To my knowledge the city is not involved in any way with any of the following Downtown projects in planning or currently under construction:
212 Lofts Security Lofts 918 Lofts Bookmen Lofts and Bookmen Stacks The Carlyle 6 Quebec Tower Lofts Callumet Lofts (St. Anthony Main) Pillsbury A Mill project (St. Anthony Main) 710 Lofts Rock Island Lofts Basset Creek Lofts Lennox Flats Elliott Park Lofts American Trio Lofts Artists Quarter Lofts (Eat Street) Franklin Lofts (Eat Street) Greenleaf Lofts (Eat Street) It seems to me that the market must be sufficiently deep or these companies and individuals wouldn't be investing in all of this right now. If they're wrong and there isn't a market it's the developers problem, not the cities. Most of the units that have begun lately that are selling fast are priced in the $200K - $350K range which is definitely not high end for any new construction in the entire metro area. That's not to say its cheap but there has been a definite shift lately toward that more moderate range in the downtown market. The 710 Lofts and Calumet Lofts even had units below $160K. Is that affordable? That depends on you definition but I'd say so. I've lived in the North Loop since 1998 and can say that is a lot more soul here now than there was when I moved here. There was no one over here and no reason to be here if you didn't live or work here for the most part. A lot of the developmennt over the past 6 years has been on vacant lots and parking lots, not things worth trying to preserve. A lot of the Loft conversions have taken place in buildings that were partially or mostly abandoned. Furthermore, no one has been pushing to knock down any of the siginificant buildings so our architectural history is preserved. There simply hasn't been the massive gentrification (exisiting population being pushed out) that people tend to think there has been. Do the developers make a lot of money on these projects? I would guess that they make plenty. For example, my understanding is that Jim Stanton of Shamrock Development has owned the parking lots that many of his projects have been built on since the mid-eighties when he most likely bought them for a song. But why shouldn't he be able to profit? There was a lot of risk inherent in investing in a basically abandoned industrial district in the mid-eighties. He seems to have guessed right on the investment though. I guess I don't see how continued development in the North Loop and Downtown is detrimental to the city in general since it has added population, tax base, and construction and design jobs to the city at a steady rate for several years. There are always some negative unintended consequences (some displaced artists) but the benefits in this case seem to far outweigh the costs. Nick Frank North Loop REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
