Residents weigh in on 2225 East Lake development

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Almost 150 people turned out April 3 to hear about proposed plans by Hennepin County to purchase and redevelop 2225 East Lake, the 6.5 acre property between the Lake Street light rail station and the YWCA. Since that time, the County has convened 2 working groups of government staff, development practitioners, and local residents to work through issues related to Sustainable development and Bike/Walk/Traffic connections within the development. Each of these groups has met once, and CNO gathered feedback from residents who participated, including Corcoran residents Jane St. Clair, Tami Traeger, John Paul, Benjamin Tsai, Billy Weber, Gerry Tyrrell, Heidi Traore, Jim Walsh, and Peggy Knapp.Attention paid to bike/walk/traffic and transit users, connections and facilities. “(Fixing) the Lake and Hiawatha intersection is CRUCIAL to the success of any development on this site and unacceptable in its current car-centric design.”“I am disappointed that the office building will be only 5 stories even though CNO is OK with 6 to 10. Continue Reading

Organizando arrendatarios para mejorar apartamentos

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Apartamentos en Corcoran, específicamente los que están por la calle Lake, están en mala forma. Arrendatarios que piden reparaciones y mantenimiento básico en sus edificios están siendo ignorados propietarios, muchos de los cuales se aprovechan de la vulnerabilidad de arrendatarios como una forma de hacer negocios. La ciudad de Minneapolis tiene la autoridad de investigar y ordenar reparaciones como respuesta a las quejas de arrendatarios, pero frecuentemente las políticas y practicas de la inspección de la ciudad solamente sirven empoderar un propietario malo y dejar los arrendatarios frustrados y en viviendas de calidad inferior.

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Organizing tenants to improve apartments: Update on work by Southside United Neighborhoods

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Apartment buildings in Corcoran, especially in the Lake Street corridor, are in rough shape. Tenants who request repairs and basic maintenance in their building are being ignored by bad landlords, many of whom prey on vulnerable tenants as a way of doing business. The City of Minneapolis has the authority to inspect and order repairs in response to tenants’ complaints, but too often City inspection policies and practices only serve to empower a bad landlord while leaving tenants frustrated and living in substandard housing.

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Get involved in plans to redevelop 2225 East Lake

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At the April 3 meeting of CNO’s Land Use & Housing committee, over 150 residents discussed plans to redevelop a major property at the 3rd busiest light rail station on the Hiawatha line. (Find a related article on the meeting and redevelopment plans this page.) Over 15,000 volunteer hours have gone into shaping plans for the property over the last 15 years, and CNO is organizing significant new opportunities for residents to shape what gets built. A new working group focused on Retail at this site and throughout Corcoran will kick off on May 1 – find a related article on this page. Another new working group will work on shaping the Plaza Design and other aspects of the public realm in this area – this group will kick off on May 6 – find complete details on page 1. Additional working groups focused on sustainability and urban agriculture and bike/walk connections are in the works but not quite ready to launch. In the meantime residents are invited to monthly meetings of the Land Use & Housing committee – at 6:00pm on the first Thursday of each month at the CNO office, 3451 Cedar Ave S.

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Park board responds to fallen trees

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3,000 public trees lostThe Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) manages trees located between streets and sidewalks, known as boulevard trees, and within all public parks. The June 21st storm felled some 3,000 of those public trees, according to MPRB president John Erwin. This figure exceeds the losses sustained two years ago as a result of the tornado that struck north Minneapolis. Erwin says the tornado cleanup experience prepared the park board to manage the current magnitude of storm damage, and to work effectively with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which provides needed assistance.However, several Corcoran residents have expressed frustration at delays in the removal of felled trees from their properties and public right-of-ways. These delays are partly due to the Park Board compliance with FEMA rules. Continue Reading