Secrets of the City

The Uptown Minneapolis blog takes an in-depth look at the CARAG master plan and expresses concerns over the document’s argument for more parking spaces: All residents, even those who don’t drive, or who own only one car, would indirectly foot the bill for the construction and maintenance of these unnecessary parking spots. That land could be put to better use as additional housing, or even as increased garden or outdoor green space.

The blog makes an interesting case, worth reading in entirety, that this sort of planning actually encourages a sort of suburban lifestyle that isn’t appropriate in a dense urban neighborhood.

Spotted while hitting the Times Website today. Not only does this article feature a home for sale in Uptown, but there’s a Prince shout out, too. Note the purple shutters: serendipity. I walk by that home all the time and spotted the MPLS connection from the thumbnail. Maybe the Times will come save the Strib? Oh, yeah… never mind.

The Uptown, Minneapolis blog makes a list of things they wish were Uptown, including a farmer’s market and a lightrail station. What would you put Uptown to improve it? Failing that, what would you get rid of?

Tough break for Uptown stoners, and the suburban William’s crowd. Lunds and Byerly’s are locking up at midnight so they’ll have to seek out their favorite late night “-eetos” elsewhere.

The Strib is reporting that soon there will be both an American Apparel and a Victoria’s Secret uptown:

“If they run this Victoria’s Secret in Uptown like they run all their mall stores, then it won’t be a big success,” said Thatcher Imboden, a resident of Uptown and a board member of the Uptown Association business group. “It has to be unique.”

Calhoun Square is mostly empty, and now the surrounding area is seeing more vacancies. What went wrong?

A redevelopment plan that would have added condominiums to the 1980s-era retail complex in Uptown Minneapolis has languished.

A 140-room Graves Hotel is in while office space is out at the Moziac project in Uptown. I can see how a Graves would fit with the Moziac project but I’m curious to see how the stiletto crowd will mesh with bike messengers, frat boys, and a bustling Mickey D’s across the street.

First it was Borders, and now with Panera Bread closing and the sudden absence of Einstein Bagels, the attrition continues in Uptown. And it seems the development plans of Calhoun Square are rumored to be stalled by plans to relocate the Hennepin/Lake entrance.
Does Uptown need hotels to survive?

Why is there no 23rd Street in Uptown? If you check on a map you will notice that there is no 23rd all the way from the river to Hwy 100. The block sizes are the same, and all the streets in the west listed as 23rd are all tiny little branches that probably made a lot of sense to call them 23rd when they paved them. Any historical perspective or conspiracy theories? Is it related to the secret numbers on Lost?