Transit Oriented Development : Development News

To flesh out its in-progress street design manual that’s part of a broader plan, St. Paul is holding a photo contest of “street elements" that can be found throughout the city.

The manual will provide "a clear framework for street design processes,” according to city information. Community members can help add to the manual with snapshots of “street elements,” which include sidewalks, benches, crosswalks, bike racks and lanes, boulevard trees, outdoor cafes, and more.

The contest, which has an Aug. 1 deadline, is open to anyone, from the amateur to the professional photographer, according to Anton Jerve, a city official who is leading the charge. Contest rules, along with a lengthy list of “street elements,” sample photos and image requirements can be found on the city’s website. Some people may even be able to use their smartphones, depending on how good their cameras are, he says.  

The contest is a creative way to get the public involved in the digital manual, which will see plenty of use from city planners, he says. “This is an opportunity for people to go out and take photos and help us customize the manual,” he says, adding, “It showcases the good things we’re already doing.”         

This will contribute to the city's Complete Streets Plan, which is all about street design that takes into consideration “the needs of all street users, of all ages and abilities,” city materials state. The manual will “talk about how we can bring the street elements all together to design a complete or balanced street,” Jerve says.            

Part of what makes it helpful is that “People will take photos of places they like. It gets people out and about and thinking about the streets, and the relationship between what we’re calling something in the manual and how it’s functioning,” he says.  
 
Source: Anton Jerve, city of St. Paul
Writer: Anna Pratt

The annual Twin Cities Bike Walk Week stresses the benefits of biking and walking as an alternative to driving a car.

The daily festivities, scheduled from June 9 to 15, include all kinds of community gatherings, food, entertainment, prizes and more. (For a full schedule of events, check out the Bike Walk Week website.)

Every year, a number of local government agencies, nonprofit organizations, businesses and other community groups come together to make it happen, according to Nick Olson, a Bike Walk Week planner for the city of Minneapolis. Their mission is to “incentivize and encourage biking and walking,” especially people who are new to the idea, he says.

Among the week’s highlights are a series of commuter “pit stops,” at multiple places in Minneapolis and St. Paul. The “pit stops,” which take place at peak commuting hours, give people the opportunity to get their bike tuned up or to ask questions about routes, Olson says. Free bike lights will also be given away. “It’s a very direct way to get people out,” he says.

On Wednesday, breakfast will be offered for free to those on bike or foot at the Greenway Building on the Midtown Greenway at 28th Street in Minneapolis. “I recommend it. It’s a popular one,” says Olson.

Thursday is Bike Walk to Work Day. The celebration, which will happen at several locations throughout the day, includes a wide variety of vendors plus a couple of speakers. They’ll talk about “how biking and walking are a key part to communities and to business,” he says.  

People who pledge to bike or walk at least once within the week will be entered in a drawing to win a new bike or transit fare for a year, according to the website. People can sign up to take the “commuter challenge” individually or in teams.    

Besides showing people how to get from point A to point B, the activities demonstrate “how biking or walking can be tons of fun.”

Source: Nick Olson, Bike Walk Week event planner, city of Minneapolis
Writer: Anna Pratt

The Midtown Greenway, a 5.5-mile biking and walking trail in South Minneapolis, is too dark in some places.

This was a key concern raised by the Midtown Greenway Coalition’s crime-prevention task force, which recently studied the Greenway’s safety, according to Soren Jensen, who leads the organization.  Jensen says the coalition’s Trail Watch, a volunteer group of bicyclists who patrol the Greenway nightly, tries to keep an eye on things.  

But the group has been working to go beyond that to ensure safety along the path. “We wanted to see if we could come up with more ways to keep crime low in the Greenway,” he says. That’s what led the organization to form the crime-prevention task force a number of months ago.

To evaluate conditions along the Greenway, the task force members, armed with light meters, went out one night “measuring the amount of light in the corridor,” he says.  

In the end, they found too many shady spots, going by national trail standards, he says. Of particular concern are “very dark stairs and ramps,” at some points along the trail.

Although the Greenway has a low crime rate, "When there have been late-night muggings, they have tended to be near the dark stairways.”

To get a better handle on the situation, the task force produced a Google map; it’s an internal document that pinpoints the worst places along the Greenway, in order of priority, he says. Soon, the coalition hopes to see more lighting installed and signage that lets people know they’re under surveillance on the Greenway.

“We have prioritized about 15 sites so far, mostly between Interstate 35W and Hiawatha Avenue, and will continue to roll out our rankings of dark spots as the city moves to fix them,” he says.


Source: Soren Jensen, executive director, Midtown Greenway Coalition
Writer: Anna Pratt

When it comes to transit, the Twin Cities has lagged behind other areas across the country.

Last Friday, 10 metro-area mayors and commissioners who gathered at the state Capitol agreed that the region needs to catch up. In a press conference, they voiced support for Governor Mark Dayton's transit initiative.

The plan addresses the need for several different modes of transit; it provides for additional bus service, funding for the Southwest Light Rail Transit line and new bus rapid transit or streetcar lines over the next 20 years, according to a prepared statement about the event.

To make it happen, the Governor's budget lays out that $250 million a year will come from a regional one-fourth-cent sales tax.

That allocation will help grow the transit system by 1 percent annually, according to event materials.

St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, a speaker at the press conference, said it's about creating a "first-class region when it comes to transportation," where people "choose to live in communities that have great networks of transportation options."

A number of cities across the country have already prioritized transit. "In so many different measures, they are beating us on the things that matter," he said.

That includes job creation, growth and in-migration of talented workers, as just a few examples, he added.  

But he's hopeful that as the region expands its transit system, the Twin Cities "will be second to none, in terms of the quality of life, in terms of the ability to attract talent and the ability to attract jobs."

Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak seconded that, adding that the plan "will allow us to make dramatic and incredible improvements in transit infrastructure that grows jobs."

Residents need to be able to move easily throughout the region, from home and work. "You can't grow a region if you're stuck in gridlock."

Transportation needs to be addressed as a system, not in a piecemeal fashion. "It's critically important and it says a lot about our future," he said.  


Source: Press conference
Writer: Anna Pratt

Handsome Cycles, a Minneapolis-based bicycle manufacturer founded in 2008, has long had a national presence, with merchandise in 53 retail stores throughout the country.

The online business found its first dealers in the city, with One on One Bicycle Studio and Go Coffee and The Alt bicycle shop, according to Handsome co-owner, Jesse Erickson.

At the same time, “We always wanted a retail space” close to home, so when the storefront space beside One on One opened up, Erickson and his partner, Ben Morrison, jumped at it.

“We saw the opportunity to partner with someone who knows cycling culture and what’s needed on the clothing side,” Erickson says.  

Previously, a music store occupied the space.

Erickson and Morrison tore down a wall between the two spaces, both of which are roughly 2,500 square feet, so that customers can go back and forth freely between the shops. “Our side will be more of a lifestyle store in the front half,” while the back area will serve as a showroom and build studio for Handsome’s custom-built bikes.

Beyond that, the Handsome space required little buildout, he says.

In terms of aesthetics, the space boasts exposed brick, hardwood floors, and wide open spaces.

He and Morrison are creating a modular setup that can be rearranged for different purposes. All in all, the place will have an industrial look “that’s raw and clean.” To achieve that, “We’re using a lot of reclaimed stuff,” especially wood from demolished barns and abandoned buildings, while metal piping runs throughout, he says.

Handsome will collaborate with One on One in hosting art shows, film festivals, and other events. “One on One has done a good job,” on this front, he says, adding, “It’s not just a bike retail store. It’s also a destination for the cycling culture.”

The store plans to open in March.

Source: Jesse Erickson, co-owner, Handsome Cycles
Writer: Anna Pratt 

In recent years, Minneapolis has earned a solid reputation as a bike-friendly city.  

The city’s 12-member Bicycle Advisory Committee is just one of many groups that are working to ensure that the city is attuned to the needs of bicyclists.

Recently, the body made a recommendation that city officials broaden an ordinance that requires large downtown developments to provide certain amenities for bicyclists, according to City Council member Gary Schiff, who represents the ninth ward.

Under the ordinance, which dates back to 2001, new projects of 500,000 square feet or more need to have a number of bicycle parking stalls, showers, and lockers.

The problem is that buildings with the same height and scale outside of the business district are left out of the equation, he says.  

This has put off some potential bike commuters. “The number-one deterrent, when people are asked, is a lack of facilities at work to shower and change,” Schiff says, citing various surveys of residents.

One place where he has seen that happen is Coloplast, a medical device company that received city funding to build its headquarters in North Minneapolis.

Even though a bike path is visible from the building, Coloplast employees “still don’t find it convenient without an available facility to use,” he says. This is because the building, which lies outside of the business district, wasn’t required to have bike facilities, he says.

To address that, the Bicycle Advisory Committee would like to see big buildings across the city adhere to the same guidelines as downtown developments. The possibility will be introduced to the full City Council at its next meeting on February 8.

Schiff is an advocate for the recommendation. “This is all about making bike commuting easier,” he says.

Source: Gary Schiff, Minneapolis City Council member  
Writer: Anna Pratt

St. Paul is marking the beginning of a new era for the historic Union Depot with an opening celebration on Dec. 8, which will be an all-day affair. 

After undergoing a $243 million renovation over the past couple of years, soon the 1920s landmark will again serve as a transit hub--this time for trains, buses, bicycle commuting and more.

The station last saw trains in 1971, according to information from the Ramsey County Regional Rail Authority.

Josh Collins, a spokesperson with the rail authority, says, "We really see this as an important celebration to mark the completion of the construction," adding, "It's a chance for the public to see their investment," and to show off a beautiful building.

Going forward, the depot will be "the living room of St. Paul," with meetings, galas and conventions happening there, he says.

People can also go to the depot to "use our wifi and get some work done," he says.

The day's celebration, which begins at 10 a.m., includes facility tours, theatrical performances, historical reenactments, music, dance, art, food and more.

The depot's history figures prominently into the event. For example, the nonprofit Bedlam Theatre will be staging performances that recreate historic moments. The theater troupe will portray soldiers returning from World War II, early immigrants arriving in the city, and more. "It'll be a fascinating artistic experience," he says. "I'm really excited about that." 

Old photos and artifacts that were uncovered during the renovation will also be on display.

The celebration also offers numerous interactive family-friendly activities, with train-themed photos, a Snoopy statue unveiling, appearances from Winter Carnival Royalty and a screening of the movie, "Elf," according to rail information. 

Metro Transit will kick off its bus service to and from the station with complimentary rides. The union depot's new website, uniondepot.org, will soon go live with free bus passes for the day.   

Furthermore, people "can learn about our growing transit system," he says. 

Next year, the Jefferson Regional Bus Lines and Amtrak Twin Cities will settle in at the depot, while the in-progress Central Corridor Light Rail Transit, which is being branded as the Green Line, will come through the station starting in 2014, according to rail information.

Also in the coming year, One-on-One Bicycle Studio in Minneapolis will open full-service bicycle center with storage space, a repair shop and lockers.

Source: Josh Collins, Ramsey County Regional Rail
Writer: Anna Pratt

A long-vacant industrial site in Southeast Minneapolis is a serious contender for the $20 million destination brewery that Surly Brewing Co. is planning.

Surly, which is based in Brooklyn Center, is doing its due diligence on the “Malcolm Midway site,” as it's called, near Highway 280 and University Avenue.

The site makes sense for the brewery because it’s centrally located between Minneapolis and St. Paul, and it’s close to biking and walking trails and public transportation, including the coming Central Corridor light rail line, a company statement reads.

Also, the site is “zoned and sized well” for the project, and it fits in with the neighborhood’s master plan for redevelopment of the area, the statement adds.

However, the site was once the home of a food processing plant and has had numerous other industrial uses through the years; it requires significant environmental cleanup.

Surly has applied for grants to cover this cost, a process it expects to wrap up in January. In the meantime, the company continues to explore other possibilities as well. “This is a 100-year decision so we are being mindful, patient, and thorough with our search,” the statement reads.  

The brewery has been well-received by many stakeholders because “it will result in jobs, it will help refresh the area, and it will be a community gathering point for generations to come,” it states.  
 
Dick Gilyard, who is active with the Prospect Park East River Road Improvement Association (PPERIA), says that the neighborhood group has endorsed the preliminary plan.

Many community members want to see a rich mix of uses in the neighborhood, which includes the industrial lot that Surly is looking at. The idea is that the arts, science, housing, an historic district, and more, could come together to “make the entire area a destination,” he says, adding that Malcolm Avenue is a gateway to the area.

PPERIA has been proactive about its vision for the area, including the positioning of the Central Corridor light rail station, something that has implications for the brewery as well. Ultimately, that vision is “based on respect for the existing historical neighborhoods,” close to University Avenue, he says.

“Our big thing is that sites need to be planned collectively,” he says, adding, “So it’s mutually reinforcing.”  

If Surly does come to the area, it could demonstrate “what transit-oriented development can be like, with high-density attractions and uses and workplaces and living spaces [near] the line,” he says. “We’re very optimistic about this evolving in a way we’re all pleased with.” 

Source: Dick Gilyard, PPERIA
Writer: Anna Pratt

An upcoming forum from Envision Minnesota, a sustainable land use nonprofit organization, will highlight cutting-edge public art initiatives underway in St. Paul.

The event, called, "Spotlight on Saint Paul: A Creative Placemaking Forum," is happening on Sept. 18 at the Wilder Foundation in St. Paul.

For example, the city has an artist-in-residence program, something that Public Art Saint Paul funds, according to Jill Mazullo, communications director for Envision Minnesota.

Through the program, an artist, in this case, Marcus Young, works alongside city officials. One project he's leading brings poetry to city sidewalks. (See The Line story here.)

"It's a unique public-private partnership," she says.

Also, a city ordinance calls for artists to be members of planning teams related to development, while one percent of capital building budgets are to go to public art, she explains.  

Separately, through a partnership with Springboard for the Arts and Twin Cities Local Initiatives Support Corporation (TC LISC, a sponsor of The Line), Irrigate Arts sets in motion short-term artist-led projects about “humanizing the Central Corridor Light Rail Transit construction.”

“I’m struck by the insight of the Irrigate project,” she says. “I’m glad the corridor is becoming more connected, but this placemaking initiative is all about the full of the community.”

The programs bring together the “whimsy of art and bricks and mortar of construction,” she says.

The event’s speakers include Regina Flanagan from Public Art Saint Paul and Jun-Li Wang of Springboard for the Arts. They’ll talk about the city’s ongoing public art programs and offer how-tos for replicating them elsewhere. “Hopefully people go away with good ideas to take back to their own communities.”

Envision Minnesota’s new executive director, Lee Helgen, who helped author the city arts ordinance when he was a City Council member, will moderate the discussion.  

Source: Jill Mazullo, communications director, Envision Minnesota
Writer: Anna Pratt

After a couple of weeks of beta testing, this Thursday, the  ZAP Twin Cities program will be up and running in downtown Minneapolis.   
 
ZAP workers will be on hand at the Nicollet Mall farmers market to share information about the high-tech program, which rewards people for riding their bikes to work or school.
 
The program, which began operating at the University of Minnesota's Twin Cities campus in January, will expand into downtown St. Paul in the coming weeks as well.  
 
Its objective is to “change how people in the Twin Cities choose to get around, helping reduce congestion and improve air quality in the region," a prepared statement about the program reads.
 
To take part, people get a ZAP tag, which gets fixed on a bicycle. “Bicycle trips are automatically logged when a cyclist rides past one of several ZAP readers,” the statement says.
 
The readers, which are solar-powered, beep when a tagged bicyclist passes by, transmitting the data wirelessly to the website.         
 
Steve Sanders, alternative transportation manager at the university, says it has many advantages over self-reporting bicycle trips. Besides eliminating any extra steps, it makes the trips verifiable. “Once you put the tag on [and register it online], you don’t have to do anything” except ride past the sensors, he says. 
 
Along the way, bike commuters pick up various rewards, such as bike accessories, gift cards, and more. 
 
As an added perk, the university offers health benefits for program participation. For example, “If you ride 40 times a year, you can earn points that create a discount for health insurance,” Sanders says.  
 
On the ZAP website, participants can check out their trip data, which includes figures such as calories burned and gallons of gas saved.
 
Since the program started at the university, over 1,200 people have signed up, a figure which is already well over the program's goal of 500 people in the first year.  
 
“It’s been very gratifying,” he says. “People were hungry for a way to have their bike commuting count. Tying it to health has also been important.” 
 
ZAP is a collaboration of the Commuter Connection in downtown Minneapolis, St. Paul Smart Trips, the university, and Dero Bike Rack Company.
 
Source: Steve Sanders
Writer: Anna Pratt
 
 
 

Josh Collins, the public art administrator for the historic Union Depot in St. Paul, which is undergoing a $243 million renovation project, often fields the question, 'Why does such an iconic building need public art?' 

About $1.25 million of the depot's construction costs will go to that end, according to information from the Ramsey County Regional Authority (RCRRA).

For Collins, it comes down to making the building more accessible. “It’s a way we can engage travelers and customers and anyone who comes through," he says, adding, "It makes it special."  

Recently the Railroad Authority announced the results of a call for artists for four commissioned projects.

Projects may teach about the building’s history or be simply aesthetically-pleasing or interactive. “We hope it’ll blend with the existing architecture and make it a place that people have civic pride in,” he says.  

The Railroad Authority chose the artists from a pool of 156 applicants from across the country, including the internationally known to the emerging artist.

For starters, local artists Amy Baur and Brian Boldon of Plain Sight Art Studio in Minneapolis will fill the carriageway with a 170-foot mural made out of tile on glass. The mural will be comprised of multi-layered digital images that speak to the depot’s history, he explains.

Philadelphia artist Ray King will create an elegant suspended sculpture for the Great Hall Atrium while Tim Prentice of West Cornwall, Conn., will craft a suspended kinetic sculpture in the new Kellogg Entry, according to rail information.

King typically “uses lightweight metals to form individual elements that when linked together glide on gentle air currents,” he says. “It reflects light in unpredictable ways.”  

