Mill City Explorer

The North Loop Small Area Plan has been released by the City of Minneapolis for public review, and is available on the City's website. I bring this to your attention for two reasons:

1) It is likely that the plan will shape development around Target Field and the Multimodal Station for years to come.

2) The plan is utilizing a fairly uncommon review tool - some form of Wiki. I have some doubts about whether or not this is a good idea...but the results should be interesting if not entertaining...

So head on over to the project website and take a look at what seems to be another typical but necessary plan to shape infrastructure and redevelopment; this time in a part of Minneapolis that could prove to be a true high-density, transit-oriented, <\insert_additional_planning_buzzword>, urban neighborhood in the near future.

I was surprised recently when someone pointed out to me that Minneapolis does not have a full fledged brewery within its borders. The James Page Brewing Company was the last brewer to independently produce beer for distribution, and left the city several years ago after a number of poor financial moves and production changes. While in my opinion it was a decent product, it was never quite able to compete with the Summit Brewing Company, which was at one time its peer brewery. James Page never produced more than 1,500 barrels in a single year though, while Summit's production has grown to over 80,000 barrels per year.

However, a new hope for Minneapolis beer is on the horizon. A new entrant in the local market is poised to compete with the brewing giant across the river. The first batches of Fulton Beer were brewed in a garage in the Fulton Neighborhood of Minneapolis in 2007. Due in part to encouragement from a high consumption rate by friends and family, production grew to the point of a public release several weeks ago. The entrepreneurs have experienced a blitz of local media exposure over the past month, and seem to be capitalizing on the opportunity. I spoke with Brian, one of the Co-Founders at the Acadia Cafe a few weeks ago, and he made it clear that they are trying to brew and market more traditional beers. It was encouraging to hear, as I for one have tired of the over-hopping of beer that has become so popular in recent years. Currently the beer is being produced in Wisconsin, but the owners would like to return to the Twin Cities soon. So go out and consume some Fulton Beer, let's help expedite the process of returning brewing to the Mill City.

With the conversion of Hennepin and 1st Avenues downtown to two-way traffic, the beloved two-way bicycle lanes on Hennepin will be no more. Instead, lanes on either side of the street will serve cyclists that flow in the same direction as traffic (with the bicycle lanes on the outside of the parking lanes - this should be interesting). As a fun little public relations move, a funeral for the bike lanes was held last week. For some it was a joyous celebration, for others there was a sense of loss that you will no longer be able to pass fellow commuters in opposite directions on this heavily travelled street - a sort of social interaction unavailable anywhere else in the city. Sealcoating started this past weekend for the project, hence the timing of the funeral. See below for a lovely photographic account of the events, complete with scripture readings and a playing of Taps.

Northstar Commuter Rail is coming soon, and testing is underway. See below for a couple of tantalizing videos that preview the train's late 2009 arrival.

This month in downtown marked the first public presence of the Minneapolis Downtown Improvement District. Those of you who frequent downtown may have noticed the Ambassadors, as they are being called, in atomic green shirts with the logo below emblazoned on their backs. Before I get into my thoughts on the district itself, I have to complain a tiny bit about the logo. Now, I'm not a graphic designer, but I'm having a hard time imagining what the pitch would have been for the logo below... "I've got it, let's take the acronym and split it up like this: an I with a pair of uppercase Ds hugging tightly on each side, ooh - emphasize the I too - make it bigger, and to cap it off let's make sure the I is spraying some unknown green substance into the air" (insert joke about the Hulk or the Jolly Green Giant here). Yes, it's a tree, I know...but seriously...do they not have 13 year old boys on staff that they can consult before going public with their materials?

Okay, with that out of the way...I happen to be employed in the downtown core, and my coworkers and I frequently take "lunchtime constitutionals" to peruse the goings on in the city. While I haven't had a first hand encounter with one of these fine Ambassadors, they have so far had an indirect impact on my perception of downtown. There seems to be a more positive feel in the air lately - this coming from someone who has always loved downtown anyways. I've not shared the negative perception that the area has cultivated over recent years. While I do feel that the local media has unfairly sensationalized the safety and cleanliness issues in the downtown office and entertainment area over the years, it is all too true that the negative perception is sometimes a very sad negative reality. Now, I'm not a downtown apologist, there are plenty of ways downtown could improve. It's just that I really love being there for work, dining, entertainment, shopping, going to the parks, you name it. Anyways, the DID has kicked off their presence downtown with the Ambassadors, who have been roaming downtown giving directions, answering questions, and reporting crimes. Media has been largely positive surrounding the new service.

It has been a long time coming in Minneapolis. Over five years of planning by the Downtown Council and many hours of negotiating with stakeholders finally resulted in the creation of the district by City Council action in December of 2008. The decision was ultimately up to the property owners downtown, who ended up supporting the measure in large numbers. Similar arrangements have been in place around the country for years. Denver is one of the more notable examples I have experienced. When I visited several years ago, I couldn't walk more than 50 feet down the 16th Street Mall without running into one of their Ambassadors.

The initial proposed budget of $6.5M per year will go mainly toward property maintenance such as cleaning sidewalks and greening streets. Remaining funds will focus on the Ambassador program. Some sidewalks along Hennepin Avenue have already received their first desperately needed power washing - the gum covering the sidewalk in places covers more space than it doesn't. There is a tiered service plan for the district, areas closer to Hennepin Avenue and Nicollet Mall will receive more frequent cleaning and will have more Ambassadors dedicated to the vicinity.

Hopefully the perceived and real increase in safety and cleanliness will reap rewards in the coming months and years. There is no doubt a portion of the Twin Cities population that has been turned off by downtown for just those reasons. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the negative perception has made companies less likely to locate downtown as well. Regardless, there are a large number of visitors to downtown on a daily basis that come from all over the country. Making downtown Minneapolis a more comfortable and pleasant place to be is a good thing for Minnesota - even if only on a public relations level, and downtown businesses should be applauded for stepping up in this way to improve the community. I know I already feel embiggened by the direction of our humble little burg, we're gonna make it after all!