==================================================
St. Paul E-Democracy - A Citizen Info Network
http://www.e-democracy.org/stpaul/
What's New In Your Neighborhood?
==================================================
In the spirit of the recent "Ask Not What You Can Do For Your District
Council - Ask What Your District Council Can Do For You" discussion, let me
toss this out there.
As you may recall, the West Seventh/Fort Road Federation recently won a
well-deserved award for their complete and utter overhaul of the Brewery
Neighborhood (Duke, Colborne, Jefferson). While I am not overly fond of
clapboarded chimneys up the fronts of townhomes, and sometimes wonder where
all the former residents went, overall the area is a wonderful example of
what can be done by a District Council when left (pretty much) to its own
devices. Homes were saved, moved, and restored to their former glory,
architects with consciences and talent were hired, an historic mansion was
refurbished (RIP Mannheim), and the neighborhood has been literally
reconnected to The River by a park and a path. By most if not all
accounts, it is a huge success.
If Gopher State Ethanol owes us so much money and goes bankrupt, then I
think we should seize their property for payments due and let the District
Council spearhead the redevelopment of the site. What happens to the site
would then be dictated by The People and not by Selfish Corporate
Interests. We could do what we can with creativity and sweat, bit by bit -
not by courting huge developers to see who can come up with the best $300
million idea. If it starts out as an unheated, no electricity non-Farmers
Market, so be it. After selling off the tanks and valves and pipes and
other reusable industrial process equipment, it won't require too much
money to rip down all the ugly remains, what with celebratory
sledge-hammer-wielding residents on an automatic health kick.
The success and quality of developments in District Nine are directly
proportional to the extent of involvement of the Fort Ford Federation and
the people it represents. This is indisputable. Cases in point:
the Upper Landing folks were hardly concerned with what Advice the Advisory
Committee had, and to this day still can't seem to grasp the importance of
the site or the concepts of scale, massing, etc.;
the Armstrong House is arguably one of the most interesting residential
buildings downtown and would be a pile of bricks of not for the efforts of
the FRF and HIPA;
River Bluff's most recent plan and approach is the most sensible one to
date, because of the tireless efforts of many residents and the staff of
the FRF;
the best house on my block is a Houses To Homes residence, done by the
Federation;
Bonfe's and Mancini's have done whatever they felt like because they have
little or no relationship with the Council;
the Island Station people came to the FRF fearing the worst, but since they
have shown genuine concern for doing something right by the people, they
enjoy a relationship with the Council that other developers would envy;
WEBA's best intentions have not been very well-received because they would
not reach out to their consumers, which they could have done in concert
with the Council;
I could go on...
The point is, again, if GSE owes us so much, then let's demand the property
and develop it as we see fit. I had almost finished my tunnel to the
brewery when it shut down, so a few microbreweries would be a good start.
And/Or:
*********************************************************************************
The First Urban Underground State Park In Minnesota; The American Center
For Non-Traditional Legal Unions; The Masons, Smiths, Coopers, Fletchers,
and Bakers Luddite Mall; Quilting For The Wilting; Day Care At Night;
Psychoceramics For Crackpots; Zymurgy And Vinification For Hics and Kicks;
Bruce Hendry Crop Art Museum; Corn Sweet Corn Stand (subsidized, natch);
CASE BASE Jumping Club; John "Harley" Davidson Silent Hog Farm; Bykes for
Gay Tykes; Smokestack Lightnin' Skateboard Tube; Ye Olde Butcher, Baker, &
Candlestick Maker Bathtub Shoppe; Martinis R Us; Kandy Relly's Toot Sweets;
Everything Steamboatin'; The Grand Illusion Magic and Con Artist Studio;
Shoes, Shoes, and More Shoes To Boot; Joseph's Long Underwear;
Frattonizer's Ace Harderware; Jit's Hash Bar; Chastity World; Cinema Pair
O'Dice Bike-In Theatre; Power Tools To The People; Hell's Soup Kitchen;
British Heritage, Kilt, and Bagpipe Society; Czech Home For Retired NHLers;
Free For All 10,000-Year-Old Water Fountain Of Youth Hockey Rink; Gabe
Kaplan's Brother's Gloves And Jean Pool; US Olympic High Dive Practice
Facility; Helter Skelter In A Summer Swelter (Frozen Corkscrew Slide in
winter); Walter's Pigeons; Bachelor Pad Thai; Crossbow And Wrist Rocket
Alignment Services; Miles Of Tiles; Yards Of Cards; Fine British Columbian
Imports; Good, But Not Great Logo Factory; Day Labor Union Hall; Grateful
GSE Is Dead Head Convalescent Home; Aiko Aiko Cooked Sushi Bar; Jacques le
Mare Seafood; ...
*********************************************************************************
The cheap, healthy, quiet, profitable, desirable, suitable, charitable,
useful possibilities are endless. Start your business plan today.
AMH
Yeast Seventh Street
And yes, as a matter of fact, there IS something in the air...
Andrew M. Hine
Corporate Research Materials Laboratory
3M Center 201-1W-28
St. Paul MN
55144-1000
USA
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Tel: (651) 733-1070
Fax: (651) 737-5335
Lab 201-W110
_____________________________________________
NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit:
http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul
Archive Address:
http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/
