Warehouse/North Loop : Buzz

In this "golden age of American downtowns," Minneapolis is #2 out of 10 nationally, according to Livability.com.

The ranking criteria included vacancy rate, population increase since 2010, percentage of new homeowners, daytime population, project median household income, walk score, entertainment options and arts/cultural attractions.

"Young professionals between the ages of 22 and 34 are especially drawn to downtowns, where people can congregate, enjoy shopping and dining, walk, bike and, most importantly, live," according to a Livability.com press release. "With this in mind, Livability.com has named Minneapolis a Top 10 Best Downtown, 2015." 

"Our editors focused on small to mid-sized cities, taking into consideration increasing housing values and populations to find cities that are growing and thriving. They looked for areas with new construction because cranes are often a great sign of economic and cultural recovery. They found downtowns with vibrant arts scenes and walkable streets. In addition, our well-traveled editors weighed in with their own opinions. The data drives our short list, but our journalistic judgment helps determine the final rankings," according to the release.

“We’re really in a new golden age of American downtowns,” says Livability editor Matt Carmichael. "Throughout cities large and small, the energy and resources focused on restoring Main Streets and urban cores is paying off.”

"Downtown Minneapolis offers a low vacancy rate, high percentage of new homeowners, walkability and an array of entertainment options. It is also surrounded by parks, lakes and rivers providing residents quick access to a variety of outdoor recreation," the release added.

Minneapolis-St. Paul was recently named one of the top 10 innovative cities in the U.S. by CNN Money.

"From technology and infrastructure, to job creation and sustainability," the article stated, the cities included are "leading the pack when it comes to creatively solving urban issues."

About MSP, the article stated, "June saw the opening of a new light rail line between Minneapolis and St. Paul. Experts from around the country praised it as an example of transportation infrastructure done right -- it integrated the needs of the affected communities and used the new line to drive economic development."

The Twin Cities were also selected as "early adopters of programs to help immigrants start businesses, artists buy real estate, and enlist local execs in solving community problems. The Cities also get high marks for their public health efforts, including smoking cessation programs, cancer screening and efforts to create walkable communities."
 

The Bachelor Farmer has been named the third best brunch in the U.S. by The Daily Meal, a national food and drink blog. The list was titled "The 30 Best Brunches in America."

"President Obama has been known to dine at The Bachelor Farmer," the listing states, "and this accliamed Minneapolis restaurant raises the bar on brunch as well."

The restaurant, the listing continues,"draws inspiration from Minnesota's Nordic heritage, and the brunch menu carries on this tradition with Smørrebrød,or Scandinavian open-faced sandwiches with such toppings as confit or oyster mushrooms. Other dishes draw inspiration from fresh, local ingredients, and the cocktails are equally exceptional."

The Lakewood Cemetery Garden Mausoleum, designed by HGA Architects and Engineers, which offices in the North Loop neighborhood of downtown Minneapolis, has earned a National AIA Honor Award. Designed by Joan M. Soranno and John Cook of HGA, the 24,500-square-foot mausoleum is buried into a hillside at the historic Minneapolis cemetery, yet was designed to maximize daylight. Clad in rough-textured gray granite and white mosaic-marble, the modernist structure's materials palette continues throughout the interior.

The entrance to the two-level mausoleum opens into a foyer and reception center with white marble floor, folded mahogany walls, and large window walls and clerestory windows. The windows provide views to the oak trees and sky, nearby Lake Calhoun, and the cemetery’s iconic chapel and monuments. Daylight through the window openings also accentuates the curves and angles of the white, sculptural ceiling.

A wide stairway processes past the foyer’s large windows and limestone wall to the lower garden level. To the west, a curved Venetian-plaster wall guides mourners to the chapel where committal ceremonies are held. The chapel's nine, deeply angled vertical windows bring in daylight. Embedded in the angled juxtaposition of the chapel's curved ceiling and wall are light slots, from which soft light emanates.
 
Extending east from the stairway lobby is 180-foot-long corridor connecting alternating bays or pods of six columbaria rooms (for cremated remains) and six crypt rooms (for caskets), in addition to three family crypt rooms. LED light slots every 20 feet highlight the floating ceiling planes. To the north, the chambers are inserted into the hillside. Each has a round oculus or rectangular skylight positioned in the sculptural planes of the ceiling. To the south, the crypt rooms and columbaria project into the cemetery’s landscape. Window cutouts or glass doors bring daylight in, while providing views to the historic landscape.

The mausoleum is the second National AIA Honor Award earned by Soranno and Cook. It's the fifth National AIA Honor Award for HGA.

Source: HGA
 

 

A recent New York Times story highlights the state of the national real estate market by looking to Minneapolis. 

The city’s trendy North Loop neighborhood has seen plenty of development in the last year, with new apartments filling up fast. But in other parts of the city, like the Lyn-Lake area, some people worry that “apartment construction may outpace demand,” it states. 

The Twin Cities isn’t the only place where that concern is growing as more and more rental projects get underway across the country.  