Steve Dietz, from the Twin Cities-based Northern Lights.mn will lead an interactive multimedia project that could involve using a cell phone or an app. “Hopefully it’ll give people a playful experience with the building," he says. 

All in all, the public art will be a draw on its own, he says.

Source: Josh Collins, Union Depot public art program administrator
Writer: Anna Pratt

An empty storefront space on University Avenue in St. Paul, along the coming Central Corridor Light Rail Transit line, will soon be transformed into a contemplative writing room, temporarily.

The installation, from artist Rebecca Krinke, is part of a collaborative project with the Starling Project and the St. Anthony Pop-Up Shop, which has filled the storefront with all kinds of creative activities this summer.

Krinke’s writing room, titled “What Needs to Be Said,” will occupy the space from August 15 to 19.

She’s trying to provide a public yet private forum for what often goes unsaid, she explains.

Krinke invites visitors to jot down whatever is on their minds, which they can display or hide away in the room. At the end of the run, the writings will be burned.     

In some ways, the room is a retreat from the daily grind. It has a smoky cedar smell, while the doors are made out of charred wood, crumpled paper, and Mylar.

This lends “an atmospheric feeling to the room--of secrets, pain, joy,” and more, she says.  
   
Although the room has a see-through quality, outside observers can only see the movement of shadow and light, while “inside has a very different feeling.”

The idea is that speaking up can be cathartic, especially in person--and in a meditative spot--as opposed to online, via blogs or message boards. “This is more random, physical, and visceral,” she says.

Beyond that, Krinke hopes that the project helps draw people to the area, which is known for its creative community.

“I want to show and support the potential for used storefronts in the area,” she says, adding that it demonstrates what artists can do to help revitalize spaces and cities.

University of Minnesota graduate students Michael Richardson and Emily Lowery are assisting Krinke with the installation, especially by exploring the possibilities for an audio component in a future installation, she adds.

Source: Rebecca Krinke, artist
Writer: Anna Pratt

To motivate people to get out of their cars and to explore the area surrounding the Central Corridor by bike or on foot, the St. Anthony Park neighborhood in St. Paul is getting nearly a dozen "wayfinding bikes."

As a part of the project, the artfully decorated bikes/public art pieces will be strategically placed here and there, with signage that conveys travel times and distances to certain local destinations, according to council materials.

The St. Anthony Park Community Council (SAPCC) set the project in motion, which local artist and environmental designer Carrie Christensen took on. Her focus is on sparking “awareness of place and to create more ecologically, socially, and economically functional spaces,” according to council materials.

Irrigate Arts helped make it possible with $1,000 in funding for the collaborative project.

SAPCC, which held a bike painting party in mid-July, is hosting another one today from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. at Hampden Park.

Amy Sparks, who leads the council, says that besides promoting more physical activity, the place-making project helps to mark the neighborhood’s in-progress Creative Enterprise Zone. “This also meets some of our goals in terms of increasing foot traffic and bringing vibrancy to the zone,” which is about cultivating creativity in the area, she says.

She's impressed with how Christensen took the concept and made it her own. Each of the bikes, which were donated, is getting a makeover.

One bike looks like it could be from the 1930s or 40s, with fin-like lines that resemble an old Cadillac car, she says.

Bikes will be adorned according to various themes, creating a mermaid, garden, rainbow and yarn bombing, among others. 

Also, the bikes will be chained to a signpost, so they’ll be fixed in place. Each of the bikes will be on view through Nov. 1, to avoid snowplows, she says.


Source: Amy Sparks, St. Anthony Park Community Council
Writer: Anna Pratt

A twofold event dubbed “exp-Air-iment” offers participants the opportunity to see the neighborhood from a new perspective--literally.

The St. Anthony Park Community Council Pop-Up Shop is hosting an aerial photography “open lab” and separately, a workshop, from Aug. 1 to 5.

The pop-up shop, which temporarily fills an empty storefront space on University Avenue, is among the numerous creative initiatives to come out of Irrigate Arts. The initiative is funding all kinds of place-making projects along the Central Corridor light rail transit line.

Kristen Murray, a co-founder of the Starling Project, which is helping to program the pop-up shop, is leading “exp-Air-iment.”   

In the “open lab,” visitors will get a chance to try the special aerial photography rig in the shop and see the images that come from a custom-built 3D printer, which was designed by Will Janicke, a local maker.

The workshop takes it a step further; people will learn the basics to get started with aerial photography, which involves sending digital cameras into the air with balloons, she says.

Also over the coming week, Murray is doing aerial photography with the Teen Tech Crew at the Science Museum of Minnesota, where she previously led hands-on technology-based programs.

Recently, she worked with teens from the nearby Skyline Tower housing complex. “We took a couple of cameras, rigs, and a bunch of balloons over to Dunning Field and captured some great shots,” she says, adding that they also suspended cameras from kites.  

The playing field’s wide-open spaces worked well for the balloons, which hovered overhead about 50 feet high. The group also got views of Marshall Avenue, Central High School, the St. Anthony Park community garden along with other local landmarks--and the photographers themselves.

“I enjoy seeing broad views where you can recognize the place easily, as well as more accidental angles and perspectives that catch interesting patterns,” she says.

The images show that “The railyard is just an impressive site--amazing that so much activity happens in a place that is smack-dab in the middle of the city but yet mostly out-of-mind and out-of-sight,” the website reads.  

The images can be seen on the website and hanging in the pop-up shop this week.

Source: Kristen Murray, Co-founder, Starling Project
Writer: Anna Pratt

SPOKES, a new bike and walk center in Minneapolis’s Seward neighborhood, is preparing for its Aug. 22 grand opening.

The center, whose acronym stands for Seward People Operated Kinetic Energy, is housed in a 2,400-square-foot warehouse space on the former Bystrom Brothers machine shop site. This is also where property owner Seward Redesign, which is a community development corporation, is planning the Seward Commons housing complex. (See The Line story here.)

Last week, volunteers helped paint and set up workbenches and storage areas inside the shop, according to center director Sheldon Mains. Bike racks will soon be installed outside, he says.

The Seward Neighborhood Group is behind the center, which has been in the works for a couple of years.

Startup funds came from Bike Walk Twin Cities, a federal nonmotorized transportation pilot program administered by Transit for Livable Communities through the Federal Highway Administration, he explains. This funding is facilitated by the Minnesota Department of Transportation and the city of Minneapolis, he adds. 

The center is part of a larger neighborhood initiative to “get more people biking and walking,” especially as a regular mode of transportation, Mains says.

Biking is more economical than driving and it’s a good form of exercise. “It can help build social connections, too,” he adds. 

The center will start out by targeting East African immigrants, who form a large community within the neighborhood. This is a response in part to a neighborhood survey that found that “what stopped people from riding was that they didn’t know how to,” he says.

Some people also said they couldn’t afford a bike or equipment, or they didn’t have a place to store it. “We’re trying to address those things,” Mains says.

Some helmets, bikes and Nice Ride bike-sharing memberships have been donated to the center, while the bike racks came from local manufacturer Dero. Seward Coop Market and Deli and Quality Bike Products have made contributions, as well.

The center is still looking for more used bikes to loan to low-income residents, he adds.  

SPOKES will also offer classesfocusing on basic riding skills, traffic rules, and bike mechanics. The shop will also host open work times for women, he says.

Plus, a bike repair station will be accessible 24 hours a day outside. “It’s a unique program,” Mains says.  

Source: Sheldon Mains, director, SPOKES
Writer: Anna Pratt

Too often, people pass by the businesses on Snelling Avenue, near University in St. Paul, without stopping.

As one way to change that, the African Economic Development Solutions (AEDS) group is leading an effort to brand the district that spans Snelling Avenue between University and Minnehaha avenues as “Little Africa.”

Soon, the Central Corridor light rail transit line will run through the area, but in the meantime, the construction has decreased foot traffic in the district and beyond.

Bruce Corrie, who is a business professor at Concordia University in Saint Paul, explains that the branding campaign comes out of the broader, nonprofit-driven World Cultural Heritage District. This emerged as a way to help businesses stay afloat during the light rail construction on University.

The idea is to make the area a destination for ethnic tourism. Here, “there’s a growing presence of African Americans,” he says, adding that it includes about 20 immigrant businesses.

Further, “African immigrant groups are very dynamic and entrepreneurial,” he says. “We want to capture that.”

It follows other similar branding efforts along different segments of University, including “Little Mekong” (see The Line story here) and the African American Cultural Corridor.

The districts would also relate to similar areas in Minneapolis and Brooklyn Park.  As it is, “There’s not a strong cultural infrastructure in Minnesota,” he says, adding that it’s an opportunity. “We’re trying to tap into the global market.”

While encouraging more people to come to the district, another goal is to “develop the cultural capacity,” he says.

Eventually signage will come to indicate the district visually.

“One challenge is to get the attention of policymakers,” to help bring more resources to the area, he says.

Recently the district rolled out a voucher program, offering $5 coupons to district shoppers. Also, the Snelling Café will host a free book exchange through its new Little Free Library, which it’s celebrating with a July 27 luncheon.  

Source: Dr. Bruce Corrie, Professor of Business in the College of Business and Organizational Leadership, Concordia University
Writer: Anna Pratt

Until last year's Southside Sprint Bicycle Race, the area surrounding 48th and Chicago in South Minneapolis hadn't seen an elite bicycle race since the 1980s. 

More than 200 racers, plus at least 500 spectators, showed up for the event last year.

This week, the race is returning the neighborhood. The July 22 event includes eight races that invite riders of all ages and abilities, including the region's top bicyclists, along with a family fun festival and a separate, free children's race and a movie screening.

The South Chicago Avenue Business Alliance and Nomad Marketing have teamed up to put on the event, according to Jason Lardy, one of the event’s organizers.

Lardy and his business partner, Andrew Dahl, also help plan another annual event: the high-profile Nature Valley Bicycle Festival.

When it comes to the Southside Sprint, “Certainly one of our goals is to put on a fantastic race for racers and spectators,” he says. “We’re also trying to draw attention to this fantastic neighborhood in South Minneapolis.”

Lardy also lives in the neighborhood. “It’s gone from a sleepy, not-so-exciting part of town to a vibrant, diverse retail environment,” he says.

“We’re making the race really accessible for new riders,” he says, adding that a beginner race clinic will help people work on skills.

He and Dahl hope to repeat the race every year. “We’ve gotten good feedback from riders and the neighborhood,” he says. “It’s one of the biggest events in the neighborhood all year long.” It’s also a good opportunity to expose new people to the area, he says.

Too often, bike races happen in areas “where it’s not very spectator-friendly,” which is why the pair sought a festival atmosphere. “We’re in this for the love of racing as a culture and community,” he says.


Source: Jason Lardy, organizer, Southside Sprint Bicycle Race
Writer: Anna Pratt

To make the area more amenable to bicyclists, the Metropolitan Council has started gathering information about individual rides with the help of a smartphone app called CycleTracks.

The San Francisco County Transportation Authority originally developed the app to improve its transit system. Recently the California agency licensed the Met Council, for a fee, to use the same program locally, according to council information. 

Using GPS technology, the free app, which is available to both iPhone and Android users, captures data about cyclists’ routes, distance, and travel times. The app also collects demographic information such as age, gender, ride frequency, and so forth.  

Jonathan Ehrlich, a senior planner with the council, explains: “We’re using it for transportation planning. We can get data about cyclists, what facilities they’re using, and for what purpose.”

“The app tells us everywhere a bicyclist has been,” he says.

It also distinguishes recreational bicyclists from commuters and others who bike as a primary mode of transportation.

This information will tell the council “what roads and paths are being used and what ones are being avoided,” he says.  

People can also add notes about their ride.  

Right now the app has a couple hundred users and the council hopes to get several thousand. “We’re very pleased with the response so far,” Ehrlich says.

The council is trying to get as much data as possible this summer and fall, to aid in a private study.  
 
Another senior transportation planner, David Vessel, adds that this is “a great way for regional cyclists to contribute to a more accurate model of cycling activity and improve the plan for future cycling facilities.”  

At the same time, “The app stores the ride map and stats for the cyclist on their phone too,” he says, adding, “It is a handy free cycle computer.”

Source: David Vessel, Jonathan Ehrlich, senior transit planners, Met Council
Writer: Anna Pratt

After several years of traveling exhibits, the Minnesota Museum of American Art will have a regular gallery in St. Paul this fall.  

The museum is moving into a ground-level space in the vintage Pioneer-Endicott building, which developer Rich Pakonen plans to turn into a high-end housing complex. (See The Line story here.)  

In 2009, the museum moved out of the space it rented at the Ramsey County Government Center. It hasn't had a home base since then.

The 3,700-square-foot space at the Pioneer will enable the museum to do local programming, according to its director, Kristin Makholm.  

“We haven’t had any kind of regular space in St. Paul to do any kind of on-the-ground programming for over two years, so this will allow us to intersect and create a vibrant space,” and to reconnect with local artists and community members. “It’ll be populated with events and conversations.”  

At the same time, “We don’t consider this the final museum,” she says.

But the MMAA will be investigating the building as a permanent home. “That’s one of the reasons we chose this space for the gallery. It’s a testing ground,” she says.  

The museum will continue to do shows in other locations in the short term, she says.

If the museum does decide to expand in Pioneer, it’ll bring in additional exhibits, classrooms, offices, and storage areas and fill up to 45,000 square feet, according to the Star Tribune.

Besides the visibility that the space will give the museum, the building will be close to the coming Central Corridor light rail line.

“It’s really going to help invigorate that part of St. Paul that traditionally lies between Lowertown and the Rice Park districts and connect the city,” she says.

Source: Kristin Makholm, director, Minnesota Museum of American Art
Writer: Anna Pratt

Last month, Cycles for Change, a nonprofit bike shop, celebrated its expansion along University Avenue in St. Paul.

The shop, which has been around since 2001, strives to increase bike access for low-income and underserved populations in the surrounding neighborhoods, according to its website.

It has grown a lot over the past few years, and it needed more space to accommodate that, according to development and outreach director Jason Tanzman.

To carry that out, recently the shop, which was formerly known as the Sibley Bike Depot, received a $30,000 grant from the Central Corridor Funders Collaborative. 

As a part of the project, the shop added 600 square feet to its existing 3,000 square feet, he says.

Through the project, the administrative area and workshop (where customers can work on their bikes), got more space, he says. The retail section moved to the storefront area while the walls got a fresh coat of paint and the floors were refinished.   

The shop has also been able to get improved signage for better street-level visibility, which is especially important considering the challenges of Central Corridor light rail transit line construction, he says.

Prior to the expansion, the bike shop was a bit out of the way in the building, he says.

Besides the phsyical changes, the place was able to increase its retail hours.   

All in all, the changes “enhance our ability to be a community organization and promote biking as a way to get around in combination with public transit," he says. 

Despite the momentum around biking right now, it can still be cost-prohibitive, especially for minorities and low-income people. “We need a level of intentionality about it so it’s not an upper-middle-class white thing, and that we’re able to expand the circle of who has access,” he says.   


Source: Jason Tanzman, development and outreach director, Cycles for Change
Writer: Anna Pratt

The New York-based Carticulate, which two Twin Cities natives co-founded, has recently come up with a colorful map that lays out future transit lines in the Twin Cities.

Carticulate has also created a Minneapolis skyway map, which The Line covered here.

Matt Forrest, who is one of the principals of Carticulate, wanted to synthesize the light rail and bus rapid transit projects that are in the works for the Twin Cities, while also showing how they’re interconnected with existing lines.

Other maps that are out there right now "don't give a good idea of what areas are being served, where the stops would be and how it looks to get around that system," he says.

To create a new map, he and his business partner, Kate Chanba, compiled data from various project websites and Wikipedia.

Then they put together a simplified travel diagram. Done in a subway map-style, it’s “distorted, but cleaner and easier to see,” he says.  

It shows that “It’ll be a pretty robust system,” he says, adding that he hopes it opens up alternative transit opportunities for people who might want to rely less on their cars.

The map also showcases Carticulate’s design theory around transit, about which it’s also put out a white paper, he says.

Further down the road, signage for the color-coded map could appear at every bus or train stop, he says. “You could also scan your bus ID and it could tell you when the next bus is coming,” he says. “We’re thinking about how it integrates across the whole system.”   

The idea is to make it accessible and easy to scan with a smartphone, he says.

Source: Matt Forrest, Carticulate Maps
Writer: Anna Pratt

An old industrial complex in St. Paul’s Midway neighborhood could become a hub for creative workers under a multimillion redevelopment plan from First and First principal Peter Remes.

The 5.6-acre site near the Central Corridor light rail transit line consists of nine buildings, along with a watertower, hence the project’s name, “Watertower Place," according to the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.

Amy Sparks, executive director of the nearby Saint Anthony Park Community Council, says that although the group hasn’t officially weighed in on the project, it’s generally supportive of the plan at this early stage.

In many ways, it’s in keeping with the neighborhood group’s efforts to formalize the area’s brand as a Creative Enterprise Zone. The neighborhood has long been home to artists and other creative types.

“Some of the folks involved in the Creative Enterprise Zone heard about it and are excited about the potential,” and the same goes for the group’s land use committee, she says.

The plan includes installing working elevators, exposing boarded-up windows, and bringing light into the hallways, among other upgrades, she says. Her understanding is that Remes wants to introduce nonindustrial uses, such as a theater, into the place.

Besides the usual development hurdles, the city is evaluating some of its zoning ordinances related to industry, which could have an impact on the development's direction, she says.

“The question is, do we want this to be the Creative Enterprise Zone or to be more of a traditional industrial zone? Hopefully it’ll be a melding of the two,” she says. “The two uses, art and industry, have coexisted pretty comfortably in the area for the past 30 years and we hope to see that continue.”  
 
Right now, the building has 60 tenants, and whether they’ll be able to stay is up in the air. “We want to make sure everything is done to keep some of the remaining tenants and to keep the building in the spirit of the Creative Enterprise Zone,” she says. “We want creative uses in the area.”

