Covering life, work, and play in the Historic Mill District and Downtown Minneapolis Riverfront neighborhoods. Have an opinion, local news or events to share? Contact us.
Minneapolis Community Development Committee just voted 6-0 to approve the land sale to Izzy's.
Izzy's owner Sommers, one of his employees and his architect spoke in favor of the sale.
8-12 (I'm estimating) neighbors, developer Stanton and his attorney spoke against the sale. No local residents spoke in favor.
The matter goes next to the full City Council for approval.
In the course of one sultry evening, a prominent Southern dynasty is pushed to the brink when tender memories are relived and life altering secrets are revealed. It's the 65th birthday of wealthy Southern plantation owner Big Daddy and his family has gathered to celebrate, while sparing him the news that he's dying of cancer. As one son Brick, a hunky former football hero, mysteriously retreats from his desirable but sexually frustrated wife Maggie, his money hungry brother and sister-in-law plot to secure more than their share of the family fortune.
Don't miss this Pulitzer Prize-winning gem, an emotionally intense drama that sizzles with passion and greed like you've never experienced before. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is being presented on the Wurtele Thrust stage through February 26, 2012.
Above: The latest update to the Mill City Photo Pool...
Each Monday morning we provide an easy to reference list of events and activities for the week ahead in the Mill City neighborhood. Submit your events here...
Tuesday, January 17
Public Hearing at City Hall re: Izzy's
Wednesday, January 18
Christine Stark & Olga Trujillo Reading at The Loft
Cook for the Week Class at Local D'Lish
Minneapolis Park & Rec Board Meeting
Thursday, January 19
Happy Hour with a Preservationist - Tour of the Basilica of St. Mary
Friday, January 20
Suzzy Roche Reading/Performance at The Loft
Saturday, January 21
Washburn A Mill Tour at Mill City Museum
Farmers Market at Local D'lish
Snow Play Family Workshop at MCBA
Minneapolis Central Friends Children’s Book Sale at Central Library
About the Author: David Tinjum is a resident of the Historic Mill District of Minneapolis, Publisher of Mill City Media, and CEO of St. Paul based software company Customer FX Corporation.
*Disclaimer: Izzy's Ice Cream is not yet a neighbor, and therefore cannot be considered a bad one, yet.
Izzy's is not the only company offering to buy the vacant lot across the street from Gold Medal Park:
In September 2010, the City issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for redevelopment of the site for commercial, residential, industrial, or mixed-use purposes. The RFP contained an asking price of $437,850, which was based on an outside appraisal. The City received one response to the RFP from Shamrock Development, Inc. Shamrock owns the neighboring property and received final City planning approval in November 2010 to build a 150 unit residential project called Park Vista on its property. The City and Shamrock negotiated over the terms of a potential sale of 1100 2nd Street South for several months, but were unable to come to agreement on important issues such as price....(see the document embeded below)
The City's rationalization for refusing the original offer from Shamrock:
The City and Shamrock negotiated over the terms of a potential sale of 1100 2nd Street South for several months, but were unable to come to agreement on important issues such as price and development on the property. Shamrock consistently offered no more than $350,000...(see the document embeded below)
I don't need to draw on my 30 years of contract negotiation experience, or my advanced math skills, to choose the better offer (again, numbers are from the document embeded below):
|
Izzy’s Offer |
|
|
Sales Price |
$437,850 |
|
*Minneapolis Taxpayer Subsidies |
$88,000 |
|
Net |
$349,850 |
*Not shown - $104,000 in additional Taxpayer Subsidies from the State of MN and Hennepin County
|
Shamrock Original Offer |
|
|
Sales Price |
$350,000 |
|
Minneapolis Taxpayer Subsidies |
$0 |
|
Net |
$350,000 |
|
Shamrock’s Latest Offer |
|
|
Sales Price |
$450,000 |
|
Minneapolis Taxpayer Subsidies |
$0 |
|
Net |
$450,000 |
Congratulations CPED, on negotiating a lower price for a City Minneapolis Taxpayer asset. If you do enough deals like this you can assure another round of property tax increases.
The Park Vista development will not be built should the City of Minneapolis accept the lowball offer from Izzy's. There are several factors which make building this shovel ready, City approved housing development next to a factory unfeasible, which CPED is, or should be aware of. We will discuss this in the next installment of this series.
