Burnsville’s Nicollet Park Band Shell
Last week I posted a comment about suburbs trying to create an identity for themselves under my post about the completely unnecessary and overpriced Apple Valley Liquor Store #3 which will be located in the complex adjacent to the pointless Apple Valley Target South and it got some interesting discussion going.
Well, a follow-up to that discussion is this story about how Anderson Builders of St Louis Park have decided to pull out of “downtown” Burnsville’s revitalization attempt known as Heart of the City. This “downtown” includes such businesses as Cub Foods, Milio’s Sandwiches and the Grande Marketplace as well as others such as Jensen’s Cafe located on the corner of Nicollet and Burnsville Parkway.
This entire development seems a whole lot like Apple Valley’s lame attempt at creating a “downtown” with the whole Apple Valley Central Village bullshit. It’s obviously going so very well for the suburbs to try and give themselves identities that everyone knows are nothing but attempts at creating more retail space for chain businesses.
Personally I think that this is great news. I can only hope that stories like this will deter the suburbs from their continued quest to become “Little Woodbury” and create these false “downtowns” in the hopes that people will be fooled into believing that they live in a real quaint town and not some dumpy chain-infested hellhole.
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January 31st, 2008 at 5:25 pm
See also here as the link to the Star Tribune article will eventually die a painful and horrible death.
January 31st, 2008 at 5:54 pm
Bill,
I couldn’t agree more. If you’re looking for a suburb that actually has an identity and a pretty cool downtown, check out White Bear Lake. Some of the highlights for me are proximity to the lake, the Friday farmer’s market and their annual Manitou Days festival every summer. There are only a few chains in the downtown area and they aren’t that bad. No big box stores. The quaint downtown was one of the major things that drew us to White Bear Lake. Suburbs need to stop thinking that the box store will save them and make space for small businesses. That’s what will give them an identity.
Andy
January 31st, 2008 at 6:06 pm
Bill,
Right on.
Daniel
February 2nd, 2008 at 7:49 am
Knowing that a builder is uninterested in backing the plan for this obvious waste of money, the Bursville City Council has approved $4 million dollars to build the 250 space parking deck for their Heart of the City pet project.
*shakes head*
February 2nd, 2008 at 11:57 pm
And to follow-up with the comment I posted above, it seems that Burnsville is putting their mouth where their unnecessary money is by saying that the Heart of the City really is viable!
Well you better if you’re going to sink $4 million dollars into a project that, as of now, has done little but create a new Cub Foods and other overpriced ventures.
With Apple Valley going the *EXACT* route with “Founders Circle”/Apple Valley Central Village, I can really see the morons at our City Council watching this closely thinking to themselves that they too can sink ungodly amounts of money into projects to turn a barren wasteland into a sea of overpriced and empty buildings (yay for tax revenue!). The problem with Apple Valley is that they won’t be able to do it without additional funding like Burnsville claims they were able to do in this particular instance.
August 26th, 2008 at 9:15 pm
[...] Kautz continues to believe that “everyone” in Burnsville agrees with her plans for the Heart of the City, there are several others running who believe the Burnsville taxpayers want something else [...]
August 28th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
[...] Years ago, when I first moved to Minnesota, I lived in Burnsville near the corner of Cliff Rd and MN-13. I had a Sam’s Club membership and not knowing the area at all, I would go to the location that was located on my way to/from work along MN-13. Because there are locations all over the fucking place including Apple Valley, Shakopee, Bloomington, and Eagan, they closed that store location which would be just down the frontage road from Kautz’ dream spot for a new place to get tax dollars to pay for her failing pet project, Burnsville’s Heart of the City. [...]
September 10th, 2008 at 4:36 am
[...] that Jerry Willenburg ran under the premise that Kautz and her crew couldn’t handle the Heart of the City development because they had no experience in the area, I would guess that it’s the biggest [...]
July 22nd, 2009 at 10:30 am
The Heart of the City has been a fantastic addition…and it takes time to get the right vendors and people in. This creation was on the verge of a condo and economy downturn which has greatly affected its maturity. I think the retail space is greatly overpriced and unaffordable to the niche shops the community desires. There is a reason this space is not filled.
However-what is there now and what is happening is FAR superior over the abandoned gas station that sat at the corner of Nicollet and B’ville Prk Way for over 10yrs. Don’t be afraid of change or fun “mainstreets” in suburban locations. For many people-traveling downtown in not an option and to create a sense of community is invaluable.
July 22nd, 2009 at 12:00 pm
Yeah, now instead there’s an abandoned gas station one block north of HOC on the corner of Hwy 13 and Nicollet. That’s great improvement for the money spent on HOC.
July 22nd, 2009 at 12:19 pm
Do not forget about the dive of a strip mall right in the HOC with vacancies. Please tell me again when the medical building is going to be built where the eyesore of a TCF Bank sits today? Gee do you think that Morton’s downtown closed to move into the Grand Market place as the white table cloth restaurant that the mayor said would flock to the HOC? Domico? Bellanote? When is that White Table Cloth Restaurant coming again?
I actually spent some time in front of the run down strip mall with vacancies in the HOC last week and personally did not feel comfortable that everything that was occuring there was on the up and up. Remeber a few months ago the big drug bust by the Ramsey County Drug Task Force? You think that rid the area of the problem?
Not holding my breath….
July 22nd, 2009 at 12:35 pm
Heather, please elaborate……..how is it better. I see empty store fronts and a huge burden on the cities budget. What do you see?
May 6th, 2011 at 11:03 am
From: http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/print-edition/2011/05/06/mortgage-on-grande-market-sq-in.html (via Joey)
May 6th, 2011 at 11:09 am
The florist there is also out. I make a bus transfer every day in front of this building, often waiting inside it when it’s cold. The florist never was busy and I always wondered that they stayed in business. A sign on their window says they merged with a shop in Prior Lake, I believe, and have relocated there.
I really want to see this area do well. It’s got a great view of downtown Minneapolis and seems to have a lot of potential. So far though, it’s been a flop.