Source: Amy Sparks, executive director, Saint Anthony Park Community Council
Writer: Anna Pratt

Close to midnight on June 9, up to 1,000 bicyclists will be outfitted with special LED lights that will create a synchronized spectacle across the Stone Arch Bridge in Minneapolis.

This experiment/public art display, which is part of the arts-geared Northern Spark Festival that will go all night in Minneapolis and St. Paul, is called, “The Kuramoto Model (1000 Fireflies).”  

The artist/techie behind it, David Rueter, an MFA candidate in art and technology studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, explains that whenever the lights blink, they broadcast a radio signal. As the lights "hear" each other, they begin to blink in synchronized patterns. By themselves, they look like regular LED cycling safety lights,  “but in groups, they exhibit an immediately noticeable and striking phenomenon,” a statement about the project reads. Reuter explains that the lights “can adjust or form a consensus” visually. “These lights are always listening.”

The project takes its name from Yoshiki Kuramoto, who pioneered research along these lines, Rueter says. He hopes that the bike ride/public art display will reveal the connections between individuals “and what amounts to a system of urban cycling, and connections that exist, whether or not they’re intentional.” He’s interested in seeing how that “transforms the way people perceive cycling,” and how it “changes the flow of cyclists.” For starters, it “alters the social rules of proximity. Different ways that people form in groups will be unveiled. It’ll change the way people approach interacting on bikes,” he says.

Well after the festival, people may continue to use them, and have chance encounters with each other.

It’s encouraging having the support of those who contributed to his $1,000 Kickstarter campaign, he says. “Everyone seems to latch onto the idea,” he adds. “Their imaginations run wild.”   


Source: David Reuter, Kuramoto Model Project
Writer: Anna Pratt

In a unique partnership with the Starling Project, the St. Anthony Park Community Council (SAPCC) is temporarily reimagining a vacant storefront space on University Avenue in St. Paul.

The Starling Project facilitates such “meanwhile uses” of empty spaces along the avenue’s portion of the Central Corridor light rail transit line, according to project materials.

Even though the bulk of the construction here has wrapped up, shoppers are still avoiding the area, according to Amy Sparks, who heads SAPCC.

To take advantage of the space, SAPCC and Starling are on the lookout for entrepreneurs, artists, and other creative types to fill the place.

Tenants will fill the 1,200-square-foot pop-up shop for anywhere from one to four weeks.

Renters should engage the public in some way, such as through a one-time event, open studio hours, or an interesting window display, according to a prepared statement about the project.

So far, the space has a few takers, including Irrigate Arts, which is leading the charge on numerous artist-led placemaking projects along the light rail line. Irrigate will have an exhibit in the space that documents these efforts.

Sky View, which is an aerial photo workshop and gallery, will also have a presence there.

Last month, an art show called Art du Nord occupied the former frame shop.  

Ultimately, the neighborhood group sees the rotating uses as a way to bring life to the avenue, according to Sparks. “We want to see University Avenue thrive and help keep businesses going.”     

It’s also a creative way to find a permanent tenant for the space.

More broadly, the project calls attention to the neighborhood’s Creative Enterprise Zone, which is an in-progress arts district-like designation. It's all about strengthening the local creative community, she explains.

Sparks hopes these types of events will “build up awareness of the area, so people start to recognize it as a creative area and want to locate here and do business here.”

As such, the group is trying “to get the right developments in,” and keep office space affordable. “It makes the Creative Enterprise Zone more real and tangible,” she says.

Source: Amy Sparks, executive director, SAPCC
Writer: Anna Pratt

Running parallel to the construction of the Central Corridor Light Rail Transit line is a $5 million project to improve the quality of stormwater runoff along University Avenue in St. Paul.

It includes funding from Clean Water, the Capitol Region Watershed District, the city of St. Paul, Ramsey County, and the Metropolitan Council, according to project materials. 

The existing drainage system “conveys untreated stormwater runoff from paved surfaces to the Mississippi River, which is impaired for turbidity, nutrients and bacteria,” project materials state.

To change that, the project will use something called an “integrated tree trench system,” stormwater planters, rain gardens, and “infiltration trenches,” according to project materials.

Will Nissen, who writes for Hindsight on the Minnesota 2020 blog, explains in an online post that the state-of-the-art tree trenches will use “pervious pavers and structural soils to help trees grow and survive in extreme urban conditions.”

Additionally, “Strategically installed stormwater planters and rain gardens will help capture and filter contaminated water runoff that currently goes untreated into the Mississippi River,” he says.

The tree trench idea came out of various community meetings and a workshop, according to Mark Doneux, a representative of the Capitol Region Watershed District, which handles the aspects of the project that have to do with stormwater regulations.

In conjunction with the project, trees that have been lost in construction will be replaced, and 1,000 new trees will be added, too, which adds a challenging element. "Some of the commercial areas have a lot of pavement," says Doneaux, and it's tougher to maintain them. Often, urban trees only live for seven to eight years. "The city wants to find better practices for planting healthier urban trees." 

The challenge is that along the related portion of University Avenue in St. Paul, there’s “quite the web of utilities,” and the sidewalks need to be able to accommodate emergency vehicles, he says. To create a healthy rooting medium for trees, including pathways for air and water, the group went for a system that doesn’t use irrigation. “It was a bold step to say ‘let’s make this work,’” he says.  

The idea is to create a system that can serve as a template for other parts of the city and watershed. “This is a new practice. This isn’t tried and true,” Doneux says.   

In the future, he hopes that there might be some signage to describe the project. “No one knows there’s a pretty sophisticated effort [here] to have healthy urban trees and treat stormwater,” he says.  


Source: Mark Doneux, Capitol Region Watershed District  
Writer: Anna Pratt

Houston-based Greystar Real Estate Partners has a plan to turn around a 5.6-acre portion of the former Bennett Lumber site in Minneapolis’s Uptown area. Right now Greystar is in the early stages of getting city approval for the project.

Greystar is proposing a total of 385 residential units that would be split between two buildings; it includes a mix of apartments of varying sizes and a number of family-oriented townhome units, according to Greystar’s David Reid.

One building would go from 6 to 4 stories while the other steps down from 6 to 2.5 stories, Reid says. He adds that the buildings will have “extremely high-quality condo finishes,” along with tuck-under parking. Each unit will have a dedicated parking garage as well.  

The company also plans to pursue “silver” LEED certification for the entire development.

The promenade along the nearby Midtown Greenway’s walkway will be extended. “We’re proposing having a high quality access point to the Midtown Greenway for public and private use,” Reid says.  

Although he couldn’t disclose the project’s cost, he says, “It’s obviously a very expensive project, between the public benefits and energy-efficiency standards."

Reid says that the buildings will improve the undeveloped site. “It’ll be a high-quality product that will be an amenity for the community,” he says.

Aesthetically, “Our goal is to create buildings that strive to have a more timeless appeal,” as opposed to those that are only popular for a development cycle. This means the judicious use of high-quality materials across the development. It will have amenities such as a pool, fitness center, and a high degree of landscaping, Reid adds.

Source: David Reid, Greystar Real Estate Partners
Writer: Anna Pratt

CPM Property Management in Minneapolis has a student-housing complex in the works for the Stadium Village area near the University of Minnesota campus.

Although design plans are still coming together, part of the project involves a 12-story tower, according to Daniel Oberpriller of CPM.

About two-thirds of the building runs six stories, he says. The development will also have 36,000 square feet of retail space.

CPM worked with the Prospect Park East River Road Improvement Association (PPERRIA) to put together a task force with neighborhood representatives to fine-tine the details. “We’re getting to a place where the design is headed in the right direction,” he says. “It has a lot of moving components. We want it to look right.”

Oberpriller describes the two-acre parcel as a “gateway site” that’s highly visible from the nearby TCF Bank Stadium and the coming Central Corridor Light Rail Transit line. “We want to make sure it’s a quality building that’s appealing from all angles,” he says.  

To take advantage of that, CPM is collaborating with the university to landscape the building’s entryway.

The existing Arby’s restaurant, CSL Plasma location, and commercial space on the property would be torn down to make way for the building, according to Finance and Commerce.

Oberpriller says it’ll bring much-needed improvement to the area by adding density and contributing to a vibrant streetscape. “It brings students closer to the university and adds more retail that’s needed there,” he says.

The development, which is close to several other student housing projects that are under construction, hopes to break ground in December, according to Finance and Commerce.

Source: Daniel Oberpriller, CPM
Writer: Anna Pratt

In the 1950s, the city of Minneapolis dismantled its streetcar system. Today, the city is studying the possibility of bringing it back.

As a part of a 2008 feasibility study, the city identified seven corridors for such a system, according to Anna Flintoft, a transportation planner with the city.

Right now, the city is looking to hire a consultant to examine the impact of streetcars on Nicollet and Central avenues. That project will likely start this summer and go through 2013.   

Minneapolis also hopes to do a similar assessment of West Broadway Avenue in North Minneapolis, she says.

Separately, Metro Transit is trying to get a handle on the streetcar scenario for the Midtown corridor and other parts of Lake Street.

The next phase is a much more detailed “alternatives analysis,” which involves weighing streetcar and enhanced bus alternatives, which, she adds, run in mixed traffic, not separated from traffic like the light rail.  

The idea is to find a “locally preferred alternative,” or the most ideal option for the city.

“There’s a lot of interest in streetcars because of the experience that Minneapolis and other cities have had with light rail,” she says. “It’s had great ridership performance.”

Light rail has been able to attract new riders and catalyze economic development around itself, she says. “Streetcar is a mode that doesn’t have as big of a footprint as light rail and it can fit in for less cost.”

Further, while light rail needs its own track, streetcar and enhanced bus systems don’t displace car traffic, she explains.

In Minneapolis, the space between one building face and another tends to be narrow, so there are few places where light rail can fit. “That’s the reason people are asking the questions--to figure out if it is a good investment to be making in these corridors.”

It’s a conversation that goes way beyond Minneapolis. Streetcar lines have started popping up once again in cities all over the country, including Portland, Seattle, and Atlanta. The federal government has been supportive of these systems, she says.

Source: Anna Flintoft, transportation planner, city of Minneapolis
Writer: Anna Pratt

In recognition of the unique Asian businesses and other cultural institutions along University Avenue in St. Paul from Galtier to Mackubin streets, the area is being branded as Little Mekong.

It’s an initiative that the local Asian Economic Development Association (AEDA) launched on Feb. 25.

The name references the Mekong River, which is a major river in Southeast Asia, according to Va-Megn Thoj, who heads the AEDA. “Most businesses in the area have a connection to the river,” he explains.

In his view, “By giving a name to a destination which has existed for a long time, we can draw more people into the area.” This is especially needed during Central Corridor light rail construction, he says.  

Already, as a result of construction obstacles, many of the businesses are seeing less foot traffic, he says.

With the Little Mekong branding, “We want to build on what we have,” which he describes as “an attractive destination for people to get introduced to Asian cultures and cuisine.” Although the district has been around informally for a long time, not too many people are familiar with it, he says.

Besides improving the streetscape and putting up district-related signage, Little Mekong will host a number of events, including family-friendly festivals.

AEDA is also working with businesses to create incentive programs to bring in more customers, including coupons and other deals, and to handle increased traffic. “We’re working with businesses to strengthen their operations and customer service,” he says.

The coming Central Corridor represents “a tremendous opportunity to create something of benefit to the neighborhoods and city and region," he adds.

Source: Va-Megn Thoj
Writer: Anna Pratt

This past winter, over 200 artists trained to do collaborative public art projects as a part of Irrigate.

It's a creative placemaking initiative for the coming Central Corridor light rail transit line. 
 
The workshops have seen more than double the level of participation that was anticipated for their first year by Springboard for the Arts, which is administering the initiative, according to Laura Zabel, who leads the organization.
 
“It’s a demonstration of the demand and interest in artists engaging the community,” she says, adding that emerging and established artists from a wide variety of disciplines have gotten involved.
 
Once artists go through the training, they can apply for grant money to do collaborative projects along the Central Corridor. Already, a number of mural projects have come out of the project, along with a concert series and more. “We’re really starting to feel the momentum,” she says.
 
For example, Leonardo’s Basement in Minneapolis is working with the Avalon School in St. Paul to create something it’s calling “sculptural mobile units,” which will travel to various events. 
 
A new business at Frogtown Square in St. Paul, which isn’t ready to go public yet, worked with Irrigate to organize a workshop called, “Make it Mysterious.” Artists designed temporary murals for the space. It led to “really cool visual pieces that animate that corner,” and the business is building on it, says Zabel. 
 
The various art events draw people to the corridor, which is especially important as construction is ramping up again, she says.
 
Irrigate is open to suggestions; on its website, it has a map where people can identify spots where art is needed. “I’ve seen people saying, here’s this ugly wall or huge dead tree, or available green space,” she says. “People know that artists think of all those things as opportunities.”
 
Source: Laura Zabel, Executive Director, Springboard for the Arts
Writer: Anna Pratt

Michael Development of Lilydale is proposing a $10 million apartment building to go into downtown Minneapolis’s North Loop neighborhood.

The development would replace a long-vacant, boarded-up gas station near Target Field, according to Michael Development head Mike Swenson.  

It would include around 70 apartments spread throughout four levels, along with 5,000 square feet of ground-level commercial space, which could house up to three tenants, he says. Below that would be one story of underground parking. 

Under the current plan, the building would also include a rooftop patio, party room, and exercise facility. But “the biggest amenity is the Twins stadium across the street,” he says.

“It’ll be an improvement from the old building there,” Swenson says, adding, “It should be the first building down in that area and should start more development.”

In a Finance and Commerce story, Fritz Kroll, who leads the North Loop Neighborhood Association’s livability committee, praises the project, in part for its location, which he says is an up-and-coming area.

“I think that has a lot to do with [the renovation of] Ford Center and the transit station coming online. I think that’s a huge sign,” Kroll says in the story, adding, “I think it’s wonderful that someone’s jumping over there.”

Finance and Commerce reports that the project is part of a development boom in the neighborhood: over 1,200 apartment units are under construction or in planning stages for the North Loop, it states.

Right now, the company is preparing for a related presentation to the city, Swenson says.

Although the proposal is still in early stages, the company has received lots of positive feedback, he adds.


Source: Mike Swenson, Michael Development
Writer: Anna Pratt

Videotect 2, the second annual video competition from Architecture Minnesota magazine, got people thinking in many different directions about sustainable transportation.
 
The 39 submissions included everything from an old-timey PSA about the benefits of walking to a Super Bowl-commercial-inspired video about getting around in the future.
 
The grand prizewinner, "SaddleBag," which won a $2,000 prize, was announced at the competition’s March 1 screening at the Walker Art Center. (Watch it below.)
 
Gaardhouse and Shelter Architecture teamed up on the video, which was tongue-in-cheek yet informative. “I hope more outfits take a cue from it,” Hudson says. “It had a great story line with lots of facts and it was easy to read and understand the diagrams.”   
  
The most popular video among viewers, which also received a $2,000 check, was “Twin Cities Trails,” by Steven Gamache, Matt Herzog, Ben Lindau, Chris Lyner, and Mike Oertel. It showed a 1980s hair band that sang about the Twin Cities’ unmatched trail system. “It spoofed Queen amazingly,” he says, adding, “It was inventive and funny.”   
 
The $500 honorable mention awards went to the “Church of Automobility,” by Michael Heller and Ryan O’Malley, “A Fistful of Asphalt,” by John Akre, “Over/Under,” by Daniel Green, and “Sustainable Transportation,” by Ryan Yang. 
 
In general, guidelines for the 30- to 120-second videos were pretty open-ended. The pieces just had to “present a point of view on transportation choices, their impact on the environment and human health, and the role that design can play in enhancing them,” according to a statement about the competition.
 
Why is the magazine doing it? “The crux of it is, trying to bring more voices and creativity into urban design debates. It can be dry stuff, but it’s so important to the quality of our lives and how we design cities,” Hudson says. Videotect is a “great way to have fun with it, to make it entertaining to get at some of these issues that we keep debating as citizens.”

That's evident in the fact that the contest drew more submissions this year, and online voting spiked by 250 percent, he says.
 
Source: Chris Hudson, editor, Architecture Minnesota
Writer: Anna Pratt

t

Videotect 2: SaddleBag from Architecture Minnesota on Vimeo.

Recently, Whole Foods publicized its plan to open up a 38,000-square-foot grocery store in a development on the site of the old Jaguar car dealership in downtown Minneapolis, which is a highly-visible  “gateway” into the city.

The $70 million mixed-use development will also include 287 luxury apartments from Ryan Companies. in partnership with the Excelsior Group, the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal reports. (Read a previous story from The Line here.)  

The natural and organic foods supermarket, which started in Austin, Texas in 1980, will include a separate liquor store that will carry a line of specialty beers and wine. It'll open next year on the building’s ground floor, the company announced in a prepared statement.  

Joanne Kaufman, who leads the Warehouse District Business Association in downtown Minneapolis, says that many community members are in favor of the project as a whole. “We’re happy to see what’s been an empty block for a long time get something in there,” she says.

About Whole Foods in particular, she says, “I think it’ll have great impact,” adding, “It’ll be great for the neighborhood and draw more people.”

Plus, there’s long been a demand for a grocery store downtown, especially from the many downtown-ers who’ve given up their cars, she adds.  

Whole Foods, which has several Twin Cities locations, is also adding stores in Edina and Minnetonka.  

Michael Bashaw, the company’s Midwest regional president, underscores in a prepared statement that the Twin Cities is an area of growth for Whole Foods. “We’re extremely excited to expand our offering of natural and organic products to an even greater customer base,” he says.  

Source: Whole Foods, Joanne Kaufman, Warehouse District Business Association
Writer: Anna Pratt

The $45 million Currie Park Lofts will turn around a vacant, blighted property in Minneapolis’s Cedar-Riverside neighborhood.

It’ll also bring much-needed affordable housing to the area, according to developer Bianca Fine, who leads Fine Associates.

The six-story development will have 260 mixed-income apartments between floors two through six--with room to accommodate large families--while a cultural center, adult and child daycare, and a neighborhood grocer will share the first-floor retail space.

