My location choice for the new downtown Central Library is the North block for the following reasons:
1. If you look at aerial photos, the development potential north, east and west of both library sites is enormous over the next decade or two. The riverfront is developing rapidly now with housing, hotels, recreation and theater amenities. The Library will be a destination for not only the current downtown business users, but for downtown residents and businesses that will be located in these new development areas to the north and along the river, as well as visitors from around the region. The North block site will be closer to those living and working in these new development areas on weekends as well as during the week. We should not restrict our development view to current business users south of the library. 2. If you look south from the river along Hennepin/Nicollet, past the Federal Reserve on the right, and the Towers and the white insurance bldg (name escapes me) on the left, the prominent sight lines of the North block site are clearly evident-- the Gateway view. The North block, with adjacent green space, offers the striking location for our new downtown library. 3. If the housing project (roughly 20+ stories, 200+ units) is located on the North block with the library on the South block, the new library will be completely hidden from view when looking from the north. It will be surrounded by taller buildings. The natural sight lines will place a high-rise housing unit in prominent view and the 4-6 story library/planetarium will be completely hidden behind it-- surrounded by taller buildings. 4. Placement on the North block will likely necessitate adding an extra floor to the building. This will not necessarily compromise space planning and operational efficiencies as some are saying. Ask the architects and space planners and they will verify that operational efficiency and programmatic integrity will be maintained even with an added floor-- let them do their design work and don't presuppose what they can and cannot do. Onsite parking for either block will require use of vertical space, above and/or below ground, so this should not be a deciding factor for either location. Let the Cesar Pelli/Architectural Alliance team design a masterpiece that can be viewed from the Gateway in all seasons; a masterpiece that is readily accessible from riverfront developments. Don't restrict them to a hidden structure on the South block. Michael Hohmann 13th www.mahohmannbizplans.com > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of > Hamilton, Colin J > Sent: Friday, December 21, 2001 3:15 PM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: [Mpls] Library Site Selection > > > The question about the library site continues. Should the new library be > built on the current ("south") block or be moved across 3rd Street to the > Nicollet Hotel ("north") block? The Implementation Committee is > supposed to > decide the issue in mid-January, so there is still time for > public comment. > > > The major advantages of the north block are: > > 1. A more visible building at the meeting point of three major streets > (Hennepin, Nicollet and Washington). > 2. Adjacencies to green spaces on the Marquette and Gateway Plazas. > 3. The convenience of not having to run a skyway through the Library (the > Library would be the terminus point). > > It now seems that even if the Library is moved to the north block, there > will still be an interim site so that housing construction could > begin ASAP. > In other words, moving to the north block would not eliminate the > inconvenience of interim operations, nor would there be any obvious cost > savings. > > The major advantages of the south block are: > > 1. Because it is a larger block, there should be fewer compromises to the > Library program. (The Library would be a very tight fit on the > north block, > and that could mean shrinking or dividing departments, or losing valuable > internal adjacencies.) > 2. Because it is a larger block, there is more opportunity for on-site > parking. > 3. It is closer to the downtown core and the majority of Library users. > > Most of the Library leadership prefers the south/current block, > because they > believe that *internally* it will be a better library. There seem to be > others on the Implementation Committee who prefer the north block, mostly > because of its significance in the city. > > What do you think? > > Colin Hamilton > Executive Director > Friends of the Minneapolis Public Library > 612/630-6172 > 612/630-6180 (fax) > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > _______________________________________ > Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy > Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: > http://e-democracy.org/mpls _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
