Twin Cities Daily Planet (https://www.tcdailyplanet.net/tag/dinkytown/page/3/)
Across from the bustling Varsity Theater and near the Library Bar and Grill, the Southeast Library sits on the edge of Dinkytown, quietly carrying a rocky past and potentially better future.
The city of Minneapolis began its Dinkytown historical designation study in April, but questions remain about the future of the area’s businesses and a potential $25 million hotel project.
Jacob Frey has already made a noticeable mark on Minneapolis and the University of Minnesota, even though he’s been a City Council member for less than four months.Frey, who as Ward 3 City Councilman represents neighborhoods around the University, took office in January and said his new role has strengthened the city’s ties with the institution.This budding relationship is new and beneficial for the two stakeholders, he said. Although the partnership existed before, Frey said his time in office has deepened the connection, and University officials agree.Specifically, Frey said he’s kept a close eye on Dinkytown development, the Central Corridor light rail project, TCF Bank Stadium construction and crime prevention efforts around campus.University community relations director Jan Morlock said she talks with Frey’s office at least once a week about how the city and the University can work together more effectively — by increasing collaboration between University and Minneapolis police departments, for example.“There’s a realization by the city and the University that they’ve got to work together on a problem that affects both of them,” said Humphrey School of Public Affairs political science professor Larry Jacobs.Frey joined University administrators last Friday at a press conference addressing rowdy Dinkytown crowds after the previous night’s NCAA Frozen Four semifinal victory.Frey said he was pleased with how the city and University law enforcement officials responded to the incident, but he noted that hockey fans can celebrate without “beating the hell out of property.”Guiding changeDevelopment in the University area is another issue on Frey’s radar.The Venue, a new Dinkytown apartment complex, is set to open by fall 2014. Frey said he’s watching that project closely.“Dinkytown is hot,” he said. “There are developers who are chomping at the bit to do some impressive projects.”Frey fills one of the city’s three seats on the University District Alliance, a group of city, University and community leaders that meets to discuss the needs of campus-area neighborhoods.University-relevant transportation projects are also surfacing on the city level, including the light rail launching June 14.Once it opens, Frey said, the easy commute will make jobs downtown more attractive to students.The University area will see more changes this summer in preparation for the Minnesota Vikings’ arrival in the fall. The team will play at TCF Bank Stadium, which Frey said will benefit local businesses.Beyond the University, Frey has focused on desegregating neighborhoods by revamping city regulations to allow for a mix of housing stock.He’s also had a hand in financing a downtown park, changing city code to allow ridesharing companies to operate in Minneapolis and securing funds for a new school in the North Loop neighborhood.“I think Jacob brings a spirit of engagement,” Morlock said. Continue Reading
The Marcy-Holmes master plan update, which will guide growth and development in the neighborhood, was released Wednesday for public comment.The 2014 update to the master plan incorporates the in-progress Dinkytown small area plan. Marcy-Holmes Neighborhood Association members discussed at a meeting Tuesday night how the plan can manage the current neighborhood’s divide on how to develop the area.Master Plan steering committee leader Bob Stableski said the neighborhood’s character spots — from the riverfront to industry and residential areas — are each facing different problems.“This isn’t a homogeneous neighborhood,” he said. “The value of the plan is that we can look at these things on a neighborhood-wide basis and also break them down into the five different character areas.”The neighborhood has come up with six themes that come into play throughout the plan: “Be one neighborhood,” “live here now,” “make the streets ours,” “make change contribute,” “love the riverfront” and “welcome the tension of complexity and contradiction.”Proposed projects include improving riverfront connections, encouraging investment along Fifth Street Southeast to create more livable streets, increasing the frequency of transit on University Avenue Southeast and Fourth Street Southeast, and expanding the Dinkytown commercial area while preserving its historic qualities.The update also proposes improving areas between campus and the Stone Arch Bridge. MHNA President Cordelia Pierson said the neighborhood is looking forward to partnering with the University to do that.“[The idea has] been on the books for about 20 years,” she said. “It’s just needed some focus and prioritizing, so we’re hoping to bring that to life.”The city approved the neighborhood’s first master plan in 2003, which came from hearing what residents liked or disliked about the neighborhood, what aspects they wanted to preserve, what goals they wanted to achieve and what they wanted to avoid. Continue Reading
Recent controversies over a teardown moratorium in Southwest Minneapolis and massive development in Dinkytown have highlighted many city residents’ desire to control what’s happening in their neighborhoods. On the other side, many developers criticize the push for limits as “not in my backyard” opposition to progress.
Tensions boiled over at the most recent Dinkytown Business Association meeting when prominent local developer and Doran Companies CEO Kelly Doran claimed the business group isn’t legally legitimate — and he may have been right.
Between the proceedings of last cycle’s Zoning & Planning Committee meeting and full City Council meeting, I have been rather upset. Organizing my thoughts to form a coherent argument for the purpose of this post has been a real struggle. Continue Reading
Dinkytown businesses are considering a policy that would ban unwanted patrons from the entire business district.
The Dinkytown building housing Mesa Pizza and other businesses is safe for the time being.
A developer and a neighborhood are split on what’s best for Dinkytown, and so is the city.