Right now, besides some limited parking, there’s a single-family home on the site that has an interesting history as a brewpub, and which the company is looking into the possibility of moving, she says.

One of the biggest advantages of the project's location is its proximity to the light rail transit lines, bus stops, and bicycle amenities. It’s also within walking distance of several large institutions, including the University of Minnesota, and downtown’s business district.

As such, “It’s a true transit-oriented development,” which helps fulfill city and neighborhood goals for the area.

Visually, Currie Park Lofts will blend into the neighborhood with a brick, glass and metal exterior, along with a pedestrian-scale design and landscaping. “Many different colors and finishes and textures will make it look like several different small buildings,” Fine explains.

Further, the design incorporates a number of balconies, which means “a lot of eyes on the street," and there'll also be green spaces and recreational areas.

Fine Associates has been working on the project since 2005, and that has “given us a lot of time to figure out how to do it best,” Fine says. “The more we got to know the neighborhood, the more we got to understand its needs,” and respond to them, which, she adds is key for its long-term success.  

In the next 20 years, projections show the need for housing in the neighborhood is likely to increase dramatically, according to Fine. “The neighborhood needs an engine of economic improvement,” she says, adding that the project will be “strongly integrated.”

Construction of the lofts could begin as early as this fall.

Source: Bianca Fine, Fine Associates
Writer: Anna Pratt

Soon, a building in Minneapolis's Northeast Arts District that sat vacant for a year will become a hub for beer, art, and solar power.

It's been dubbed the Solar Arts Building, according to Nathan Berndt, a cofounder of Indeed Brewing Company, which will be its anchor tenant on the first floor.

In the past, the 1914 building had various uses, including housing a Sears Roebuck distribution center and more recently, an electrical transformer company, before it went through foreclosure stages, according to Indeed Brewing information.

Besides the brewery, artist-geared spaces, some of which have already been snatched up, will fill the building's remaining two floors.

It’s an ideal location for the new brewing company, which recently signed a lease for the space with building owner Duane Arens, Berndt says. “We’re involved in the community and we support being in a place for people to come together,” especially artists, he says. “We like being around creative people.”

Another dimension of the brewing company will be a public taproom, for which the design is still being developed.

A strong visual feature will be the building’s original wood columns, which lend a turn-of-the-last-century warehouse feel, he says.

Sustainability is also an important aspect of the building’s overall rehab. On the building’s rooftop a sizable solar array will be installed. It’s also getting new energy-efficient windows and mechanical systems, Berndt says.  

The effort to go green is something that’s important to the brewing company, as well, he adds.

“This sleepy dead-end adjacent to the Northstar Commuter Rail tracks will be a bustling intersection of art, craft beer, solar power, and urban revitalization,” the brewing company’s website states.

Indeed plans to open this summer.

Source: Nathan Berndt, cofounder, Indeed Brewing Company
Writer: Anna Pratt

Central Exchange, a mixed-use development that's planned for St. Paul's Frogtown neighborhood, will help turn around a site that has long been rundown.

Historically, the neighborhood as a whole has been under-invested in when compared with other parts of the city, according to Craig Johnson, who is the project manager for developer Model Cities.

Model Cities, which is based just a block-and-a-half away from the University Avenue site, wants to be a part of its improvement, he emphasizes.

For the project, the organization has acquired four vacant commercial properties that he describes as an “eyesore on the avenue.” It has often attracted vandalism, he says.  

Johnson says that the development will provide a boost to the area. “It’ll help make the area more attractive,” as opposed to somewhere that one would merely drive through.

Two of the buildings on the properties have been torn down, while the city will soon demolish the remaining couple of structures, he says.

Model Cities may also acquire another adjacent property, for which it’s trying to secure financing.

Central Exchange will have ground-floor commercial space along with a couple of stories of housing.

Altogether, there’ll be 30 to 45 units of mixed-income housing. Depending on its final footprint, the project could cost anywhere from $9.5 million to $13 million, according to Johnson.

The commercial spaces will be “oriented towards nonprofits, educational institutions or small businesses,” with an eye on what’s “useful to the community,” he says.

Model Cities is planning to install green roofs that will allow for urban gardening and stormwater management, as well.

The complex will alternately rise up one and three stories in different areas, to help break it up, visually. “If we built this as one big building it might have a more imposing feeling,” he says.

The coming Central Corridor Light Rail Transit line helped make the development possible. As such, “We see this project as a part of something bigger that’s going to really help the community.”

Construction at the site is scheduled to finish up in the spring of 2014.

Source: Craig Johnson, project manager, Model Cities
Writer: Anna Pratt

This year, a lot of local development projects got creative.

They innovated in community engagement, replacing the typical “request for proposals” with contests. Social media tools helped to keep the conversation going beyond the traditional town hall meeting. Artists and art-making were brought into the development process in fresh ways. And technology contributed to community-building via smartphones and QR codes.

For example, early in the year, the Mississippi Riverfront Design Competition attracted 55 proposals from around the globe.

In re-imagining a portion of the riverfront in Minneapolis, the idea was to emphasize parks as an “engine for sustainable recreational, cultural, and economic development along the riverfront,” according to project materials.

Today, the effort has evolved into the Minneapolis Riverfront Development Initiative (MRDI).

On Dec. 15, MRDI held a well-attended public meeting at the Mill City Museum to discuss the possibilities for a nearby ‘Water Works’ park along the river. In the past it was the site of the city’s first water supply and fire-fighting pumping stations.

Partners in Preservation

Partners in Preservation (PIP) from American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation had a contest to award $1 million to 13 local preservation projects. The public got to help determine where the money went by voting on Facebook for their favorite projects.

Chris Morris from the National Trust for Historic Preservation said that the contest raised the profile of a number of local preservation projects. He celebrated “the impact it can have on sites that are meaningful to people in their neighborhoods.” Additionally, through creative open-house events, people “tried to involve the community and do good work.”

The Weisman Art Museum held a contest that for the redesign of the bike and pedestrian plaza outside its door, hosting public meetings with interdisciplinary design teams and exhibiting preliminary sketches and models.

Similarly, Architecture Minnesota magazine, which the American Institute of Architects Minnesota publishes, is undergoing its second annual round of Videotect, a video competition that asks participants to contemplate the built environment. The theme this time is sustainable transportation and its enhancement through design. It’ll wrap up with a screening of the videos, giving the audience a chance to weigh in.

Irrigate   

Also on the transportation theme, Irrigate is a three-year place-making initiative that aims to connect artists to community development that will accompany the coming Central Corridor light rail transit line.  Springboard for the Arts, TC LISC and the city of St. Paul received $750,000 from the national funding group ArtPlace, to set it in motion.  

Laura Zabel, who heads Springboard, said, “We really see the Central Corridor and construction as an opportunity to engage artists in a really deep way."
 
Similarly, technology tools are helping to create a sense of community. Some recently released smartphone tours feature audio segments about local landmarks, like Ranger on Call, which touches on various aspects of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area.

Others, such as Saint Paul: Code Green put people on a kind of scavenger hunt in which they scan strategically placed QR codes to learn more or advance in the “game.”

Experience Southwest’s "shop local" marketing campaign in Southwest Minneapolis also takes advantage of QR codes to direct community members to area retailers.  
 
Going forward, I expect to see more experimentation of this kind in other areas--look for it in connection with locally trending topics like bicycling, solar power and urban farming.

Anna Pratt, Development Editor

Through a master planning process that it recently wrapped up, the Hampden Park Coop in St. Paul has identified short- and long-term remodeling priorities for the vintage building that it owns.

Coop member Paul Ormseth, an architect who is leading the process, says that several years ago the store expanded into a corner space in the building “with an eye to doing some planning about how to manage it into the future.”

Right now, the coop rents out part of the second-floor space to Oak Floor Dance Association, and there’s potential for more tenants.

“With a large space upstairs, the building can serve the community,” perhaps by accommodating public gatherings or various educational uses.

It’s something that any remodeling project should strengthen, Ormseth says.

Additionally, the building is well positioned to take advantage of traffic from the coming Central Corridor light rail transit line and right-of-way improvements planned for Raymond Avenue, he says.

In general “We want to do near-term remodeling that makes sense in a longer vision for the building,” and which will probably happen in a couple of phases.

For starters, the store needs more office and storage space.

The checkout stand could also be revamped, while the coop is also hoping to make the building more energy-efficient.  

For example, “We’re looking at bringing more daylight into the store to improve the feel of the store and reduce the need for lighting,” he says.  

Enhancing accessibility is another goal.

Whatever changes get made will be sensitive to the building's historic character. 

It goes to show, adds Ormseth, that “An old building is valuable because it can be adapted and it strengthens the community by retaining some existing historic fabric.”

At this early stage, the budget for the remodeling projects is still debatable. “The coop has been an asset for the neighborhood for a long time,” he says. “In buying the building, the coop made a commitment to improving the store, as well as keeping the existing building intact.”


Source: Paul Ormseth, Hampden Park Coop member
Writer: Anna Pratt

Architecture Minnesota, which last year hosted a popular video contest that centered on skyway travel, is gearing up for another round of Videotect.

The topic this time is sustainable transportation and "its enhancement through quality design," according to Chris Hudson, who is the editor of Architecture Minnesota magazine.

Hudson says that the video competition was successful earlier this year, with over 1,600 people casting votes for their favorite videos online, and the Walker Art Center screening filling to capacity.

However, Hudson says. it was also a learning experience: "We knew what we wanted to improve on."

For this round, videos will be shorter, between 30 and 120 seconds as opposed to two minutes. Now, people also have three months to produce a video entry, compared to five weeks the first time. "Last time it was a crunch. We didn't want to stress people out like that," he says.

He's hoping that people will take advantage of the window of time to film before winter creeps in.

Another perk is that with the help of a couple of sponsors, Architecture Minnesota is able to offer more prize money, with $6,000 to be given out.

Through the contest, "We want to spark a public dialogue," about the built environment, he says, but adds that the contest is not limited to strictly architectural topics.  

Such is the case with the sustainable transportation theme, where design plays an important role. In considering possible topics, "We couldn't think of anything bigger or hotter," he says.

Right now there's all kinds of pressure to build highways "to keep things going," while light rail transit and bike amenities are also coming up a lot.

Everything from planes to bikes is fodder for the contest. "We want people to focus on what are the most sustainable forms of transportation, and conversely, to make some critiques of sustainable transportation options." 

The topic is open-ended "to allow people to approach it however they want."

Entries are due by Jan. 23, with online viewing and voting happening in early February.  

Source: Chris Hudson, editor, Architecture Minnesota magazine
Writer: Anna Pratt

Venture North Bike Walk and Coffee, which had its grand opening on Oct. 8, is the first bike shop of any sort to make its home in North Minneapolis.

Its added emphases on walking and coffee make it a unique hub, with everything from bike paraphernalia to classes on healthy living, according to city information.

Additionally, Venture North's first day of business coincided with the unveiling of new bike lanes on the nearby Emerson and Fremont avenues.

The city is a partner in the shop; it provided startup money for the place through a federal grant, while, further down the line, as much as $350,000 could help sustain the shop, according to MPR.

The city also selected Redeemer Center for Life, a nonprofit community developer that’s based on the North Side, to manage the shop.

“The goal of the initiative is to improve access for affordable physical activity opportunities among north Minneapolis residents,” a prepared statement from the city reads.

Venture North will also be hosting biking, walking and running clubs, along with a jobs program for youth.

The local Dogwood Coffee Co. helped put in place the coffee and espresso bar, according to city information.

Although the shop will cater to people of all ages and athletic abilities, the store’s manager, Jacob Flinsch-Garrison says in a prepared statement that “we will be especially oriented toward serving the needs of those who are getting into bicycling or walking for the first time, or who have not done so for a while."

“Venture North is committed to making each of our store’s visitors feel welcome. Our motto is ‘gratitude, not attitude,’” he says.

Source: City of Minneapolis
Writer: Anna Pratt

RS Eden, a local nonprofit developer, plans to convert a 1900-vintage building in Minneapolis's Downtown East neighborhood into an $18 million affordable apartment complex.

Attached to the existing four-story building will be a five-story building, where a parking lot now stands, according to RS Eden president Dan Cain.

Construction of the development, called Emanuel Housing, is to begin in February 2012.

The project takes its name from the late Scotty Emanuel, a former RS Eden employee. “He was a long-term, committed role model to young people coming out of poverty,” he says.

The 101 units will include mainly efficiencies, with six one-bedroom apartments. It’ll be affordable, with some market-rate apartments in the mix, Cain says.

A certain amount of space will be designated for military veterans and those who’ve had problems with chronic homelessness or chemical abuse.

However, the building will be open to anyone who is interested in sober living, Cain adds.  

Also in the building will be supportive services and community and retail space, while its previous owner, the Council on Crime and Justice, will stay put in the building.  

Part of the property could be turned into a green space.

The building is close to the light rail and the downtown area, which means convenient access to jobs.

More broadly, the development is a balance to the nearby high-end housing along the Mississippi riverfront. “Any community needs a mix of housing to be healthy,” Cain says.

It’s something that was lost in the 1960s and 70s when many buildings were torn down, he says. “This is an attempt to revitalize the whole Downtown East neighborhood."

Although RS Eden can’t do it single-handedly, he says, “We hope we can go a long way towards motivating that kind of change.”

In the future, the whole corridor between Washington Avenue and the Metrodome “will be much more pedestrian-friendly and vibrant than it is now.”

Source: Dan Cain, president, RS Eden
Writer: Anna Pratt

The Central Corridor light rail line is the inspiration for an extensive, three-year creative placemaking initiative called Irrigate.

The project, which is a partnership between Springboard for the Arts, TC LISC, and the city of St. Paul, recently received a $750,000 grant from a newly formed consortium of arts funders called ArtPlace.

ArtPlace, which brings together public and private groups, is investing $11.5 million in 34 creative placemaking projects all over the country, according to Irrigate information.

As promoters of the first project of this type, ArtPlace "aims to drive revitalization across the country by putting the arts at the center of economic development," a prepared statement reads.

For Irrigate, local artists will be trained in creative placemaking, according to Springboard executive director Laura Zabel.

From there, Irrigate will be "mobilizing and activating hundreds of artist-led projects in partnership with businesses and neighborhood groups," she says.

In general, the projects should address some issue or opportunity along the corridor, she says.

Zabel says that the idea is to "embed artists in economic and community development for the benefits they can provide to the community."

Conversely, the project "increases the community's [valuation] of its artists."

She's expecting a huge variety of projects in the areas of creative marketing and mapping.

They could help people find their way during construction or speak to a neighborhood's character. "We really see the Central Corridor and construction as an opportunity to engage artists in a really deep way," she says.

"We think it's an opportunity to demonstrate that artists are well-suited to help in moments of huge infrastructure [change]. They're creative and they think in new ways. They're intuitive, they're entrepreneurs, and they understand the challenges of small business owners."

Source: Laura Zabel, executive director, Springboard for the Arts
Writer: Anna Pratt

Ironton Asset Fund LLC has a $20 million plan to turn the historic Chittenden & Eastman Building on University Avenue in St. Paul into a 104-unit apartment complex called C&E Lofts.

It’ll be one of the first developments to spring up along the coming Central Corridor light rail line.

But the building that Ironton acquired in October 2010 had recently been nearing foreclosure, with several defaulted mortgage loans, according to company information.

Because its financial and physical condition, the project was a good fit for Ironton, which is a distressed-asset fund, says Tom Nelson, a project manager and a principal with Ironton.

Besides the transit-oriented opportunity, “My associates have done projects in both Minneapolis and St. Paul, but our roots are in St. Paul,” he says. “We like to add value to a terrific neighborhood on the St. Paul side.”

Since the 1917 building is a “supporting structure” in the University-Raymond Commercial Historic District, the project qualifies for state and federal historic tax credits.

Originally the seven-story building was a furniture showroom and loft building, according to Ironton information.

The renovation will retain the building's historic qualities, including high ceilings, big windows, heavy timber construction, and flexible, open floor plans, he says.

Also,the building had long been a hub for artists, something he hopes to continue.  
 
A leasing and business office will fill the retail spaces along University Avenue, along with a tenant lounge that will have a fireplace and coffee bar. A fitness center, community and media rooms, a rooftop deck, and parking are other features of the project.

Construction is likely to begin after Labor Day, and the apartments could open next fall, Nelson says.    

Source: Tom Nelson, Ironton Asset Fund
Writer: Anna Pratt

Plans for bike-ability on the east side of Minneapolis are coming together in 'bits and pieces,' says Michael Rainville, a bike enthusiast who lives in the St. Anthony West neighborhood.

He helped organize the recent Eastside Bike Summit, which drew nearly 80 people to the Ritz Theater in Northeast Minneapolis.

Getting bike trails on this part of the city is tough because so many different levels of government have to sign off on things, he says.

But Rainville is hopeful about the area's future bike-friendliness.

The 5th Street/2nd Avenue Northeast bike boulevard is a highly anticipated project that Rainville estimates will be completed within the next couple of months. 

"It's been talked about for years," he says, adding that with several traffic circles and a stoplight, "it'll be a nice safe place for people to ride their bikes going south through the east side of town," all the way to Columbia Heights.

Also, a bike lane is slated for Main Street and Marshall Avenue Northeast, from 1st Avenue Northeast to Broadway, though the segment that would go to Lowry is on hold.

Also proposed are bike lanes for Central and 37th avenues Northeast to the Mississippi River and on 18th Avenue Northeast from Monroe Street Northeast to the Quarry Shopping Center.

To help bicyclists safely cross the busy East Hennepin and 1st avenues northeast, which are part of a city streetcar study, a meeting-goer suggested that a bike lane go on the bridges and continue down the street. "All it would take is a couple gallons of paint," Rainville says.    

It's a good example of "the purpose of these summits, to get new creative ideas and talk about them out loud," he adds.

Rainville hopes that another bike summit will happen this winter. "Passion is all spread out. It's coming from all over the east side," he says.


Source: Michael Rainville, Eastside Bike Summit organizer
Writer: Anna Pratt

Last month, the Big Picture Project kicked off with a public meeting at the Profile Event Center in Minneapolis, themed around equitable transit-oriented development in Seattle.

