Construction has started on the project.
The plaza renovation is a sustainable project and a green roof will be installed to help with storm water runoff. This will ensure that there is a permeable surface, so water can seep into the ground slowly, Davis said. Also rain gardens will help filter water instead of running into streets and the sewer system, he said.
The project is divided into two phases. Phase I includes removing the concrete surfaces, waterproofing around the buildings, installing sidewalks and re-grading the plaza. This will be completed in mid-December. Phase II will be completed in the spring and will include adding plantings. Phase II will be discussed at the Citizens for Loring Park Land Use Committee meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 28.
The Minnesota Legislature allocated $2.1 million for the renovation.
“It is a huge opportunity to create a place not only for students and employees of the college, but a place for people who use Loring Park and this part of our city that feels welcoming,” Davis said, adding that the plaza will be a “natural environment where [students] can sit and enjoy the outdoors,” among other things.
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Apartments proposed for 800 3rd St. N.
Developer Schafer Richardson wants to turn the existing industrial building at 800 3rd St. N. into a 188-unit apartment building, said developer Maureen Michalski.
The developer is attending meetings with neighbors immediately around the area and hopes the project goes before the North Loop Planning and Zoning board Oct. 21, said Michalski. After that a land use application would be put in late October or early November with the city of Minneapolis. She said she hopes for a construction start early next summer. The project is expected to take 14 months to complete.
“Overall the development fits with the master plan for the neighborhood in terms of what city staff is doing with the land use plan updates. So the density and type of building fits with what the city and the neighborhood is looking at for that area,” Michalski said.
Michalski attended the North Loop planning and zoning meeting on Sept. 17, 2008, and presented preliminary plans, said Karen Lee Rosar, planning and zoning chair for the North Loop Neighborhood Association.
Rosar said she does not expect the development to be controversial, and she said she thinks any positive development is a good thing.
“Hopefully the capital markets have loosened up, and we can see development moving back into the area. We are never oversaturated with supply downtown,” she said.
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Apartments could rise next to Tower Lofts
On Aug. 31, Tower Lofts homeowners met and were presented with plans and elevations of a proposed six-story apartment complex at 701 2nd St. N.
“Tower Loft homeowners were concerned about size and height and how it relates or does not relate to the adjacent structures. They are proposing a six-story structure versus what is currently allowable for story limits,” said homeowner Jacquelyn Tofte.
Tofte said that homeowners were surprised at how far along Sand Companies is in the planning process.
“As the neighbors directly impacted by this project many voiced concern as to whether their needs would be taken seriously,” she said.
Homeowners met Sept. 9 to discuss the developer’s processes and how homeowners can participate in that process, Tofte said.
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Plans for new dog park scuttled
A site near the Star Tribune’s printing plant considered for a dog park has been ruled out for now.
“We were not able to reach agreement with the Star Tribune for any extra land, so right now a dog play area is not possible, but we have hopes that they might reconsider our requests when they come out of bankruptcy,” said developer Steve Minn.
Leasing was put on hold pending city approval, but now that the site is approved Minn said the next steps are to wait for the environmental information, work through changes the planning commission made and then work on leasing.
The lot at 129 Plymouth Ave. N. is also undergoing environmental testing.
“We suspect there is some additional lead and might be other pollutants on the site beyond what was cleaned up by MNDot, and we are currently going through those lab tests,” Minn said.
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City declares snow emergency
UPDATED February 8, 2010, 1:28pm
By Cristof Traudes
With snow falling almost non stop since Sunday, the City of Minneapolis this afternoon declared a snow emergency.
Starting at 9 p.m. today, cars will not be allowed to be parked on either side of snow emergency route streets. From 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. tomorrow, cars should only park on the odd side of non-snow emergency route streets, and from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday, cars should only park on the even side of non-snow emergency route streets. Cars parked on the wrong sides of streets will be ticketed and towed.
To look up what streets are affected when, click here. More information is at ci.minneapolis.mn.us/snow.
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Development update :: AIA MN kicks off weekend of pro bono design
By Gregory J. Scott
It could be a scene out of some Bravo reality television show. Beginning at about 8 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 13, teams of student and professional designers will have less than 24 hours to turn nonprofit proposals into graphic realities. The one-day scramble is part of the 23rd annual Search for Shelter Charrette, a weekend of pro-bono design organized by the American Institute of Architects Minnesota’s Housing Advocacy Committee. Nonprofits that lack the funds to hire a professional design firm submit wish-list building proposals — anything from a simple redesign of a lobby space to an inside-out renovation of an entire apartment complex. Then volunteer architects, landscape architects and interior designers collaborate to produce visual tools
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Park Board votes to open search for next superintendent
UPDATED February 4, 2010, 9:05am
By Cristof Traudes
President says Superintendent Jon Gurban has done great work but that moving on 'happens as the natural growth of an organization' The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board is set to move beyond Superintendent Jon Gurban, voting 6–3 Wednesday night to begin a search for candidates.
It’s the will of Minneapolis’ residents, said a majority of the board that included all three new commissioners. The campaign trail sealed Southwest’s Brad Bourn and Anita Tabb’s decision, they said, while Northeast’s Liz Wielinski said people brought up the issue repeatedly last fall.
But three of the board’s longest-serving commissioners fought back, stringing along a discussion that dominated the night’s meeting.
