Boo! What Halloween Tells Us about Land Use

If you feel comfortable with your children, tweens and/or teens trick-or-treating, that says something about your city.

As Clair Thompson wrote in Grist Magazine, “…the factors that make a neighborhood ideal for trick-or-treating—walkability and pedestrian safety, a sense of mutual trust and support among residents—are the same ones usually cited as key ingredients in creating healthy, pleasant places to live.”

Read her article “What can trick-or-treaters tell you about the health of your neighborhood?” by Claire Thompson.

Also, Richard Florida, author of The Great Reset, compiled a list of the best cities for trick-or-treating. (Yes, the Twin Cities made the list.)

Week in Review 10/21-10/28/2011

Metro Transit Ridership Rising Despite High Unemployment
By Steven Dornfeld, MinnPost

Looking to Mimic Trains with Buses
By Pat Doyle, Star Tribune

Council Members Like Peavey Plaza Redesign Plan, but Public Testimony Split
By Karen Boros, MinnPost

Dayton on Stadium: “No Breakthrough Moment”
By Tim Nelson, MPR

Boxer Challenges Mica on Highway Funding
By Keith Laing, The Hill

Bright Spot in Construction Industry: Rental Properties

Views on homeownership have been changing. People are questioning long-held beliefs that homeownership is always a good investment. Plus there is a resurgence of people interested in living closer in, near work and recreation. For many, especially young people, there is a greater interest in renting.

Thus developing rental properties is a bright spot in the construction industry. Just ask Greco Development, which is building another rental building in Uptown not far from their other rental projects, Flux and Blue.

This project, which is not yet named, will be built at West 29th Street and Lyndale Avenue South in Minneapolis for an estimated $34 million. Units are aimed at young professionals and rent will go for $1,100 to $3,000 a month. Construction will likely begin in March.

The Star Tribune quoted Greco VP Brent Rogers saying, “The Lyn-Lake neighborhood has blossomed in the last five to 10 years. It’s a very social and lively place.”

Another notable from the article: “Jay Thompson, a senior vice president with Everest Real Estate Advisors, said there are plans to build more than 3,000 rental units in the downtown Minneapolis core and surrounding neighborhoods over the next several years.”

Although another article in Finance and Commerce indicates financing for apartments may be cooling off. Read about that here.

What’s LandOf.org’s take?
It’s great to see developers recognize the opportunity in urban areas. We also give this project high marks for including retail on the first level—a great choice. Also, developments that offer the opportunity to use transit and existing infrastructure (sewer, roads, utilities, etc.) while increasing the revenues to support these (most likely increase tax revenue for the area) is smart.

Read the full article by Jim Buchta in the Star Tribune.

Stop Sustaining the Unsustainable

A recent article from MPR calls attention to a tough subject communities are facing: tightening budgets to save money. But are they really cutting costs, or just putting those expenses off?

Chuck Marohn, a Brainerd-area engineer, planner and writer for Strong Towns, makes the argument that in order to succeed, local investments need to be put into those projects that will bring back a long-term rate of return and the rest should be sacrificed.

That means really cutting repairs to roads, sewers and other infrastructure costs that have become increasingly costly and ultimately outweigh the payback.

Easier said than done.

People don't want to see their paved roads turn to gravel. They want to see an "improved" bridge be built, despite predicted costs. People resist change, and anything that gets in the way of taking them off the course to the "American dream." As Marohn points out, once a problem is identified, people will ask what can be done to solve the problem. But what people are really asking is, "What is the solution that will allow me to continue to live essentially the way I do now without undergoing too much turmoil?"

But put quite simply: communities need to re-strategize and re-prioritize how they spend government money on projects, or risk a long decline.

Learn more about Strong Towns and check out their report, Curbside Chat.

Asking the Right Questions

Steven Dornfeld of MinnPost recently reported that Governor Dayton has enlisted the Metropolitan Council to help evaluate TCAAP, the proposed locations for the new Vikings stadium.

However, one of the main points is being lost in all of the pro-con about the stadium itself. Dornfeld notes that the Governor's charge to the Metropolitan Council is very narrow (what needs to happen to build the stadium at TCAAP).

For all of the talk about doing environmental review, the Governor wants to avoid at all costs one of the main elements of an EIS, an analysis of alternatives to the proposed project, including different locations. Instead, the Governor only seems interested in moving forward with the project as proposed, and in a way that will make the most dough for the Wilfs.

Under its own existing authority, the Met Council could have ordered a review of the metropolitan significance of the stadium and considered what would be best for the region—but it didn't. The MinnPost article raises a serious issue of regional governance and the problem of Council members—as gubernatorial appointees—bending to the Governor's will, particularly when he is clueless about what is needed to strengthen the region.