It'll help inform future affordable housing projects along the planned 11-mile Central Corridor Light Rail Transit line that is to connect downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul.

The Big Picture Project is an effort to come up with a comprehensive affordable housing strategy for this key stretch.

Ryan Curren, a special projects coordinator for the city of Seattle's Office of Housing, who spoke at the meeting last month, says of the project, "It's smart to set affordable housing targets along the corridor and stations years ahead of when the line is running.".

"It gives something to aim for and a way to orient policy proposals toward those goals, with inclusionary goals or new sources of funding or existing sources of funding," he says.

To meet those goals, Seattle has found that "It takes more targeted public subsidy and a tool or policy that requires market-rate developers to create some level of affordable housing in their development," on-site or off-site.

TC LISC, a local branch of a national organization that helps leverage resources for community development, is leading the Big Picture Project in partnership with the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, with the support of the Central Corridor Funders Collaborative, according to TC LISC program officer Kristina Homstad.  

As it is, over 30 plans envisioning future affordable housing developments near the line have been put together, but there's no "coordinated plan that brings synergy to this wide range of effort," the project's website reads.

The idea is to "move beyond projects to placemaking."

A "big picture" strategy can help attract investment to the area, stabilize existing housing stock, preserve affordable rentals, and ensure that any new developments are in the best interests of community members, the website explains.

To carry out the project, a team that includes government, finance, community, and development representatives is studying the various affordable housing plans, maps, national case studies, and more.

Based on their findings, the group will come up with some recommendations and policies, which the public will be able to weigh in on in a series of community forums and neighborhood meetings that are underway through September.

In November a final plan will go before various project partners, including the Central Corridor Funders Collaborative, the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Hennepin and Ramsey counties, the Metropolitan Council, and Minnesota Housing, according to Big Picture Project information.

Ultimately, the group hopes that the plan will lead to "better coordinated housing that helps create a sense of place along the Central Corridor and improves residents' lives," the website states. 


Source: Kristina Homstad, program officer, TC LISC, Ryan Curren, city of Seattle
Writer: Anna Pratt

Earlier this month, a group of transportation and policy leaders from Pittsburgh, Penn., and Columbus, Ohio, came to Minneapolis to check out its growing bicycle network as a part of a Bikes Belong Foundation workshop.

Gary Sjoquist, government affairs director for Bikes Belong, a national organization that works to increase bicycling, says that it has led similar workshops in Boulder, Colo. and Portland, Ore., "places where there've been significant changes to increase bicycling." 

The group, which is planning another get-together in New York City in the fall, also hosts international tours in cities such as Amsterdam, Copenhagen, and Munster, Germany, where 40 percent of all trips are taken by bicycle.

When people attend the workshops, "they get to experience it, ride it, and philosophically understand what's going on," he says.

Often a city official will think that developing bicycling infrastructure is a low priority because participation won't be high enough. By coming to Minneapolis or another city, "they can see how bicycling has been integrated and implement what they've seen," he says.  

Those who visited Minneapolis got to see that "what it's like when there are more vehicles on a bike trail than cars on a street nearby, like on certain parts of the greenway," he says.

By the Walker Art Center, where 15th Street intersects with Hennepin Avenue South near Loring Park, the bike lane goes from the street to the sidewalk. "Cyclists can do a left turn on a busy intersection to reach the bike trail," he says. "It's unique to move the bike lane to the sidewalk. I don't think there's any other treatment like it in the U.S."    

Only blocks away, near First Avenue, the bike lane is placed between the line of parked cars and the curb. "That's a lesson from Amsterdam, to move the bike lane to where there are fewer doors opening. It makes for smoother riding for the cyclist," he explains.

Additionally, Minneapolis's bicycle network will grow by 40 percent over the next couple of years, as a related $25 million federal grant continues to be spent. "That's another thing that really struck people who came," he says. "Minneapolis is pretty good in this area, but it will get a lot better once [more] is built." 


Source: Gary Sjoquist, government affairs director, Bikes Belong
Writer: Anna Pratt

The Lowry restaurant, which bills itself as a contemporary urban diner, is totally revamping the former Hollywood Video space in the Lowry Hill neighborhood.

For starters, remodelers removed about half of the building, bringing it down to a cozier 5,000 square feet and making way for parking and a patio, according to Stephanie Shimp, vice president of the Blue Plate Restaurant Company, which is behind the venture. "We pretty much gutted the inside," she says. 

But Blue Plate kept intact the original cement floors, with a patina, markings, and discolorations that "are very beautiful, interesting, and full of character," she says. 

As a part of the $1 million renovation of the 1920s-era building, The Lowry built out a new, lounge-like bar, a 150-seat dining area, and a kitchen.

A California Modern style characterizes the interior, with warm-colored wood and tufted-in dark brown leather booths with covered buttons and orange accents, she says. "It kind of feels like the inside of a boat," she says. "I can't think of another interior in the city that looks anything like it."

On the outside of the building the words burgers, whiskey, oysters, and eggs help provide a sense of what the restaurant is all about.

Among its unique offerings are 30 craft beers, along with wine in a keg. The Lowry will serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and will have a late-night menu. "I hope that we will become a real anchor in the neighborhood, the go-to spot for Lowry Hill, Kenwood, East Isles, and the Wedge areas," she says.

Additionally, she underscores the 100 new jobs the restaurant is bringing to the neighborhood. Many of its employees bike, bus or walk to work, she says.

The Lowry aims to open its doors by Aug. 9, according to Shimp.


Source: Stephanie Shimp, vice president, Blue Plate Restaurant Company
Writer: Anna Pratt

A plan for a 48-unit market-rate apartment building will replace the condo project that was supposed to go in at 46th and 46th in South Minneapolis.

The condos had been put on pause in 2007 due to tough market conditions, according to Don Gerberding, a principal of Master Properties, which is part of the development team.

Following discussions with the Longfellow neighborhood group about how to proceed, "the message I got was to wait and do something of quality rather than something that's not but that happens quickly," he says, adding, "We've been able to achieve that."

Master Properties has teamed up with the Lander Group of Minneapolis and the St. Paul-based At Home Apartments, which were successful with the nearby West River Commons mixed-use project.

At Home will take on the 46th and 46th development as a "portfolio project," meaning that it will own and manage the site, which will help ensure quality, he says.  

The four-story apartment building will use the same footprint as the previous condo project, for which the footings and foundation are already in place on the half-acre lot. "It'll be a box of the same volume," says Gerberding, while the fourth floor will be recessed. "It reduces the perceived size of the building from the street." 

On the side that faces 46th Avenue, the building will have the look of row houses, with individual entrances and yards. Raised patios will characterize the side that fronts 46th Street. "There will be two different feels to this building, depending on which side you're facing." 

At this prominent corner, which is on a major transit corridor, the developers are trying to be as progressive as possible, with sustainable, transit-oriented features such as free transit passes and a rentable Hourcar for tenants. "It could impact the decision [for a tenant] on whether to have a car," he says.  

"We're using all of the sustainable products that we can to be energy- and environmentally-efficient," he says.

The group hopes to begin construction in the fall. 

Source: Don Gerberding, principal, Master Properties 
Writer: Anna Pratt

Oaks Station Place will be the first development to spring up along the Hiawatha Light Rail, if all goes as planned.

It's an area where the city encourages higher-density development, which is one reason why it's a good fit, according to James Schloemer, who is part of the design team from Kaas Wilson Architects in Minneapolis, that's working on the project.

The mostly four-story building, which steps down a level in some areas, will span two parcels near the 46th Street Station. It'll have 104 apartments, 8,500 square feet of first-floor retail space, a large public plaza, and underground parking.

Design-wise, the building takes cues from New York City's old-fashioned Forest Hills Gardens, which is "an iconic transit-oriented community," near the Long Island Railroad, according to information posted on the Kaas Wilson website.   

It's a project that the developer, Oak Properties, is fond of, according to Schloemer, who adds that, "The idea is to build a modernized project along the transit line."

Oaks Station Place won't recreate Forest Hills, but its classical-styled architecture, with a brick exterior, gable roofs, and skyway, will be reminiscent of the historic building, he says.  

Schloemer says the developer wants to attract residents who can take advantage of the light rail or any of the eight major bus lines that pass through the area. A community car will also be on hand for building residents. "They won't need to own a car," he says.

A public plaza leading to the retail outlets will be accessible to residents, neighbors, and light rail commuters for all kinds of outdoor activities.

The development team is working with the city and the Standish-Ericsson Neighborhood Association on the plaza to "ensure this site will be a valuable asset to the neighborhood and surrounding community," he says.

Details such as the project's budget are still being determined, but the proper city approvals have come through, he says. Right now the developer and design team are putting together a construction package for a building permit while also still working out the land agreement with the Metropolitan Council.

Schloemer says that judging by the popularity of the developer's nearby Oaks Hiawatha Station complex, he expects the project to do well.

The group hopes to start construction this fall.

Source: James Schloemer, design team, Kaas Wilson Architects
Writer: Anna Pratt

In Minneapolis, the RiverLake Greenway, which has been in the works for 15 years, recently opened the city's first bicycle boulevard.

RiverLake is a five-mile east-west-running bike and pedestrian corridor that connects Lake Harriet to the Mississippi River, according to information from Bike Walk Twin Cities, an initiative of Transit for Livable Communities, which administers the project.

The bikeway, which got its start in the 1990s after a group of neighborhood activists pushed for it, was finished after a $400,000 grant came through this spring from Bike Walk Twin Cities.

Minneapolis is one of four cities across the country that received $22 million as a part of a 2005 federal nonmotorized transportation pilot program to encourage biking and walking infrastructure, according to Hilary Reeves, a spokesperson for Bike Walk Twin Cities. 

The bikeway "creates a network so people can bike and get across the city," in a way that's "friendly to cyclists with different skill sets," she says.  

It goes through residential areas along parts of 40th and 42nd Streets East, between the Midtown Greenway and Minnehaha Creek.

Features such as striped bike lanes on its eastern and western ends, and the bicycle boulevard lining the lengthiest part of the greenway, help make the bikeway safe and accessible for bicyclists and pedestrians, according to information from Bike Walk Twin Cities.

It's the first of a handful of bikeways that are planned for the area in conjunction with the federal pilot program, according to Reeves.

Biking is a small piece of the local transportation system but it can make a big difference when it comes to people's health and the environment. "The boulevard gets people thinking about how they're getting somewhere. It gives them options to try biking," she says.


Source: Hilary Reeves, Bike Walk Twin Cities
Writer: Anna Pratt

A proposal for a Staybridge Suites extended-stay hotel in Minneapolis's Stevens Square neighborhood could transform a blighted empty lot near downtown. 

Although plans are still being refined, the hotel is likely to have multiple levels with about 100 rooms, plus retail spaces on the ground floor, according to Steven Gallagher, who leads the Stevens Square Community Organization (SSCO). Additionally, a glass and brick façade would blend in with nearby buildings, he says. 

Gallagher says the neighborhood group welcomes the plan because the three-quarter-acre site, which is partly owned by Gateway Commons LLC, is a visible entry point to and from downtown. "It would spur development along that corridor," he says, adding that the development will make for a better flow along Nicollet Avenue's restaurant-filled Eat Street.

A 2008 Maxfield Research market trade study analysis "identified this type of hotel as very financially viable," he says.

A lack of competition for the longer-stay hotel concept is one reason why it's a strong proposal, he says. 

Also, the low land costs, plus its proximity to downtown--whose advantages include landmarks such as the Minneapolis Convention Center, nearby in-progress developments, and the possibility of Nicollet Avenue streetcars--makes it a win-win, he says. 

Armed with the Maxfield findings, SSCO has tried to recruit hotels to this spot in recent years, including Staybridge.

Details such as the cost and timeline are still coming together, but construction could begin as early as the end of the year, according to Gallagher.

A presentation on the current plan will be made at the June 25 SSCO meeting.


Source: Steven Gallagher, executive director, Stevens Square Community Organization
Writer: Anna Pratt

By the end of the year, a mixed-use development could replace the former Jaguar car dealership on Hennepin Avenue South in downtown Minneapolis, which has been vacant since 2007. 

Ryan Cos. is working with the Excelsior Group, a real estate company, to redevelop the site with market-rate apartments and retail spaces.  

Tony Barranco, a retail development director for Ryan Cos., says the details are still coming together, including the project's scale, cost, and design.

He expects a design will be out within a couple months while the project could break ground by winter. Between now and then, however, "There's a lot of work to do," he says, adding, "We'll have to get active quick."

Previously, the North Vancouver, British Columbia-based Milliken Development Group, had proposed condos for the site, but, amid the economic downturn, the property was returned to the bank, according to the Star Tribune.

Though the plan is still being fleshed out, the building could have up to 225 units, while the parking ramp on the block could be preserved, the Star Tribune reports.

Like the plans that came before it, the project will probably include a grocery store, Barranco says.

Ryan Cos. realizes that this is a prominent downtown intersection that "we want to treat...with a significant amount of character," he says.

Already, the company has gotten plenty of positive feedback on the project, which helps meet a demand for multifamily housing in the downtown area. These days, "There's a lot of focus on urban living and being transit-oriented and...close to entertainment [outlets]," all of which the project will capitalize on.

Additionally, the development links the area to the North Loop area and Mississippi riverfront. All in all, "We're confident and excited to bring vitality back to the block," he says.

Source: Tony Barranco, retail development director, Ryan Cos.
Writer: Anna Pratt

The city of Minneapolis is trying to gauge whether there might be any interest in redeveloping the historic Grain Belt brewery office building and a nearby empty lot at 1215 and 1219 Marshall St. in Northeast.

Last week the city sent out a request for proposals (RFP) for the site, which is part of what an "Above the Falls" study describes as an architectural and cultural landmark along the Upper River, and which the city is offering to package together or as two separate parcels.  

This portion of the brewery complex is among the last to be developed, according to city information. The brewery houses various architectural offices, Park Board facilities, and a public library branch, while the nearby lot has long been vacant, according to city information.

The city is appealing for a neighborhood- and pedestrian-friendly mixed-use housing development for the entire site or a portion of it, and renovation of the existing office, but it's open to other kinds of ideas as well, according to a prepared statement from the city.

Wes Butler, a staff person for the city's Community Planning and Economic Development (CPED) division, says the city is picking up where another developer left off about a decade ago. With the economy easing up, "We thought it would be a good time to remarket it now, to see if there's any interest in the original vision for a housing site," he says.

In the 24-page RFP, which emphasizes the site's nearness to the city's central business district and strong transportation connections, the empty lot is listed for $1.4 million and the brewery office is priced at $50,000. 

Proposals should involve "a varied yet cohesive mix of land uses complementing and enhancing the historic character of the brewery complex," possibly including commercial services, residential, recreational, arts-related, and light industrial uses, according to the RFP. 

City staff and the neighborhood group will review the proposals, which have an Aug. 1 deadline, before they go before the City Council in the fall, the RFP states.

In 1989 the city restored the brewery, which had declined since it closed in the 1970s. Read more about its history here. 

The brewery's historic status adds character to the site, and an extra challenge. Such features as the footings from the old Orth brewery, which preceded Grain Belt, need some sort of historical interpretation at the site, he says. "It makes it a unique spot with some challenges," he adds.  
 
Source: Wes Butler, staffer, city of Minneapolis
Writer: Anna Pratt

Sustainability was a priority for the Johnson Brothers Liquor Company, developers of The Lyric at Carleton Place apartments, which opened a year ago on University and Hampden avenues in St. Paul.

Recently, the Lyric received an award from the city recognizing its strides in this area. The 2011 sustainability awards went to a dozen businesses, organizations, and individuals on the cutting edge of everything from green construction to cleanup and beautification, according to city information. 

To add to that, this week the apartment building will host an event called "Hats Off to the Corridor," featuring art, music, and food to celebrate the Central Corridor light rail transit line that is planned to connect Minneapolis and St. Paul.

The 171-unit apartment building, which has a black-box-style theater, exercise room, community area, and gallery, is connected to the Carleton Place Artist Lofts. It's the first new construction project to be completed along the Central Corridor. The Lyric has also been designated part of the city's Energy Innovation Corridor, which spotlights sustainable developments along the light-rail line.

Beth Pfeifer, a spokesperson from The Cornerstone Group, one of the project's collaborators, says that in keeping with previous Johnson Brothers projects, "It's important to them to develop something that stands the test of time." 

Collaborating with the Cornerstone Group, BKV Group, Yen Chee Design, Jaeger Construction, Xcel Energy, and the Weidt Group, the Johnson Brothers found numerous ways to reduce noise and waste, improve air quality and energy efficiency, and filter stormwater, according to project materials.

To do so, it took full advantage of advanced heating and cooling systems plus Energy Star-certified appliances, native plants, and a rooftop garden, among other things.   

As a result, the building is 22 percent more energy efficient than similar developments. Pfeifer says the cost of achieving this level of energy efficiency was minimal, overall, and it'll pay for itself within a couple of years. "We hope it's an impetus for others to invest in [energy efficiency] as well."

Source: Beth Pfeifer, The Cornerstone Group
Writer: Anna Pratt

The $4.8 million Emerge Career and Technology Center will help address a growing digital divide in North Minneapolis.  

Emerge Community Development will redevelop the former North Branch Library at 1834 Emerson Avenue North, to make way for the center, which will offer a wide variety of programming pertaining to emerging careers, with an emphasis on green jobs, according to Emerge executive director Mike Wynne.

Training will deal with entrepreneurship, job skills, and career learning, while several learning labs, computer kiosks, multi-use conference rooms, and offices will be available.    

So far, Emerge has secured about $3.3 million for the center. Recently the project was listed by a City Council committee as a top priority for transit-oriented design funds from the county.    

In 2009, Emerge acquired the historic building from the Geneva Services Co., a salvage company that will stay in the building until the renovation starts, according to Wynne. The 13,000-square-foot building was a library from 1894 until 1977.    

