There is an attractive element to what Charlie suggests, and University UNITED suggested a similar model for the Pan Asian Village that was proposed at University and Dale a few years ago (now dead). Actually at Lexington, Wellington is selling off the parcels to busineses, they just happen to be Aldi, TCF Bank, and possibly the Wilder Foundation (in effect, whether he initially intended to or not, Wellington is now simply playing the role of land speculator).
If the community vision for that location was purely commercial, then Charlie's idea would be a good one. But the community vision was for a mixed-use development with a substantial number of new housing units, and only a larger, master-planned development can make that work. As to who the street-level retail tenants of such a development could/should be, the challenge for getting small, locally-owned businesses in the mix is that most of them can't afford to pay the rents of new construction. A creative model could be found, I believe, where small storefronts in a mixed-use development could be "condo-ized," giving small businesses not only space at a great location but the additional asset and benefit of owning their space. By the way, big, master-planned developments are not all bad. Look at the new plans for the Sears building on Lake Street in Minneapolis, to be anchored by Neighborhood Development Center's Global Marketplace, which will include about 60 locally-owned restaurants and shops of all ethnicities. And this will be part of the same development that includes the new headquarters for Allina, plus tons of new housing. Russ Stark Hamline-Midway -----Original Message----- From: M Charles Swope [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, January 21, 2005 10:39 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; 'St. Paul Issues Forum' Cc: Brian McMahon Subject: RE: [StPaul] Lexington & University What if the Lexington/University site was not developed as a comprehensive planned project but instead was broken into smaller parcels and sold off to individual businesses? University Avenue is being transformed into a vital, exciting place because of the many small businesses that have started up there over the past decade or so. Wouldn't a process that allowed that kind of organic development to take place at University/Lexington be more likely to result in an urban/transit-friendly area than the kind of comprehensive, developer oriented project that now seems likely? It would take more time but would also result in businesses and housing that were compatible with the neighborhood. The development process now in place favors big blockbuster (in every sense of the word) projects. They are good for the big developers but are they really what the city needs? Charlie Swope Ward 1 _____________________________________________ To Join: St. Paul Issues Forum Rules Discussion Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ____________________________________________ 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/