Our Elected Officials Have an Either/Or Choice to Make
This should be easy:
And
And
And
And
And
The economic impact of these two alternatives goes much further than outlined above. The difference in property tax revenue alone is so great, the question has to be asked:
What is Really Driving this Decision?
An exhaustive search of the public record has failed to turn up anything. Discussions with some of those involved have not resulted in an explicit explanation. But, listening to the tone of those involved and reading between the lines of what was said has led me to this opinion:
The City and Shamrock had a pissing contest over the initial RFP, Shamrock lost, now the City is rubbing its face in it, regardless of the best interests of Minneapolis taxpayers.
This Decision Will Result in Higher or Lower Property Taxes
This is an important issue that will have an impact on Minneapolis Taxpayers, and this neighborhood for decades to come. Please make your voice heard, contact our elected officials.
Part 1 - Izzy's: Good Ice Cream, Bad Neighbor?
Part 2 - CPED Needs a New Calculator (this article)
To download click the downward arrow above, or go to the download page here...
-------------------------------
Please Email the Minneapolis Community Development Committee
In advance of the next meeting (see below) please email the City Council Members with a simple request: "Please vote against the Izzy's proposal".
Email Lisa Goodman, Chair at:
Lisa.Goodman@minneapolismn.gov
cc the members below:
John Quincy, Vice Chair – John.Quincy@minneapolismn.gov
Kevin Reich - Kevin.Reich@minneapolismn.gov
Robert Lilligren - Robert.Lilligren@minneapolismn.gov
Cam Gordon - Cam.Gordon@minneapolismn.gov
Don Samuels - Don.Samuels@minneapolismn.gov
info@thedmna.org (Downtown Minneapolis Neighborhood Association)
Your voice makes a difference in local policy making, please take action!
Please Attend This Important Meeting at City Hall on Tuesday 1/17/2012
A public hearing for the sale of Outlot C, 1100 2nd St S, for $437,850 to River Road Holdings, LLC, an entity affiliated with Izzy's Ice Cream (the staff recommendation), is scheduled for the next Community Development Committee meeting.
When: Tuesday, January 17, 2012 at 1:30 PM
Where: Room 317, City Hall.
The public is invited to give testimony, please do so.
The letter bellow was sent to the members of the Minneapolis Community Development Committee this past week by the Bridgewater Lofts Board of Directors on behalf of it's 400 + residents:
To download click the downward arrow above, or go to the download page here...
-------------------------------
Please Email the Minneapolis Community Development Committee
In advance of the next meeting (see below) please email the City Council Members with a simple request: "Please vote against the Izzy's proposal".
Email Lisa Goodman, Chair at:
Lisa.Goodman@minneapolismn.gov
cc the members below:
John Quincy, Vice Chair – John.Quincy@minneapolismn.gov
Kevin Reich - Kevin.Reich@minneapolismn.gov
Robert Lilligren - Robert.Lilligren@minneapolismn.gov
Cam Gordon - Cam.Gordon@minneapolismn.gov
Don Samuels - Don.Samuels@minneapolismn.gov
info@thedmna.org (Downtown Minneapolis Neighborhood Association)
Your voice makes a difference in local policy making, please take action!
Please Attend This Important Meeting at City Hall on Tuesday 1/17/2012
A public hearing for the sale of Outlot C, 1100 2nd St S, for $437,850 to River Road Holdings, LLC, an entity affiliated with Izzy's Ice Cream (the staff recommendation), is scheduled for the next Community Development Committee meeting.
When: Tuesday, January 17, 2012 at 1:30 PM
Where: Room 317, City Hall.
The public is invited to give testimony, please do so.
They want to build a factory across the street from Gold Medal Park? With Taxpayer Dollars? Really?
About the Author: David Tinjum is a resident of the Historic Mill District of Minneapolis, Publisher of Mill City Media, and CEO of St. Paul based software company Customer FX Corporation.
*Disclaimer: Izzy's Ice Cream is not yet a neighbor, and therefore cannot be considered a bad one, yet. Mill City Times, and the author, are opposed to the development of a factory across the street from Gold Medal Park in the Historic Mill District of Minneapolis.
Above: The mock-up of the proposed fortress factory planned for 1100 S. 2nd Street - view full sized image
I like the ice cream Izzy's makes. I try to make sure I have a pint of Chocolate Chip (I know, boring) in the freezer at all times. We get it from the grocery store in our building, which is located across the street from Gold Medal Park. However, making good ice cream does not make Izzy's a good fit for the Historic Mill District neighborhood.