Calling the building an architectural jewel, he says, "It's the oldest standing building that was erected solely as a library in the state and it was the first branch library in Minneapolis," adding that the project has attracted support from historic preservation groups, government agencies, and other funders.

Emerge's fundraising campaign highlights the legacy of Gratia Countryman, who headed the Minneapolis library system for several decades in the early 1900s, according to Wynne. She was well known across the country for her work starting up children's reading rooms and the bookmobile, which originated at the branch library, according to Emerge information.

As a part of the project, the old bookmobile garage and classrooms will be repurposed for the career tech center while some of Emerge's partners will move into the building to support its operation. "This community asset needs to be returned," says Wynne, adding, "It's a purpose that's accessible" to individuals and big and small groups.   
 
Emerge plans to wrap up the fundraising aspect in 2011 and begin construction before the year ends. "It's been a challenging time to hold a capital fundraising effort, but we continue to see progress," he says.  

On a broad level, the development contributes to the revitalization of the West Broadway commercial corridor. "At a time of great disparities in joblessness in North Minneapolis and communities of color, this is a chance to bring a support mechanism that works in a very direct way."

Source: Mike Wynne, executive director, Emerge Community Development
Writer: Anna Pratt

Artspace Projects, Inc. is in the middle of putting together the funding for a $15 million development to go on a parcel near the Guthrie Theater, on the eastern edge of downtown Minneapolis.

The project, which has been dubbed ArtCube, includes 45 affordable live/work studios for artists; it's similar to another Artspace project in Northeast, called the Jac Flats (which The Line wrote about here), according to Heidi Kurtze, the group's property development director. 

The five-story building will have 8,000 square feet of commercial space, while 20,000 square feet will be devoted to an arts incubator for the larger community, though the details are still being fleshed out, Kurtze says.

A portion of the incubator, from which the development gets the "cube" part of its name, could be devoted to a gallery and offices, plus an artist residency program she says, citing some possible uses for the space.

To figure out the "best and highest use of space," the group will carry on a community engagement process over the next several months. "We're having a number of conversations with nearby arts organizations that are in need of more space," she says.

Also being explored is the idea of an urban farm to go on the building's rooftop--one that could have some kind of connection to the Mill City Farmers Market, Kurtze says.  

On April 5 the City Council's community development committee deemed the project one of 10 city development priorities for transit-oriented design funds this year from Hennepin County, according to city information. ArtCube, which applied for a $500,000 grant from the county, is well connected to a couple of nearby stops for the Hiawatha Light Rail line. 

In addition to the county funds, the group intends to apply for grants from the city and Metropolitan Council.

Depending on when the financing comes through, Artspace could start construction next year on the L-shaped development, which is adjacent to the future headquarters of the American Academy of Neurology.  

Source: Heidi Kurtze, director of property development for Artspace Projects Inc.
Writer: Anna Pratt 

Seward Redesign, a neighborhood nonprofit developer, is taking steps to make "phase two" of its proposed Seward Commons a reality at the industrial four-acre site that was formerly home to the Bystrom Brothers machine shop, between Minnehaha and Cedar avenues south on 22nd Street in Minneapolis.

Seward Commons, which has long been in planning stages, is a sustainable transit-oriented housing development, according to project information. The development process has been divided into a couple of phases that separately deal with housing for the "persistent mentally ill" and seniors.   

"Phase two" specifically relates to 60 units of senior housing in the complex, which Seward Redesign associate director Katya Piling says is in high demand from the area's aging population. "People love the neighborhood and want to stay here," she says.

To make it happen, Seward Redesign is considering the possibility of teaming up with CommonBond Communities, another local nonprofit developer that already has a presence in the neighborhood at the Seward Towers. The possibility will be presented at a Seward Neighborhood Group committee meeting on April 12.  

The details of such a collaboration need to be worked out to meet the requirements of a Housing and Urban Development funding application, for which the deadline is coming up, she says.

For the 40 units of supportive housing, plus administrative offices, dining, and health and wellness facilities that are a part of "phase one," the group's partner is Touchstone Mental Health.

Seward Redesign acquired the land, which has nine buildings on the premises, in June 2009. Since the beginning, the community has been looped into the master-planning effort, which goes back even before then.  

Ultimately, Seward Redesign wants to transform the off-the-beaten-path industrial area into a lively link to the Hiawatha Light Rail Transit (LRT) line. Already the group has taken pains to open up access to pedestrians along a trail near the line, which means people don't have to cross busy, four-lane Cedar Avenue to get to the Franklin Street LRT Station.

In the future, Seward Redesign hopes to create a well-lit path that "provides a more direct, flat way to reach the station," Piling says.  

The group has put a lot of thought into environmental issues. On the site, Seward Redesign plans to implement cutting-edge stormwater-management practices. Already, the existing parking lot has become an urban farm, which could be expanded to the development's rooftop. "We want to integrate agriculture into the development in the long-term," she says.   


Source: Katya Pilling, Associate Director, Seward Redesign     
Writer: Anna Pratt

In the past, the corner of University and Dale avenues in St. Paul was known as the "Red Light District," according to city spokesperson Janelle Tummel.

It's come a long way since then, thanks to the community pulling together to make the $13.5 million Frogtown Square development a go, she says.

U.S. Secretary for Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Shaun Donovan, U.S. Representatives Betty McCollum and Keith Ellison, Deputy Mayor Paul Williams and City Council member Melvin Carter III, attended the development's March 4 grand opening.

The project was made possible with $6.4 million in HUD financing plus over $4 million in grants and loans from the city to buy and build on the land parcel, according to project information.

The glassy four-story building has 50 one-bedroom apartments that are geared toward seniors. They have special features such as walk-in showers and easy-to-reach pull-cord alarms to accommodate seniors' needs, according to Tummel.

All of the units, known as the Kings Crossing Apartments, filled up within 24 hours of becoming available and there's a long waiting list, according to Tummel. It goes to show that "It's definitely meeting a need in the area," she says.

The building also includes community spaces, a business center, eating areas, and first-floor retail, she says.

Best Wireless, Fasika Ethiopian Restaurant, Global Market, Grooming House, Just Church'n it Fashions, Rondo Coffee Café and Subway fill the retail spaces.  

It's highly energy-efficient and pedestrian-friendly, with accessibility to and from the future Central Corridor Light Rail Transit line, Tummel says.

About the development, which was 15 years in the making, Secretary Donovan is quoted in a prepared statement, saying, "[Its] innovative approach of combining small businesses and affordable housing is exactly the type of smart planning the country needs to continue winning the future towards economic prosperity."

Episcopal Homes, Inc., owns and manages the apartments while Northeast Dale-University (NEDU), a group of community developers, is responsible for the 11,700 square feet of commercial space, according to project information.

Project partners include the Metropolitan Council, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, Ramsey County, Bigelow Foundation and Twin Cities Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC).


Source: Janelle Tummel, spokesperson for the city of St. Paul
Writer: Anna Pratt  

In conjunction with the coming Central Corridor Light Rail Transit line that will link Minneapolis and St. Paul, a new $4.3 million tunnel is needed to accommodate foot traffic near the state capitol at University Avenue North.

The tunnel will add to an extensive subterranean tunnel system throughout the capitol complex in St. Paul that was constructed in various stages between 1913 and 1984, according to Jim Schwartz, a spokesperson for the Minnesota Department of Administration.

The tunnels protect pedestrians from the elements while providing easy access to and from various buildings on the campus.

Recently the department sent out a request for proposals with a March 16 deadline for design and engineering work on the tunnel. Schwartz says the state agency will bring its funding request to the state legislature in 2012.   

The reason for a tunnel, here, he says, has to do with the siting of the light rail line at this juncture. It'll block off street-level crossing on University Avenue North.

"There'll be a wall to the north of the capitol, on the south side of University," he says. "In addition to the fact that trains will be going back and forth, it'll eliminate the pedestrian crossing at grade [on University Avenue North]," with the nearest crossing down the road on Rice Street.  

The tunnel, which will connect the campus's north and south ends, will be nearly 30 feet wide, he explains. It'll be adjacent to a smaller existing tunnel that will be used for utilities.       

One requirement is that the tunnel be done in keeping with the capitol building's historic status, he says.


Source: Jim Schwartz, spokesperson, Minnesota Department of Administration
Writer: Anna Pratt

The Metropolitan Council is asking the public for a "catchy and clever" name for the area's new regional transit system, which includes light rail and bus rapid transit routes, some of which are still in early development stages.

Although there are no specific rules for the name game, Arlene McCarthy, who is the director of Metropolitan Transportation Services, says it needs to allude to the "premium service here in the Twin Cities."

The system she's referencing includes the Hiawatha Light Rail Transit line, the planned Central Corridor Light Rail Transit line and bus rapid transit along I-35W South, Cedar Avenue and "other high-demand corridors in the future," according to a prepared statement.

These routes are set apart from other public transportation modes because they offer frequent, all-day service, predictable arrival times, special lanes, and enhanced vehicles and stations, she says.  

McCarthy says the council wants to hear about what kinds of ideas resonate with people, adding that the Minnesota Wild hockey team underwent a similar christening process some years ago.

One example of a transit-specific name is in San Francisco, where there's BART, or Bay Area Rapid Transit. But another approach might be to look at the region more broadly, without using an acronym, she says.  

Additionally, because the branding is about the public, she says, "we want the public to identify with the system name," she says. "Who better to ask than those who use the system?"

The deadline for submissions is March 18 and the council is accepting them on its website, via email, regular mail, phone, and fax.

A group of marketing and communications specialists from various government offices, businesses, and chambers of commerce will sift through submissions in May and June, she says.
 
Source: Arlene McCarthy, director, Metropolitan Transportation Services
Writer: Anna Pratt

A $45 million mixed-use development from the locally based Ackerberg Group will help meet the demand for both parking and office space in Minneapolis' Uptown area.

The 10-story Mozaic development recently broke ground, the company announced in a prepared statement.

Mozaic includes a parking garage that will have 436 parking stalls and 120 surface parking stalls on floors two through seven.

On the top three floors will be 65,000 square feet of "class A" office space, which will help provide more daytime jobs, according to Thatcher Imboden, a company spokesperson.

"We think there's a huge untapped market for office space in Uptown," he says.

The 13,000-square-foot ground level will house restaurant and retail outlets.   

Also part of the development is a public plaza plus a new pedestrian and bike bridge on Girard Avenue that will lead to the Midtown Greenway. "We feel it's a critical connection to Uptown," he says, adding that this aspect of the project was made possible through Hennepin County transit-oriented development dollars.      

Being set back away from the street, the glassy, stepped-back structure will feel more like a mid-rise building, he says, adding that a green wall that will be covered in vines and acrylic panels alongside the parking area "helps soften the building."      

It'll have open floor plans, large floor plates, and "unprecedented views" of downtown, nearby lakes and South Minneapolis.

Funding for the project comes from the Ackerberg Group and MidCountry Bank, and through Recovery Zone Facility Bonds issued by the city, according to company information.

Mozaic will be open by January 2012.

In the future another 100,000 to 150,000 square feet of commercial, residential or mixed-use space could be added. "I think people will be happy with the results," he says.  

     
Source: Thatcher Imboden, Ackerberg Group
Writer: Anna Pratt     





   

Bloomington-based United Properties has a $40 million plan to turn the historic Ford Center in the Warehouse District downtown Minneapolis into an exemplar of sustainability.   

The 1913 building, once a vertical assembly plant for the Ford Motor Company, "will be the crown jewel of the Warehouse District, setting the new standard for renovated historic office properties in the Twin Cities," a prepared statement reads.

Bill Katter, senior vice president with United Properties, says the company's goal is to go for "silver" status through the LEED certification program, which is a high mark from the national standard for green building.   

It helps that the building is so close to the light rail transit line with several more trains to come, he says.

The group is planning to install high-efficiency mechanical systems and implement water conservation strategies, while taking advantage of regional materials, according to Katter. Its windowline, the building's "most significant and distinguishing characteristic," according to the prepared statement, will be restored and not sent to landfill, he says.  
Additionally, the 5th Street entrance will be reminiscent of the original, while the lower level will have 25 parking spaces plus a fitness center, Finance and Commerce reports.  

HGA Architects, which will do the design work on the project, is moving from a building a few blocks away into the Ford Center, where it will take up about 80,000 square feet of the 270,000 square feet total.

Jason Sandquist, a brokerage associate at Adam Commercial who writes about the Minneapolis real estate market on the group's blog, Positive Absorption, makes the point that the building's renovation can be seen as "one of the first economic impacts that the new Twins ballpark has brought to the area," following several years of a slowdown in development.

Source: Bill Katter, United Properties
Writer: Anna Pratt

Through a $243 million renovation that has long been in the works, the historic St. Paul Union Depot will become a multimodal transit hub, providing access to the region, Milwaukee, Chicago, and beyond.

The project broke ground on Jan. 18.

St. Paul policy director Nancy Homans says it'll be a center of transportation activity akin to transit hubs in New York City and Washington, D.C. "It's a strong element of the regional economy."     

Amtrak, metro area buses and express buses, the Central Corridor Light Rail line, and pedestrian and bicycle traffic will run through the depot. Greyhound and Jefferson bus lines might also come into play, according to city information.

It harks back to the 1881 depot's early days, when it was known as the transportation center of the Upper Midwest and the gateway to the Northwest, according to historical information from Ramsey County Regional Rail.

Financing for the renovation comes from a combination of county, state, and federal funds, including $50 million from the last federal transportation bill and $35 million in Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grants through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, according to city information.

Ramsey County is studying what kind of activity should go on there to make it more than a pass-through. After all, Homans explains, "It's an economic center, in and of itself."     
 
As the region grows and develops over the next several decades, having more people taking advantage of public transit will lead to less congestion. "Businesses today say there's a congestion tax," with trucks sitting in traffic.

The project represents a shift away from highway building, which she characterized as a drag on the economy. "It frees up the resources that would be put into roads and highways and draws it to the center," she says. "It's much more efficient for the long term."

A more efficient system can "set a pattern of activity to save the planet and support the economic prosperity of the region."  

Trains last ran at the depot 40 years ago. It was mothballed and then part of it was used by the U.S. Postal Service. Eventually the county acquired it for the transit project.

"It's a very cool building," she says, adding that the renovation will make it a "wonderful asset."

The renovation project is planned to wrap up in 2012.

Source: Nancy Homans
Writer: Anna Pratt

The state's largest affordable-housing complex will soon undergo a considerable rehab.

Funding for a project to revamp Riverside Plaza in Minneapolis's Cedar-Riverside neighborhood closed on Jan. 5 while construction could begin next month.  

The modernist 11-building campus, which renowned architect Ralph Rapson designed in the 1970s, has 4,440 residents, plus a charter school, grocery store, and tenant resource center, according to city information.

Matt Goldstein, who works in the city's housing division, says that getting the finances lined up is a huge accomplishment on its own. 

A complicated $132 million deal restructures the property's debt and finances a $62 million renovation that includes $7 million for site and common-area improvements, according to city information.

Notably, 88 percent of the project's funding comes from private sources, he says.   

Goldstein explains that the rehab comes out of necessity. The heating and cooling system had started to go, which could leave a whole building without heat. As such, "The vast majority of work is being done behind the walls," he says.  

Otherwise, the building could become uninhabitable and would "create an amazing burden on shelters and other available housing stock," he says, adding that there is no money to acquire the property and tear down the building.   
 
For the city, the bottom line is about extending the building's lifespan and "enhancing the quality of life for these residents," he says. "The comprehensive nature of the renovation does that."  

Other goals of the project are to increase safety on the campus, improve energy efficiency, and better provide for pedestrians and bicycles. The city also pushed for a workforce plan that creates 200 construction jobs, with 90 spots reserved for neighborhood residents.

Goldstein is hopeful about the project's potential impact on the area.

The renovation is aligned with several other projects, Goldstein explains. The nearby Cedars, also a large affordable-housing complex, will soon be revamped, while planning for the neighborhood's Central Corridor Light Rail stop is underway, along with additional streetscape improvements.   

It's part of a conscientious effort to make the developments work together. "The Riverside Plaza project isn't happening in a vacuum," says Goldstein.

Source: Matt Goldstein, Housing Division for Minneapolis
Writer: Anna Pratt

Minnetonka-headquartered Opus Development Corp. will soon begin construction on a high-end, 120-unit student apartment complex near the University of Minnesota at Washington Avenue Southeast and Southeast Ontario Street in Minneapolis.

The Stadium Village Flats will be within walking distance to the east and west bank sides of campus, Dinkytown, and the forthcoming Central Corridor light rail train that's planned to run down Washington Avenue Southeast by 2013, according to Dave Menke, a senior vice president and general manager at Opus.

"We consider it to be the best location down at the edge of campus," he says. 

The $30 million building's units, which have a range of one to four bedrooms, will come fully furnished and will boast upscale finishes, according to company information. There will be two levels of underground parking and street-level retail, most of which CVS Pharmacy will occupy, he adds.

Inside will be student lounges, business and fitness centers, and Internet access throughout--while an eye-catching glass feature will run down the exterior on the northwest corner of the building, where Oak Street and Washington Avenue Southeast intersect.   

A couple of existing buildings that housed the longtime Harvard Market and additional commercial space and a parking lot will be demolished at the end of February, with construction beginning in March.

Initially the development involved the Oak Street Cinema and was to have twice as many units, the Minnesota Daily reported earlier, but it has been scaled down since then, due to economic factors.   

The flats will be ready in August 2012. "It'll be a first-class student housing project, he says, adding,  "There's a strong demand from the students." 

Source: Dave Menke, senior vice president and general manager for Opus Development Corp.
Writer: Anna Pratt

To figure out the best transit solution for the Robert Street Corridor, the Dakota County Railroad Authority will undergo something called an "alternatives analysis."

The Robert Street corridor runs from downtown St. Paul to Rosemount, with Interstate 35E bounding it on the west and the Mississippi River forming its eastern edge.  

A $1.18 million grant from the federal Department of Transportation, which was announced last month, will jumpstart the analysis, according to Dakota County transit specialist Sam O'Connell.  

The "alternatives analysis" will help define those "areas that really demonstrate the transportation need and focus on solutions," she says.  

