MARCY-HOLMES/EAST BANK—With the more than 1,000 condominiums planned for Second Street SE in mind, members of a two-neighborhood task force indicated they would like to “domesticate” the thoroughfare, which trucks now travel between the University of Minnesota campus and downtown.
As a key developer plans to go to the City Planning Commission Aug. 14 for zoning and variance requests for its 10-year project, the Pillsbury A Mill task force is pressing for “off-site public benefit that benefits the project,” said Ted Tucker, task force chair and a new member of the planning commission.

That includes requesting that Second Street, on the north side of the A-Mill project, be designed as a residential street for the neighborhood. “We’d like to not have all the traffic streaming out of Gopher (football) games,” he said.

Tucker pointed out that plans call for Second Street to connect at Eleventh Avenue SE to the future Granary Parkway in the Southeast Minneapolis Industrial area, as well as to the proposed 50,000-seat Gopher football stadium.

“We agree, and it would be wonderful if the neighborhood takes that position,” said David Frank, project manager for the developer, Schafer Richardson.
Some urged the task force to push hard to remake Second Street as a residential street—arguing that industry and truck traffic will diminish should Metal-Matic, Inc. and nearby Superior Plating, Inc. move their large plants—instead of maintaining it as a truck route as the Public Works department prefers.

Third Ward City Councilmember Diane Hofstede said the neighborhood could advocate for a residential design but noted the city also has to provide living wage jobs. “If it has only housing, it creates issues,” she said.

The task force also discussed advocating for early installation of traffic signals at the nearby intersection of Sixth and University avenues SE, sooner than the currently planned 2010. “Why don’t we do it now before someone is hurt?” asked Frank. Sixth Avenue crosses Second Street and meets the Stone Arch Bridge, making it a popular biking and walking route.

The task force was formed by the Marcy-Holmes and Nicollet Island-East Bank neighborhoods to advise developers of the proposed 900-unit, two-and-a-half block project around the historic Pillsbury A Mill. Other housing projects underway on or near Second Street will bring the total number of new households in the area well over 1,000. The main role of the task force at this point, Tucker said, is, “How the [A Mill] project meets the street.”
Hofstede said the A-Mill preservation and redevelopment project “is setting the tone for where we want to go.…This is a treasure, and the standard needs to be extremely high, and I encourage you to do it,” she said.

Also extremely high—at 15, 20, 24, and 27 stories—are the planned residential towers. The different heights, separated by distinct gaps, was requested by the task force, which agreed to allow residential buildings that rise above the St. Anthony Falls Historic District’s height limit in exchange for preservation and redevelopment of the Landmark A Mill. The task force stated, “Taller buildings are acceptable if they help achieve the neighborhood goals.”

The developer also agreed to include public access through the project, which will open the neighborhood to the riverfront; placement of new buildings at property lines, ground-level residential entrances that open to the sidewalk, and additional retail activity, especially along Main Street.
Sidewalk “bump outs” and raised ramps are proposed for Main Street to slow traffic and encourage pedestrian movement. There will be sets of stairs leading up from Main Street to a pedestrian plaza and a “water feature.” Prince Street, a proposed private street, would replace a railroad siding between Main and Second streets. It would look like a public street and be open to the public.

Frank said the redevelopment will start with the A-Mill building, which the city staff will specify. Initial work, including demolition, such as the white grain elevators, would start late this year or more likely early next year. At present, the project is divided into seven residential phases, which he agreed could take 10 years to finish, depending on the market, he said.

last revised: August 14, 2006

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