At the same time, demand is coming from a new group: Kelly Doran, founder of the Doran Companies in Bloomington, saw plenty of interest from Baby Boomers in a recent apartment project, early on. “Empty nesters don’t want to own anymore, don’t want to deal with repairs and don’t want to deal with financing or condo boards; they just want to pay the rent,” he’s quoted as saying, adding, “So it’s not about price, it’s about a lifestyle decision.”


Source: New York Times 

For the second year in a row, Haberman, a Minneapolis-based full-service marketing agency, landed on Outside Magazine’s list of the top 100 workplaces nationwide, according to a prepared statement from the publication. 

Haberman, which came in 36^th in the list, stands out for innovative and healthy work-life balance, the statement reads. 

Outside Magazine arrived at its results by looking at company benefits, compensation and policies, job satisfaction, environmental initiatives, and community outreach programs, the statement reads. 

The magazine celebrates companies that “enable employees to pursue active lifestyles while also supporting their social and environmental contributions.”

A blog post from Bon Appetit, the culinary magazine, describes the “Return of the Tater Tot.”

“Most people forgot the Tater Tot once they graduated from the lunchroom,” writes Foodist blogger Andrew Knowlton.

But Knowlton has long kept a bag of Ore-Ida Tots on hand for late-night snacks or treats for his daughters. “They’re great baked, even better fried,” he says, adding, “And while they'll always be second to french fries, chefs are starting to show them some respect on menus.”

Some restaurants serve them traditional style, while others take them up a notch with "Totchos," Tot casseroles, he says.

Haute Dish in Minneapolis also has an “upscale version served with short ribs,” he adds.  

On its inaugural list of America's Best Hipster Neighborhoods, financial magazine Forbes chose Minneapolis' North Loop as one of its picks.
 
To define "hipster," the publication searched through data on more than 250 neighborhoods in the largest U.S. cities, and looked for factors like the number of coffee shops per capita, the diversity of food trucks and farmers markets, walkability, the percentage of residents who work in artistic occupations, and the number of bars and restaurants.
 
The North Loop, also known as the Warehouse District, was recognized as "hipster" for its large warehouse spaces that have been converted to apartments, boutiques, and restaurants. Forbes also added: "Bike trails, a park and an arts collective also boost the hipness quotient." The North Loop came in 12th out of 20 neighborhoods.
 
At the top of the Forbes list was Los Angeles' Silver Lake, San Francisco's Mission District, and Brooklyn's Williamsburg.

The Bachelor Farmer restaurant in Minneapolis was recently featured in the New York Times.

The modern, chic restaurant “playfully blends Scandinavian design and tradition with a handmade-food ethos and the friendly unpretentiousness of the Midwest,” the story reads.

With its unique offerings, such as roasted rutabagas and reinterpreted cinnamon rolls, the place “has given Scandinavian food a much-needed shot of adrenaline.”

Although the state hasn’t always garnered a lot of attention for its food ideas, “this Scandinavian surge is intersecting with the most avant-garde movement in food today: New Nordic cuisine,” it states.

Eric Dayton, who co-owns the restaurant, told the newspaper that the restaurant fell into the trend. “Our goal was something that was authentic to Minnesota, not necessarily authentic to Scandinavia.”

The Washington Post recently featured the Minneapolis restaurant the Bachelor Farmer, in its lifestyle section.

Writer Tom Sietsema describes the Nordic-themed restaurant as “homespun and stylish.”

“Cheery blue-and-white awnings welcome diners to the sprawling corner property,” along with an underground cocktail lounge that’s known as the Marvel Bar, the story states.

“Asked to define Minnesota cooking, Eric Dayton says it revolves around the simple use of a few ingredients, preferably local. “There’s a humility to the cooking” in his state, he says. The description sums up my meal in his restaurant, where nothing shouted “Look at me!” but everything reveled in good taste, right through dessert.”  

A January posting from Publishers Weekly praises Minneapolis' Coffee House Press for its recent accomplishments amid a change in leadership.

Two of its fall 2011 releases, Leaving the Atocha Station, a first novel by Ben Lerner and Song I Sing, a debut poetry collection from Bao Phi, “have been published to critical acclaim in major media publications," it states.

“Leaving the Atocha Station,” PW writes, “landed with the sort of bang that most book publishers can only dream of,” with a lengthy and positive review in the New Yorker.

It’s also been talked about in the New York Review of Books, National Public Radio’s “Fresh Air” show, The Guardian, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and Foreign Policy.

City Pages has the story of how the proprietors of a local music studio saw the writing on the wall and decided to embrace new technology rather than hope it went away.

Or in their words:

"We just put our big-boy pants on and moved on to something else, instead of sitting in the corner muttering under our breaths about these youngsters with their flying machines."

Matthew Foust and Evan Olcott co-founded Integral Studio in 2000. Soon after that they started developing recording and other music-related software and founded Audiofile Engineering.

Those development skills have since become in demand, as City Pages explains.

The Washington Post takes a close look at Target Field and likes what it sees. Describing the brand-new Minneapolis ballpark as "a modern-day Fenway�embedded in a city neighborhood," Bruce Adams and Margaret Engel accentuate the field's ecological sensitivity and historical sense--and add a quick guide to exploring the city for outsiders coming to a game. Read their piece here.

Source: The Washington Post