Through the 12-to-18-month-long analysis, the county will identify the "locally preferred alternative" for a route and transit type. Some of the options they'll look at are light rail, commuter rail, bus rapid transit, streetcars, and more, while Robert Street is only one possible route.

An early feasibility study that the county did underscored the need for more transit services, with longer hours and higher frequency, especially with state projections for increased population and employment, she explains.

Today, about 129,000 vehicles cross the Mississippi River at the Lafayette and Robert Street Bridges on a daily basis, which is important to know because "bridges are natural chokepoint," she says.   

But different areas throughout the corridor have varying levels of density, impacts to land use and communities, ridership and more. "You have to do a technical analysis of what will and won't serve the corridor," she says. "It allows you to focus on the best solutions," which the public will have the chance to provide feedback on along the way.  

Source: Sam O'Connell, Dakota County transit specialist
Writer: Anna Pratt

As its name suggests, the Flux Apartments complex targets a group of upwardly mobile young professionals whose lives are, well, in a state of flux.

The $38 million apartment complex that Greco Real Estate Development is building at the intersection of Fremont Avenue South and the Midtown Greenway will connect with people who may have been attracted to Minneapolis for a job offer, and who may not know where they'll end up in five years, explains Brent Rogers, a vice-president of development at the company.

The 216-unit complex is the city's largest housing project since Greco's 242-unit Blue apartments, which opened in 2008 in the Lyn-Lake area, according to Rogers.

Blue, he says, is 96 percent occupied, demonstrating a demand for this kind of housing. In the past, "there hasn't been a whole lot of new upscale housing in Uptown," he says.   

Flux will have studio alcoves and two-bedroom penthouses that will be mixed throughout six- and four-story interconnected buildings. 

It'll offer plenty of amenities, including an outdoor pool, courtyard, grilling area, private dog park, fitness center, cafe and bar, so that "when they're not at work [tenants] can enjoy life and have fun," without the worries of home-ownership if they later decide to move on, he says.  

The location offers easy access to the bike and walking paths along the Greenway, and to light rail. 

Another interesting aspect of the project, he says, is that in addition to financing from NorthMarq Capital and PNC Realty Investors, the AFL-CIO Building Investment Trust is pitching in--meaning that "union retirement pension funds are putting union workers to work."

Even though it's still a challenging time for development in general, Rogers says, the project speaks to the "belief that the rental market continues to be strong and gets better over the next few years."

The Flux Apartments will open in January 2012.

Source: Brent Rogers, vice president of development at Greco Real Estate Development
Writer: Anna Pratt

A new $4.5 million transit station, which opened on Dec. 6, makes connections between freeway and locally-running buses faster.

In Minnesota, it's the beginning of freeway "bus rapid transit" (BRT), which aims to get people wherever they're going as quickly as possible. 

The split-level 46th Street Transit Station, which spans the 46th Street bridge across Interstate 35W in Southwest Minneapolis, enables buses to pick up and drop off passengers without ever getting off the freeway, explains Metro Transit spokesperson Bob Gibbons.

Riders can efficiently make connections between the upper and lower levels of the station, which rises out of the median of Interstate 35W.

From the station, which has LCD monitors with real-time information about bus arrival times, people can hop on express buses bound for downtown Minneapolis, the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities campus, Best Buy corporate headquarters in Richfield, and Normandale Community College in Bloomington. During peak times, express buses run every 15 minutes.

From the freeway, buses benefit from the MnPass toll lanes, which "give us a consistent, fast trip," he says, explaining that the lane's traffic is kept moving at 50 miles per hour.  

Gibbons says that the 13 routes that converge here "have been adjusted to take advantage of the new station."

These changes were made following a lengthy public hearing process over the past couple years. The Metropolitan Council approved the route realignments in August. The project came together through a combination of federal, state, and regional funds.    

He says the setup is a precursor to an expanded bus rapid transit system set to be fully operational in 2012. The idea behind BRT is to have local buses running frequently enough for people to catch freeway buses that'll go both directions every 15 minutes all day.    

"When you have that frequency, you don't need a pocket schedule," he says. "You don't have to be a slave to the bus schedule and organize your life around it."  

   
Source: Bob Gibbons, spokesperson from Metro Transit
Writer: Anna Pratt

If city officials approve it, North Minneapolis could get its first full-service bike shop by the spring of next year.

In response to a request for proposals that the city sent out some months ago, the Cultural Wellness Center submitted a proposal for Major Motion Bike Walk and Coffee, which uniquely emphasizes walking for fun, exercise or transportation, according to Kristen Klingler, who works in the city's health and family department. 

Her office recommended the proposal to a City Council committee, which will weigh in on it in January.

The South Minneapolis-based Cultural Wellness Center, a nonprofit organization that develops cultural approaches for health, economic development, and community building, plans to lease a 3,718-square-foot space at the corner of Lowry and Penn avenues north for the $450,000 project, Klingler says.

Major Motion Bike Walk and Coffee will offer new and used bikes, related gear and other accessories, plus bike repair and maintenance services and a coffee shop.

The shop will be stocked with items such as bus passes, compact shopping carts, reusable shopping bags and more, to help people make transitions from foot to bike to bus, according to Klingler.

Classes and workshops to "help people get comfortable riding the bike paths," for instance, along with spinning classes, will be held at the shop.  

The goal is to "give access to things residents need to be active on a regular basis," says Klingler, adding, "Improving health is the main focus."

The Wellness Center has enlisted the help of the Major Taylor Bicycling Club, an Upper Midwest group which tries to increase bike riding among African Americans. Other partners are the North Side's EMERGE Community Development, which provides youth employment and job training, and nearby NEON, a collaborative network that specializes in small business development support.
 
Klingler says the city has a $350,000 grant from Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW) that was funneled through the Minnesota Department of Health from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, to help with the center's up-front costs.

The bike/walk center is part of a larger health initiative in the city and state that has programs geared around obesity prevention, physical activity, and healthy eating.

In North Minneapolis and beyond, strategies include expanding the Nice Ride bike-sharing program, new bike lanes and walking trails, and wayfinding signage for bike and pedestrian access--all of which will feed into the bike/walk center. "We're really excited about it," Klinger says.   

Source: Kristen Klingler, City of Minneapolis
Writer: Anna Pratt

An $80 million redevelopment proposal for the 6.5-acre parcel at Lake Street and Hiawatha Avenue in South Minneapolis, where the building that formerly housed the Brown Institute sits, emphasizes the popular Midtown Farmers Market and other nearby amenities, including light rail transit and the YWCA.

The current building, which is owned by the Minneapolis Public Schools, would be torn down. Whether the school district might still have offices or classrooms in the complex is up in the air, according to Jack Boarman, a senior partner with the BKV Group Architects.

The local architecture firm is collaborating on the project with a handful of partners that fall under the umbrella of L&H Development. Theirs was the only response to a request for proposals from the public schools and city, which had a Nov. 1 deadline.   

Under the proposal, a mix of affordable, senior, and market-rate housing units, along with street-level retail and office space, would be scattered throughout a series of three to five buildings.

It's an area that has mainly single-family homes, according to Boarman, who adds that the proposed variety of housing would open it up for residents of all income levels. 

Boarman says the team tried to be sensitive to the Corcoran neighborhood's goals for the area, creating a walkable place that will serve residents and the broader community.

For starters, "People can move through the development into what we're calling the Farmers Market Plaza," he says, adding that the buildings would be configured around a series of courtyards, with sidewalks and a boulevard leading to the Hiawatha Light Rail Transit line.
 
Sustainability is top of mind, he says, and easy access to the train encourages residents to go car-free.

In the coming weeks, the proposal will go before a city committee and the neighborhood group, with Minneapolis Public Schools making a decision on the matter sometime in December.

Source: Jack Boarman, senior partner at BKV Group Architects 
Writer: Anna Pratt

Leave it to a group of neurologists to make sure their new headquarters accommodates a giant head.

The American Academy of Neurology is moving to new offices that the group will build across the street from the Guthrie Theater in downtown Minneapolis. As part of a deal the city council approved in October, the AAN will set back the building 10 feet from the sidewalk along Chicago Avenue to preserve views of the Guthrie Theater and its supersized photo-portrait of founder Tyrone Guthrie.

After negotiating with AAN over the project, CPED Deputy Director Chuck Lutz said, "I'm very happy with the result." Such deals take time, he added, but "we're all satisfied." Lutz said the city's sales price of $661,000 reflects a discount of about $88,000 to preserve the Guthrie viewshed. The City of Minneapolis also issued $16,500,000 for the project in tax-exempt revenue bonds as part of the Recovery Zone program.

Hundreds of neurologists fly to the Twin Cities each year for association meetings. One selling point for the AAN, currently headquartered in St. Paul's West Seventh neighborhood, is the new site's proximity to the Hiawatha light-rail transit connection to the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

A vibrant neighborhood was also part of the equation for the association, according to AAN Executive Director Catherine M. Rydell: "We are very supportive of the setback. It completes the pedestrian gateway along Chicago Avenue to the river and Guthrie. In fact, the Academy will be providing electricity to vendors of the Mill City Farmers market through outlets strategically placed along the exterior of our building."

Sources: Chuck Lutz, Minneapolis Community Planning and Development; Catherine M. Rydell, American Academy of Neurology
Writer: Chris Steller

The Twin Cities tied with one other metropolitan region this month in being awarded the top federal grant amount-- $5 million--for sustainable transit and transit-oriented development.

Salt Lake City was the other city to get a full $5 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). (Seattle came close, with $4,999,700.)

The Twin Cities' take will go toward involving local communities in planning transit-related development along five planned and existing routes: Southwest light-rail transit, Bottineau Boulevard, Cedar Avenue Bus Rapid Transit, Northstar Commuter Rail and the Gateway Corridor along I-94 East.

"It's a terrific boost," says Jonathan Sage-Martinson, Central Corridor Funders' Collaborative. The Central Corridor route between the downtowns of St. Paul and Minneapolis, where the region's second light-rail transit line is now under construction, will also see some of the HUD funds.

The kind of comprehensive community planning and design that's been done on the Central Corridor will serve as a model for other transit corridors. Sage-Martinson says Shelley Poticha, director of HUD's Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities, often cites Minneapolis-St. Paul as a prime example of a region that has found a way to work cooperatively on both transit and transit-related development. The office distributed nearly $100 million toward like efforts across the country.

The goal is to wrap together economic and workforce initiatives; alternative energy systems; energy efficiencies in housing (particularly rental housing); and green infrastructure such as the stormwater runoff system that will water new trees along the Central Corridor.

Source: Jonathan Sage-Martinson, Central Corridor Funders' Collaborative
Writer: Chris Steller

At a century-old brick building in St. Paul's Mid-City area, lawn mower-makers have given way to CodeWeavers. And the engineers at the software firm that goes by that name will be joined this week by educators working for the Minnesota Literacy Council. With the two tenants, the building will be 60-62 percent leased.

The 18,000 square-foot factory/warehouse now known as The Foundry at Raymond is the 15th property near the crossroads of Raymond and University avenues to be renovated by Update Company, a family-owned development firm with more than three decades in the neighborhood. Partner Sandy Jacobs says Update currently owns and manages eight buildings in this commercial and industrial section of the St. Anthony Park neighborhood.

Jacobs remembers a less-vibrant era in the 1970s when her parents' home-based painting business began to evolve into Update. She figures the firm's Midtown Commons office conversion of a pair of buildings in 1990 was a turning point for the area. "That when things really started to gel," Jacobs says.

Now she can point prospective tenants toward numerous nearby amenities, including the Edge Coffee Shop, Hampden Park Co-op, Gremlin Theater, and Café Biaggio. CodeWeavers has found the location midway between downtown St. Paul and Minneapolis so convenient for employees to bike to work that they installed a shower.

A Central Corridor light-rail transit station will be under construction at Raymond and University next year, eventually increasing the development potential of surrounding land. The St. Paul Port Authority has scooped up a nearby former trucking property, Jacobs said.

Office workers aren't the only ones finding the once desolate area more appealing. Jacobs says a newly landscaped stormwater-runoff collection pond at the Foundry has attracted a recent eagle.

Source: Sandy Jacobs, Update Company
Writer: Chris Steller

For the fourth fall, volunteers are fanning out across town to count how many bicyclists and pedestrians pass by a given location over a two-hour period.

The Twin Cities is one of four places selected for a bike/walk program funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation, and measuring trends in bicycle and foot traffic is an important part of the project, says Tony Hull of Transit For Livable Communities, the nonprofit group working with local governments on "Bike/Walk Twin Cities." (The other places are less urban: Sheboygan, Wis.; Columbia, Mo.; and Marin County, Calif.)

Counts by humans with clipboards are needed because bikes and pedestrians are too light to trip the rubber strips that planners stretch across roads to count motor-vehicle traffic volume. The data lets transit advocates and city officials factor in all forms of transportation rather than focusing solely on the flow of cars and trucks.

Volunteers get training to ensure accuracy and consistency, then head out to 48 spots where people like to bike and walk. A few locations have seen a doubling or even tripling of bike and pedestrian traffic from 2007 to 2009. Most saw percentage-point increases in the double digits. An observer along a busy route can expect to see several hundred bicycles over two hours of counting.

(This year's count could still use a few good volunteers. If you can help, check out this link.)

By Hull's reckoning, the traffic levels of bikes and pedestrians are increasing at a rate that raises the question, "Do we need more capacity?" Bulking up the infrastructure dedicated to non-motorized traffic, like bike lanes and paths, may be needed, he says. Consider, for example, the Midtown Greenway, which has become so popular it can suffer crowded rush hours and near-traffic jams. In places like that, Hull says, the need for transit "starts getting to the next level."

Source: Tony Hull, Transit for Livable Communities
Writer: Chris Steller

One of the might've-beens about the Central Corridor light rail line that's now under construction is a route not taken at its Minneapolis end. University of Minnesota officials pushed hard for an alternative plan that would have seen trains skirt campus by swinging through the Dinkytown commercial district rather than plowing down Washington Avenue, close to vibration-sensitive research facilities. (The university dropped a lawsuit over the vibration issue last week.)

One of the advantages offered by the alternative route to downtown via Dinkytown was a proximity to land ripe for a wave of development of the sort it seemed only LRT could bring. But redevelopment is happening in the area in a big way anyway, even despite a lousy lending environment. One firm, Doran Companies, has just broken ground on its second big Dinkytown project, the 412 Lofts at Fourth Street and 13th Avenue SE.

It's to be a five-story, 102-unit apartment building with two levels of underground parking, says Jim LaValle, Doran's vice president of development. It's not student-only--that would be illegal under fair housing laws--but LaValle says the 412 Lofts will cater to the close-to-campus environment.

A year ago, Doran broke ground on Sydney Hall, a similar project that also included renovation of the Dinky Dome, built in 1915 as the Minnesota Bible College but now better known for its signature glass dome skylight. The development is now fully leased, LaValle says, including a ground-floor CVS, Dinkytown's first drugstore after a decade or more without. Plans to lease space directly under the dome for commercial use didn't find any takers, LaValle says--so lucky residential tenants will enjoy the spectacular interior instead.

How do two big developments take off within two blocks when construction is stalled elsewhere? Doran credits "efficient design that works financially"--along with a "captive audience."

Source: Jim LaValle, Doran Companies
Writer: Chris Steller

It's the $27,000 question: Will people become regular bus riders if you mail them free bus passes and teach them about transit?

Seeking an answer is a neighborhood nonprofit organization with a playful name that sounds like a utility: Linden Hills Power and Light.

The name is "just a joke," says executive director Felicity Britton. It's meant to suggest empowering or enlightening the Linden Hills neighborhood on environmental issues.

The group has received one of eight grants for fighting climate change from the City of Minneapolis, a grant program now in its third year and funded by the federal Recovery Act.

Linden Hills Power and Light's idea is to promote transit ridership with a direct mail campaign to residents of the Linden Hills neighborhood in Minneapolis' far southwestern corner.

About 2,000 lucky residents will receive free Metro Transit bus passes in the mail, each with enough stored value for one round trip fare, explains Linden Hills Power and Light executive director Felicity Britton.

Metro Transit can track how many of the cards get redeemed, and which get more value added--an indication that a rider has become a regular.

Linden Hills is a bit below-average for bus-ridership, Britton says, with about 6 percent of residents riding regularly. Boosting that by 1 or 2 percent would mean 200 new regular riders.

The neighborhood is ahead of the curve in other environmental respects, including a pilot program for curbside compost pickups. (The rest of the city is set to have the service by the end of 2012.)
 
Besides buying bus passes and postage, the group plans a transit education program for the neighborhood. The effort is supported with $10,000 in federal funds plus more than $17,000 in locally raised matching funds and in-kind donations.

"We're calling it 'Taking the bus with training wheels,'" says Britton.

Source: Felicity Britton, Linden Hills Power and Light
Writer: Chris Steller

The Nice Ride Minnesota bike-share service debuted in June across a significant swath of Minneapolis: from Uptown, through downtown, to Dinkytown. But the program drew notice for two areas left out of its geographic range: St. Paul and North Minneapolis.

For North Minneapolis, that's about to change.

Last week the Minneapolis City Council approved spending $228,500 in federal Recovery Act funds to expand Nice Ride onto the city's north side. Next week, Nice Ride will hold a public meeting to gather ideas for where to put the bikes. Next summer, Nice Ride's trademark yellow-green bikes will show up at six bike-rental stations paid for with the $230,000 allocated for North Minneapolis.

St. Paul, meanwhile, waits.

"We're ready to go if we had the money," says Bill Dossett, Nice Ride's executive director.

Dossett's attention is focused for the moment on the program's reception on campuses in Nice Ride's current range, as students return for fall classes at the University of Minnesota, Augsburg College, Minneapolis College of Art and Design, and Minneapolis Community and Technical College.

He's also looking forward to next spring. If Minneapolis follows Montreal's pattern, that's when annual subscriptions will take off. Only 1,100 year passes have sold so far--a number depressed, Dossett guesses, by the misconception that annual subscriptions expire at the end of 2010.