It's a Factory, Not a Parlor
An ice cream parlor at this location would be awesome, and if a casual follower of the issue were to believe the spin coming from the Minneapolis Community Planning & Economic Development Department (CPED), that's what's being planned:
“We think it would be a great use to have this adjacent to Gold Medal Park. What a great thing to have an ice cream place there.” Cathy Polaski with CPED in Finance & Commerce.
Sounds pretty delicious, but what is actually planned is a factory. Forget about visions of strolling through Gold Medal Park with an ice cream cone with your family on a sunny summer evening. This is just one of many misleading statements from our local government officials which the local press has been all too willing to publish.
“It’s also a great fit for the neighborhood’s dynamic mix of residents, cyclists, students, pedestrians and entertainment-goers...” Mayor Rybak said in this Finance & Commerce article.
Really? A factory? That's quite a stretch Mr. Mayor. You better check with CPED, they must have forgotten to copy you on the memo about this being a factory rather than an ice cream parlor.
A Factory is Forever, Long Term Planning is Needed
Regardless of what is being produced, once approved and constructed it will remain a factory regardless of which company owns the building. Future owners of the building will not need any approval from the City of Minneapolis for any use allowed under the Minneapolis Zoning Ordinances.
"It's industrial, but it's a one-story building that makes ice cream," said Council Member Gary Schiff, chairman of the zoning and planning committee. "We're not talking a foundry here." From a recent article in the Star Tribune...
As Chair of the Zoning and Planning Committee, Mr. Schiff is well aware that businesses come and go, but the building retains it's zoning uses. And businesses, especially small ones like Izzy's, come and go frequently.
According to an article in the Pioneer Press, Izzy's has has expanded, and failed twice in the last several years, only to retreat to it's current single location:
This isn't the first time Sommers and Hammel have branched across the river. In 2001, a year after opening Izzy's in St. Paul, they opened a second store in the downtown Minneapolis Medical Arts Building. A year later, they ran an ice cream kiosk nearby at the Marshall Field's store. They closed both a few years later. Pioneer Press...
From a community planning perspective, we have to ask ourselves if having say, a pharmaceutical manufacturing plant in this location would be bad for the neighborhood. Yep, that would be an approved use under current zoning, as would a whole host of other uses not nearly as yummy sounding as ice cream.
A Factory Only Possible Because of Out of Date Zoning
Although the land is zoned light industrial, this designation is a relic from the days when the area was a railroad yard. Only 20 years ago this area was considered "skid row". Today an elegant and heavily-used park – surrounded by residential, cultural, and professional offices – beautifies this repurposed riverfront section of the city.
The City Needs to Hear from the Community
This is an important issue that will have an impact on this neighborhood for decades to come. As we'll point out in an upcoming installment of this series, so far the neighborhood has had zero input into the decision making process. Please read on below for details on how you can make your voice heard.
This is the 1st in a 5 part series digging into everything the City of Minneapolis and the local press is not telling us about this issue.
Part 1 - Izzy's: Good Ice Cream, Bad Neighbor? (this article)
Part 2 - CPED Needs a New Calculator
On Monday: Why Izzy's will kill Park Vista
-------------------------------
Please Email the Minneapolis Community Development Committee
In advance of the next meeting (see below) please email the City Council Members with a simple request: "Please vote against the Izzy's proposal".
Email Lisa Goodman, Chair at:
Lisa.Goodman@minneapolismn.gov
cc the members below:
John Quincy, Vice Chair – John.Quincy@minneapolismn.gov
Kevin Reich - Kevin.Reich@minneapolismn.gov
Robert Lilligren - Robert.Lilligren@minneapolismn.gov
Cam Gordon - Cam.Gordon@minneapolismn.gov
Don Samuels - Don.Samuels@minneapolismn.gov
info@thedmna.org (Downtown Minneapolis Neighborhood Association)
Your voice makes a difference in local policy making, please take action!
Please Attend This Important Meeting at City Hall on Tuesday 1/17/2012
A public hearing for the sale of Outlot C, 1100 2nd St S, for $437,850 to River Road Holdings, LLC, an entity affiliated with Izzy's Ice Cream (the staff recommendation), is scheduled for the next Community Development Committee meeting.
