City planners discuss Dinkytown’s future
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Dinkytown, the four-block business district on the north edge of the University of Minnesota in Southeast Minneapolis, could continue to be taken over by six-story mixed-use apartment buildings or it could be “frozen in place” by historic preservation. Between these two extremes, there is much room for planning, says Peter Crandall, designer for the Minneapolis Community Planning and Economic Development department.Crandall and the city’s principal planner Haila Maze joined several stakeholders and experts to discuss “Growth with Preservation” on June 23 at the Loring Café in Dinkytown. The forum came while city planners continue to study whether the small business district should be declared a historic site.“We’re aware that there’s a lot of development already going on,” Crandall said, adding that planning can make a difference.Crandall showed relief drawings that illustrated the look and scale of different planning options, including the current buildings, the same four blocks filled with six-story apartment buildings and other design options that allowed for different mixes of designs and heights.Design guidelines could also ask architects to retain the current street-level experience, even as they increase density behind and above current buildings, he said.About 50 people attended the meeting that began with a review of issues involved in determining how the area will grow and what will be preserved. Participants seemed to agree with Maze that the vibrant culture of Dinkytown is more important than the buildings.Major historic themes associated with Dinkytown, Maze said, were the streetcar era, the university connection, the commercial center, and issue of change and continuity.From the 1880s through the 1920s – the heyday of streetcars – Dinkytown was a hub. “The site of the Loring Café – where we are meeting now – was a car barn for the Minneapolis Street Railway Company,” she said.“None of the current buildings was here then,” Maze said. Continue Reading