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'Beyond Our Differences' screening on Friday
UPDATED February 3, 2010, 5:02pm
By Sarah McKenzie
There will be a special screening of the documentary “Beyond Our Differences,” a film exploring the positive impact of religion and spirituality in the world, at the Mayo Memorial Auditorium at the University of Minnesota campus Friday.
Peter Bisanz, the film’s director, will be on hand after the screening for a Q&A session.
Bisanz of St. Paul is the director and founder of New York-based Entropy Films. He is one of the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders — a group of people committed to turning their visions for positive change into action on a variety of important social causes.
In a recent interview, Bisanz said the concept for “Beyond Our Differences” came about while he was at the Dalai
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Twin Citites janitors vote to authorize strike
UPDATED February 1, 2010, 10:38am
By Gregory J. Scott
A near unanimous vote by over 500 union members has given Downtown janitors the authority to strike. Over 4,000 janitors in the Twin Cities have been working without a contract since Jan. 8. Negotiations with cleaning contractors have made little progress since then, and last Saturday's vote gives the bargaining committee the power to call a strike. Two more negotiation dates have been scheduled over the following weeks, but the affirmative vote means that the janitors who clean the vast majority of Downtown office buildings could walk off the job at any time. One of the major sticking points in talks is the green cleaning agenda proposed by the janitors. SEIU Local 26 has sought a transition to day shift cleaning, which the union argues could reduce
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Northeast spotlight :: Crafty entrepreneurs
By Sarah McKenzie
Stroll into I Like You and you are bound to find something that catches your eye. There are adorably hip outfits for little ones, artwork by notable local artists like Amy Rice and Adam Turman and all kinds of other handmade odds and ends you likely won’t find anywhere else. Owners Sarah Sweet and Angela Lessman recently moved their store to the neighborhood after a couple years in Kingfield in southwest Minneapolis. They plan on offering craft classes this spring to inspire other people in the community to tap into their own creative powers. Sweet recently spoke with the Downtown Journal about the business. DTJ: What do you look for when thinking about items for your store? Sweet: We look for things that you
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Community notebook :: Janitors’ union sets strike vote
By Gregory J. Scott
1 Comment
Janitors’ union sets date for strike voteAfter two full weeks of working without a contract, a union representing more than 4,000 Twin Cities janitors decided last week to set a strike authorization vote over unfair labor practices. The vote was scheduled to take place on Saturday, Jan. 30, at the union’s weekly member meeting. At press time, the outcome was not yet known, but the Downtown Journal has been posting web updates regarding this story at downtownjournal.com. SEIU Local 26 — Minnesota’s Property Services Union, which represents security officers and window cleaners in addition to janitors — had arranged for two additional weeks of negotiations at the end of last year, pushing the final deadline for a new
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Study shows uptick in Downtown skyway traffic
By Gregory J. Scott
If you’ve noticed a bit more jostling during your skyway lunch dashes, you’re not alone. Foot traffic in the elevated corridors jumped 4 percent in 2009, and in some areas pedestrian counts reached a 10-year high. The uptick is the major take-away from a report issued last week from Minneapolis-based Pedestrian Studies, a national consulting firm that analyzes foot-traffic patterns for people whose business depends on that sort of thing — shopping centers, property managers, organizers of public events. Pedestrian Studies founder Peter Bruce has conducted annual skyway counts in Minneapolis since 1991. For this study, Bruce focused on the corridors connected to Downtown’s major buildings, including City Center, Gaviidae Common, Northstar
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Biz buzz :: The Forum
By Gregory J. Scott
New restaurant to open in former Goodfellows spaceA former executive at Cargill is opening a new restaurant in City Center, taking over the space previously occupied by Goodfellows. The new restaurant, called The Forum, will blend comfort-food favorites and traditional chop house fare. It will also offer a “changing destination menu” that every month highlights a different culinary tradition from a region of the United States. Chef Christian Ticarro, executive chef at the Canyon Grille in Coon Rapids, will head the kitchen. The opening is planned for early April. The Forum takes over one of Minneapolis’ most historic spaces, the old Forum Cafeteria, which operated from the 1930s to the 1970s. The space was most recently
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Proposal would double fundraising needs for planetarium
By Cristof Traudes
In a shaky economy, it’s hard enough just to raise money. Try watching thought-to-be-secured dollars fall away. That’s what backers of the Minneapolis Planetarium project have been doing in the weeks since Gov. Tim Pawlenty presented his 2010 bonding proposal, a bill that would delete $22 million that’s been guaranteed to the Minneapolis Planetarium Society since 2005. Without the bonding, the society is looking at more than double the amount of money they need to raise to get the long-planned project up and running. “If the $22 million goes away, I think we have to really reconsider how everything looks,” said Angus Vaughan, president of the Minnesota Planetarium Society. The proposed planetarium would be a $35 million
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A tale of two housing markets
By Gregory J. Scott
// What do the 2009 numbers mean for Downtown? //The number of sales swelled, but median prices plummeted. Affordability reached a record high, but so did foreclosures and short sales. Realtors feel a twinge of optimism, but economists keep a nervous vigil. Since its release two weeks ago, a year-end report on the 2009 Twin Cities housing market has generated mixed emotions and mixed data, matching nearly every encouraging sign of a turn-around with a reason to keep hopes in check. And while real estate watchers metro-wide have chimed in with outlooks for the Twin Cities as a whole, getting an isolated assessment for Downtown has proven more difficult. “We stray from offering specific, neighborhood-level
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