When: Tuesday, January 17, 2012 at 1:30 PM
Where: Room 317, City Hall.
The public is invited to give testimony, please do so.
Below: Summer fun at Gold Medal Park
Events this weekend in and around the Historic Mill District and Minneapolis Riverfront Neighborhoods. Have an event to share? Contact us...
Friday, January 13
'Quick Week Night Meals' Class at Local D'Lish
Minneapolis Home & Landscape Expo at the Dome
Saturday, January 14
MCAD Exhibit: 125 years starts at Central Library
Taste Twin Cities Downtown Minneapolis Skyway Tour
Winning Recipes from the Pillsbury Bake-Off at Mill City Museum
Minneapolis Home & Landscape Expo at the Dome
Sunday, January 15
Urban Yoga Workshop at Southern Theater
Tai Chi for Health Class for Beginners Workshop at Open Book
Rock Guitar Workshop with Randy Sobaski at MacPhail
Minneapolis Home & Landscape Expo at the Dome
From Meet Minneapolis:
From the Stone Arch Bridge:
Time: 6:00pm
Location: Central Library, Room N-202, 300 Nicollet Mall
Each Monday morning we provide an easy to reference list of events and activities for the week ahead in the Mill City neighborhood. Submit your events here...
Monday, January 9
NT Live Filmed Presentation of Collaborators at the Guthrie
Arts Town Hall Meeting at Mill City Museum
Tuesday, January 10
DMNA Board Meeting at Central Library
Books & Bars Series at Aster Cafe
Wednesday, January 11
'10 Key Foods to Keep You on Track in the New Year' Class at Local D'Lish
Economy Busters Wine Dinner at Spill the Wine
Thursday, January 12
Brenda, My Darling with Eric Utne at The Loft
Taste Twin Cities Downtown Minneapolis Skyway Tour
Friday, January 13
'Quick Week Night Meals' Class at Local D'Lish
Minneapolis Home & Landscape Expo at the Dome
Saturday, January 14
Taste Twin Cities Downtown Minneapolis Skyway Tour
Winning Recipes from the Pillsbury Bake-Off at Mill City Museum
Minneapolis Home & Landscape Expo at the Dome
Sunday, January 15
Urban Yoga Workshop at Southern Theater
Tai Chi for Health Class for Beginners Workshop at Open Book
Rock Guitar Workshop with Randy Sobaski at MacPhail
Minneapolis Home & Landscape Expo at the Dome
Events this weekend in and around the Historic Mill District and Minneapolis Riverfront Neighborhoods. Have an event to share? Contact us...
Friday, January 6
Live Music at Crooked Pint Ale House
Minneapolis Home & Landscape Expo at the Dome
Saturday, January 7
Minneapolis Home & Landscape Expo at the Dome
Taste Twin Cities Downtown Minneapolis Skyway Tour
Washburn A Mill Tour at Mill City Museum
“Jigs and Jives" Family Music Event at MacPhail
Moonlight Snowshoeing at Boom Island
Minneapolis Home & Landscape Expo at the Dome
Where: St. Anthony Main Theater - Screen 3
When: Wed, Jan 4 & Thu, Jan 5 at (5:00), 7:00
Paul Goodman was once so ubiquitous in the American zeitgeist that he merited a cameo in Woody Allen’s Annie Hall. Author of legendary bestseller Growing Up Absurd (1960), Goodman was also a poet, 1940s out queer (and family man), pacifist, visionary, co-founder of Gestalt therapy—and a moral compass for many in the burgeoning counterculture of the ’60s.
Paul Goodman Changed My Life immerses you in an era of high intellect (that heady, cocktail-glass juncture that Mad Men has so effectively exploited) when New York was peaking culturally and artistically; when ideas, and the people who propounded them, seemed to punch in at a higher weight class than they do now. Using a treasure trove of archival multimedia—selections from Goodman’s poetry (read by Garrison Keillor and Edmund White); quotes from Susan Sontag, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Noam Chomsky; plentiful footage of Goodman himself; plus interviews with his family, peers and activists—director/producerJonathan Lee and producer/editor Kimberly Reed (Prodigal Sons) have woven together a rich portrait of an intellectual heavyweight whose ideas are long overdue for rediscovery.