In reality, the passes are good for a full year from day of purchase. Annual subscribers get a key and a coupon book, making them, in Dossett's estimation, "the happiest people."

Source: Bill Dossett, Nice Ride Minnesota
Writer: Chris Steller

Here's a measure of how serious Minneapolis is getting about bicycling: the city's draft Bicycle Master Plan, which is up for public comment this month, might tip you over if you tried to bike with it.

The plan, with accompanying design guidelines, runs to nearly 500 pages of text, tables, photos, and more. Its predecessor, from 2001, was a map.

The new document lays out Minneapolis' policies on bicycling and tells how city government intends to carry them out. If the city council adopts it, the master plan will be the first word--if not necessarily the last--on where biking will take Minneapolis and where Minneapolis will let biking go.

A series of five public meetings starts this week at which people can learn about the plan, express opinions and offer ideas for changes. A comment form, like the master plan itself, is available online.

Even before the meetings, members of the city's active bike community were sizing up the plan online at Minneapolis Bike Love and the Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition. Resident Brendon Slotterback sees lots of city-planning documents in his job as Dakota County planner but says this seems like "a big deal." At his blog, Net Density, Slotterback made a new map to show which improvements actually have the maintenance funding needed to start construction.

Billy Binder, a member of the city's Bicycle Advisory Committee, a lifelong Northside resident, and longtime bicycling advocate, admires the master-plan effort but says the process is moving "way too fast." Guidelines showing 12-foot traffic lanes and 5-foot bike lanes are disappointing, he says, because narrower widths would let bike lanes proliferate even on skinny streets. Binder plans to comment but says he also will directly lobby council members to seek a plan worthy of what Bicycling magazine calls America's most bike-friendly city.

Sources: Billy Binder, Minneapolis Bicycle Advisory Committee; Brendon Slotterback, Net Density
Writer: Chris Steller

A downtown block that has sat largely vacant for almost two decades--despite its location at the confluence of three major streets--may soon get back its mojo.

In the 19th century, construction on what's known as the Nicollet Hotel block, where Washington Avenue meets Hennepin and Nicollet avenues, led the way to development of the downtown Minneapolis we know today. Now hopes are high that redevelopment on the same spot, next to the new Central Library, can again lead to a revival of neighboring blocks at the north end of downtown. Mayor R.T. Rybak pitched the idea of a public park at the city-owned site during his annual budget address last week. The city's planning director, Barb Sporlein, says city staff, regional officials, and downtown leaders are in talks about a renewed effort for possible three-pronged redevelopment there, including parkland, mixed-use and transit.

A federal grant helped the city buy the block as a site for a transit hub, but two rounds of requests for proposals in 2005 and 2009 did not produce a project that's taken hold. Now excitement over devoting at least some of the land for needed downtown park space is dovetailing with prospects that the block could host a new streetcar line running from Central Avenue across the river to the Nicollet Mall downtown. Where that streetcar line would run, who would pay for park upkeep, and what sort of mixed-development could share the block are questions Sporlein says studies or another RFP may answer.

The turnaround scenario is that adjacent areas would gain energy from a revived Nicollet Hotel site, just as Gold Medal Park sparked development in downtown's Mill District. "This could be a hard-working block," says Sporlein.

Source: Barb Sporlein, City of Minneapolis
Writer: Chris Steller

Living on the water--really on the water--has been a way of life for David Nelson and his wife Renae since they moved into a houseboat on St. Paul's Mississippi riverfront almost 23 years ago. Over that time, they've shared the floating life with a few river neighbors, but now they've got plans to share its charms and challenges with many more.

Nelson, a building contractor and developer, has embarked on a renewed marketing push for a project he calls River Cities: housing 300 or more people in condos on a barge-sized boat that's specially built to ply the nation's extensive inland waterways system.

Nelson has been working on the concept for more than five years (full time for three), and figures the market for an adventurous way of living, especially for retirees, may be ripe now. "People are sick of this perpetual staycation that we're in," he says.

Plans are for two 300-by-54-foot boats, each five stories in height, that could travel together or separately. With sufficient commitments for condos ranging in price from $299,000–$499,000, Nelson could have his first condo-bearing boats built in as little as 18 months.

A big part of River Cities' appeal is the kind of proximity to nature that the Nelsons have enjoyed in St. Paul. They've also found a sense of community on St. Paul's houseboat docks (nine boats when they moved in, a city maximum of 25 now) that they hope to replicate on a bigger scale with River Cities. "Boaters look out for each other," Nelson says.

Source: David Nelson, River Cities, Inc.
Writer: Chris Steller

After nearly 30 years below ground, Walker Library in Minneapolis' Uptown neighborhood is getting ready to surface with a new $7 million building.

"A library that is highly visible" is the stated desire of a citizens advisory committee that issued a vision statement for a replacement structure earlier this year.

That will be a big change from the current, almost entirely subterranean library building at Hennepin and Lagoon avenues, where in lieu of a visible library at street level, person-sized steel letters spell out L-I-B-R-A-R-Y.

Envisioned is an above-ground building that announces itself as "Uptown's library, with a strong daytime and nighttime street presence." Designers don't have to look far to find an example of such a structure: the original Walker Library is still standing, just across the street.

Hennepin County's Designer Selection Committee has recommended an architect from among the 21 firms that responded to a request for proposals issued last spring, says Lois Lenroot-Ernt, capital projects manager for Hennepin County Library. The firm's name remains under wraps, however, until county commissioners act on the recommendation, perhaps this month or next.

Designer selection doesn't immediately lead to library construction in every case. A new building in north Minneapolis to replace Webber Park Library is on hold until the county acquires a site.

The county allocated more than $1 million in its 2010 budget to acquire land at a new Uptown site for the Walker library as well, but the RFP is for a $7 million structure to be built on the current site.

Source: Lois Lenroot-Ernt, Hennepin County Library
Writer: Chris Steller

Saint Paul mayor Chris Coleman hit the key notes: preparing businesses for the coming Central Corridor so they can survive the construction period and thrive once trains begin running down University Avenue.

To do that, he said, Ready for Rail has "an overall strategy" of mitigation steps, technical assistance, and financial aid to offer businesses in need.

Drawing most attention was a planned loan program to provide direct assistance to impacted businesses. Eligible borrowers would pay no interest on the loans and make no payments until after the light-rail line is complete.

Some loans or portions of loans may be forgiven; that is one of the details, along with precise eligibility criteria and which consulting organization will administer the fund, that remain to be decided. "I'd rather do it right than quick," Bell said.

The $1.5 million loan-fund pool consists of $1 million from the Met Council and $500,000 from the Central Corridor Funders Collaborative. Coleman termed it "a small safety net," emphasizing that its effectiveness would come from being part of an overall strategy.

"I'll readily concede that it's not an adequate fund, but it's a start," said Bell. He suggested--but was careful not to promise--that the size of the loan fund could grow.

How might that happen? A Met Council spokesman told The Line it's not likely that that agency would contribute more to the pool. Nancy Homans, Coleman's policy director, says some prospective local funders have already contributed via the Funders Collaborative. But she says that a higher national profile for the project could attract other funders from further afield. And if parts of the project come in under budget that could free up funds that might increase the pool.

Here is a video of the Ready for Rail news conference, prepared by Coleman's office:


Source: Nancy Homans, St. Paul Mayor's Office
Writer: Chris Steller

Most of the Central Corridor light-rail line lies in St. Paul, and that's also where most of the focus on helping small businesses survive the construction period. But several Minneapolis districts will see construction disruptions as well, says Kristin Guild, business development manager at Minneapolis Community Planning and Economic Development (CPED).

That's why Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak joined St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman Tuesday to announce a new "Ready for Rail" initiative meant to provide businesses along the new transit corridor in both cities with a straightforward way to get help making plans.

It's an effort of the Central Corridor Business Resources Collaborative, one of several groups working on the impact of the Central Corridor project beyond the laying of rail while the new transit line is being built. The collaborative, formed as a clearinghouse for information and assistance, is a "loose affiliation" of both cities' governments and chambers of commerce as well as a long list of community development corporations and local business associations, Guild says.

On Washington Avenue SE, crews will have to work over a long period to build a pedestrian/transit mall where cars will no longer be allowed. And readying the Washington Avenue Bridge across the Mississippi River for light-rail trains will mean relocating the on- and off-ramps that customers use to reach businesses such as Midwest Mountaineering on the West Bank.

"The key is coordination," Guild says.

For a fuller discussion of the challenges of light-rail planning, see this week's feature, All Aboard.

Source: Kristin.Guild, Minneapolis Community Planning and Economic Development (CPED)
Writer: Chris Steller

It's deserving of a golden spike--or maybe a golden kickstand.

Sometime in November the nation's first bicycle freeway is due to reach the Mississippi River from the west, through the difficult terrain of downtown Minneapolis. The Minneapolis City Council voted July 2 to fund completion of Phase III of the Cedar Lake Trail, at a reported cost of at least $9.2 million for a single mile. Work begins this month.

Rather than do battle with motor vehicles on surface roads, bicyclists will be able to follow the final leg of the trail along a semi-subterranean path. They'll travel in a railroad trench, alongside tracks carrying freight and commuter trains, from downtown's near-north outskirts through the Warehouse District to West River Parkway.

If other sections of the Cedar Lake Trail look something like an interstate freeway cutting across wild, open land, Phase III will have the feel of an inner-city freeway slicing through the urban core, Renderings by engineering firm URS show a paved bike roadway running next to sheer embankment walls and under long sections of elevated highway, all the while enclosed by chain link fence. (See PDF.)

At the trail's new end, riders will emerge into more bucolic surroundings, descending a ramp through the Federal Reserve Bank's private wildflower garden to the serpentine river road, just upstream from the Hennepin Avenue Bridge.

As a trailhead for commuters planning to pedal westward home, the new east entrance will be much easier to find than the trail's current starting point beneath the Royalston Avenue overpass.

Don Pflaum, city transportation planner, says other access points in the new section will be at Washington Avenue and Target Field.

Source: Don Pflaum
Writer: Chris Steller

A high-speed train route to Chicago is coming, politicians and transit planners say. But a route to New Orleans already exists and you choose the speed--the Mississippi River Trail is built for bicyclists.

The MRT traces the Mississippi's full length, from Lake Itasca to the Gulf of Mexico, following local roads (mostly) and dedicated bike paths (where possible). It's been around since the 1990s but has stayed under most people's radar in large part due to a lack of signage.

That began to change last year in Minnesota, as the state Department of Transportation started putting up signs along one side or in some places both sides of the river.

Not every part of the river has roads on both sides, but Minneapolis and St. Paul are already bicycle-friendly on both the east and west banks.

MRT signs now dot Mississippi River Boulevard in St. Paul, but Minneapolis has lagged because of local concerns about marking too many trails. The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board's Grand Rounds Parkway is nearing completion and has its own signs, including ones along the river. But MRT, Inc. board member Suzanne Pepin says she expects that MRT signs will be added soon, allowing Minneapolis to visibly join the 10-state route.

Minnesota is taking the lead among the 10 states along the route with a state Department of Transportation program pushing acceptance, awareness, and enjoyment of the MRT, Pepin says. "This is the right time for the trail to take off," says Pepin, who predicts the MRT will become "one of the most incredible international tourist attractions."

Source: Suzanne Pepin, Mississippi River Trail, Inc.
Writer: Chris Steller

Work is underway on building the Central Corridor light-rail transit line between Minneapolis and St. Paul. So how soon will construction start on the anticipated wave of transit-related development projects along the University Avenue route?

At the northwest corner of University and Hampden Avenue in St. Paul, the answer is: It's done. The Lyric at Carleton Place, a 170-unit apartment building, has seemed ahead of the curve, rising even as the lingering recession has kept other projects on the drawing boards.

The Lyric is a rental companion to the Carleton Artist Lofts, a renovated condominium building next door, both developed by Johnson Brothers Liquor Company, a major local distributor of wines and spirits. (Johnny's Lounge, a bar that formerly occupied the site, is commemorated inside the Lyric with a namesake gathering space.)

Yet the coming Central Corridor LRT line is not the main selling point for The Lyric, which is located between future stations at Raymond and Fairview avenues. Instead, The Lyric boasts artist-friendly amenities like a gallery, an amphitheater, and an outdoor movie-screening space.

The developer's effort to build a community at the Lyric extends beyond physical features. "The company has gone out of its way to incorporate social media" such as a Lyric-specific social-media site and an iTunes channel, says Christopher Lower of Sterling Cross Group, a public relations, marketing and web design firm working with property management company Dominium.

Lower says there's movement afoot to re-brand the Lyric's South St. Anthony neighborhood as "Mid-City" -- appropriate, considering the skyline view in either direction from the Lyric's rooftop deck.

Source: Christopher Lower, Sterling Cross Group
Writer: Chris Steller

"Brick House" was the nickname for Memorial Stadium, the predecessor at the University of Minnesota's Minneapolis campus to TCF Bank Stadium, the new home of the Golden Gophers football team.

Now an actual house near the stadium--wooden, not brick--has been renovated by the University District Alliance, a community organization formed in the stadium's wake to strengthen ties between the university and surrounding neighborhoods. It's the first of three houses located in target areas near the new stadium to hit the real estate market after purchase and renovation by the Alliance.

When Minnesota legislators approved state funds for construction of TCF Bank Stadium, they were also motivated to mitigate negative impacts of the mammoth campus on adjacent residential areas. A special aim was encouraging home ownership in neighborhoods where the pace of conversion from family to student rental housing has accelerated in recent years.

The Alliance--made up of resident associations in three neighborhoods of Southeast Minneapolis, the university, and the City of Minneapolis--decided that renovating houses for sale to new resident-owners was the best way of spending the bulk of $750,000 the state allocated to demonstrate how local projects could keep campus-area neighborhoods stable and sustainable.

"Initially there was the hope to at least break even, but that's not going to happen," says James De Sota, Southeast Como Improvement Association coordinator, whose group pushed the Alliance to use green building materials and methods in the renovation work.  Still, he says, efforts at cooperation by local groups, the university and city government are off to a "nice start."

Source: James De Sota, Southeast Como Improvement Association
Writer: Chris Steller

The Twin Cities' stock of publicly shared bicycles goes up on June 10 from zero to 700. That's the number of bikes on the streets for the launch of Nice Ride Minnesota, a new bike-share system that's already an overnight sensation: It instantly becomes the nation's largest.

The Nice Ride bikes are available for rent from 75 kiosks around Minneapolis. A future phase will see that number grow further as the program expands into St. Paul.

The goal, says Nice Ride Minnesota executive director Bill Dossett, is simple: "To make it easy for more people to use a bike during the day."

The Nice Ride organization has been preparing for the big day with twin efforts, both massive. Programming and construction of rental kiosks was underway at Sieco Construction in the Seward neighborhood, while assembly of Nice Ride's fleet of bikes took place at Freewheel Bike, which has locations on the West Bank and along the Midtown Greenway.

Bike stations are in the city's busiest, densest places, from Uptown to Dinkytown--not, Dossett, says, in areas dominated by single-family homes.

Asked to name a sign that the program is a success (a little old lady on a Nice Ride bike, perhaps?), Dossett demurs. "It's one small piece of something that is a lot bigger than us," he says. "It's already going on." People are changing the way they move around the Twin Cities, says Dossett, and using a bike-share system is simply a part of that.

Source: Bill Dossett, Nice Ride Minnesota
Writer: Chris Steller

A turnaround at the St. Paul crossroads known as UniDale has been 25 years in the making, and 2010 looks to be a big year for progress there. A new mixed-use development, Frogtown Square-Kings Crossing Apartments, will mark a significant milestone in the transformation of an intersection that is due to host a major stop on the Central Corridor light-rail transit line.

The intersection of University Avenue and Dale Street was at one time notorious as the site of an adult-entertainment complex known as The Notorious Faust Theater (yes, that was the business' full and official name). The Faust gave up the ghost in 1995; standing on that site now is the new Rondo Community Outreach Library, in a building with housing above.

Kitty-corner from the library is the Frogtown Square site. The deal for the new building closed May 31, allowing construction to begin the next day. Frogtown Square will have 11,000 square feet of commercial space at street level. Kings Crossing Apartments will contain about 48 units of affordable rental housing for senior citizens on the upper three floors.

Meyer Construction, a minority-owned firm, is the general contractor for the $13 million project, which is a joint effort of four community development corporations (CDCs) and Episcopal Homes.

What might light-rail riders see at Frogtown Square's retail level? "At one point, we talked about a hat store," says Patty Lilledahl, who directs business development and finance for the City of St. Paul--a "perfect fit," if it happens, for the building's residents.

Source: Patty Lilledahl, City of St. Paul Planning and Economic Development
Writer: Chris Steller

The web of dedicated paths for biking and walking in St. Paul will soon add an important strand. The city is getting ready to build its first proper bicycle boulevard, on Jefferson Avenue across the southwestern part of the city.

As it passes through St. Paul, the river twists northward, then south again. Due to that geographical quirk, the straight-line, east-west Jefferson Bikeway will meet (or nearly meet) the Mississippi River at both ends: at Mississippi River Boulevard and again at W. Seventh Street/Shepard Road.

Anyone biking the nearly four-mile length of the route will experience three different levels of accommodation: bike lanes from W. Seventh Street to Lexington Parkway; shared lanes (or "sharrows") from Lexington to Snelling Avenue; and bike-boulevard modifications from Snelling to Mississippi River Boulevard.

It's that last stretch where bicyclists will really feel like kings of the road, with a variety of traffic tricks intended to give preference to people pushing pedals. At Cleveland Avenue, a new island will divert cars and give refuge to bikers.

"The city's transportation plan calls for bike facilities every half-mile to mile," explains traffic engineer Paul St. Martin. Jefferson is typical of the kind of street St. Paul is adding to its biking network: located in a current gap in the system, with low traffic volumes, and already stocked with traffic signals. St. Martin said the city will test a similar route on Charles Avenue, another east-west street, which runs just north of University Avenue.

Source: Paul St. Martin, City of St. Paul
Writer: Chris Steller