Ticket Information:
http://www.mspfilmsociety.org/content/paul-goodman-changed-my-life
MN Executive Office Suites, LLC, will be opening professional executive offices at The Carlyle in approximately April 2012.
The Carlyle is a condominium skyscraper in downtown Minneapolis, on Third Avenue South between First and Second Streets. The Carlyle stands one block from the Mississippi River and the Third Avenue Bridge.
At the time the Carlyle was built, an approximately 3000 sq. ft. space was planned for commercial or professional use. The interior of this space has not yet been occupied or completed.
Recently, MN Executive Office Suites, LLC, purchased The Carlyle’s professional space.
MN Executive Office Suites, LLC, engaged Blumentals Architecture, Inc., to design executive office space at The Carlyle location. The design opens to an inviting reception area and includes eight separate professional offices with stunning floor to ceiling windows, a paralegal office, and a kitchenette and conference room. MN Executive Office Suites, LLC, and Blumentals are seeking to complete construction in a “green” and environmental manner.
Weber & Nelson Law Office, PLLC, is one of the professional businesses that will be located in the new office space. Other executive offices will be available for lease, and virtual office arrangements will also be an option.
Michael J. Weber is the President and Chief Manager of MN Executive Office Suites, LLC, and Nancy Lee Nelson is Vice President. Michael also is the founder of Weber & Nelson Law Office, PLLC, where Nancy serves as a Partner.
The professional office space is situated on The Carlyle’s street level, at the corner of Third Avenue South and Second Street South. The location is nearby skyway access, the U.S. and Hennepin County courthouses, and the light rail system.
The Carlyle received a Pillars of the Industry award, named Best Condominium High Rise in the U.S. in the National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB’s) 2009 showcase of designs and trends. Developed by Opus Northwest Construction, The Carlyle has panoramic views of the Stone Arch Bridge, Mississippi river, St. Anthony Falls and Downtown.
More information about The Carlyle:
http://www.emporis.com/building/the-carlyle-minneapolis-mn-usa
http://www.humphreys.com/pdf/Pillar_Awards.pdf
Contact Michael J. Weber at 612-825-6052 for more information.
The latest news on the Crown Hydro project proposed for Mill Ruins Park on the Downtown Minneapolis Riverfront:
Minneapolis Parks & Recreation Board (MPRB) Response to Crown Hydro FERC Termination Letter Response
Crown Hydro Response to FERC Termination Letter
FERC Termination Letter to Crown Hydro
Neighbors and friends of the Mill City Farmers Market filled the train shed Sunday night for the Harvest Moon Dinner. Attendees enjoyed a feast prepared by Chefs Heather Hartman and Nick Schneider, Cajun music, a colorful live auction, silent auction, raffle, and guest speaker Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie.
;)
Can't think of a better way to transition into the Fall season.
Congratulations to the 18 winners below whose work will be displayed in the Mill City Museum’s Mill Commons from August 25, 2011 through January 2, 2012.
Join us on Wednesday, September 14th from 6:00-8:00pm for a free public reception celebrating the exhibit and photographers. Light hors d’oeuvres will be served and a cash bar will be available.
Photo contest jurors were looking for striking images of the Mississippi River and the Minneapolis Riverfront that show the relationship between people and the environment past and present, what that relationship has meant to different people in different times, and the positive and negative consequences of our use of the land and waters. Ideal photographs convey a sense of place of the Minneapolis Riverfront and address the way people use the riverfront and its resources.
Below, a sampling of the works:
Minnesota Center for Book Arts (MCBA) sponsored a Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) postcard competition, and the 253 entries are now on display in the Open Book Lobby Gallery until November 6. The 4"x6" postcards incorporate a number of artistic methods, including collage, paint, drawing, printing, sewing, photography and digital imagery.
The below slide show will give you an idea of how diverse the entries are, but we strongly recommend you stop in (1011 Washington Avenue South) to appreciate this creative collection in person. It's wild!
The 35W Bridge was pink Friday night to kickoff the "Making Strides Against Breast Cancer" walk held on Saturday morning.
It was a perfect Thanksgiving morning for the 2011 Turkey Day 5K (unlike last year's single digit temps and blowing snow), with over 12,000 runners, walkers, wheelers and pets participating.
Mill City Times | 35W Bridge Memorial | Mill District Block Party | Mill City Media
Tuesday, January 17, 2012 at 7:01PM
