urbanMSP

Good point, but did neighbors protest this development? I don’t think the density is what was at issue, but rather the land use (housing-only vs. mixed use). No, they did not protest. That's exactly my point! This developer is empowered to invest in the property based on its potential, not based on...

Didn’t the PC deny the Caribou drive through but the council opened their arms for it? Yep. The council has been going against the PC in a number of projects over the past year. That’s certainly their right, as the PC is just advisory to the council. But it’s frustrating that the city asks develope...

That Edina City Council sure does not seem to agree much with their Planning Commission -- after rejecting a couple (*much* better IMO) Southdale projects that the PC recommended approval of, here they're approving what PC said to deny. *shrug* It's a really distorted sense of priority when this low...

Fair point -- just because a few people have a preference doesn't mean it represents an entire community. I just found that particular objection so bizarre, since I have really never heard it in any other context. I have heard of many communities finding controversy with sidewalks, but I always assu...

Are they the same people who don't want a sidewalk in front of their house? I guess Edina can consider itself the birthplace of NIMFYism. Ha ha ha! After a tax was introduced, that spread the cost of new sidewalks to all residents rather than just the people whose house it was in front of, the resi...

Fischer said there is a tendency for people to equate height with traffic. The Shake Shack restaurant that was recently approved on a corner of Southdale, he said, is more likely to add traffic in the area than a tall apartment building. “No one’s complaining about that,” he said. First reaction: P...

Cool... used to drive this daily when I was working in Brooklyn Park. With TH 252 as an at-grade expressway, it made TH 610 a weird dead-end freeway. Personally I think upgrading this section to a freeway should have been prioritized over extending 610 to 94. Glad to hear it has funding.

It's a big site. 19 minutes / 1.0 miles from the larger buildings on the south end of Sibley St -- and that's assuming cutting through the P&R lot rather than following sidewalk route. Even 15 minutes is not exactly transit-oriented.

https://www.startribune.com/legislature-pushes-fort-snelling-affordable-housing-at-600k-per-unit/483632651/ $100 million allocated for these buildings to become "affordable housing"? I guess I really don't get it. More than a mile from the nearest transit stop, completely isolated from oth...

Insulation is definitely something I want to look at in the long term. I didn't actually realize you could add more insulation to the outside surface. But right now, the roof is only 8 years old, and I really love the interior finish, so I wouldn't want to wreck that to do spray foam (even if cost w...

Alright, they disabled my low circulating speed, so it's just medium or high now, and shut off even more to force more air upstairs. Eager for another hot day to try it out.

According to Edina manager Scott Neal, the City has added 5000 residents since 2010: https://twitter.com/edinacityman/status/998637376548241409. Since 2011, 1365 apartments have been built, and another ~1000 are either approved and pending action or currently under construction: https://twitter.com/...

Tried that one. There are dampers by the plenum trunk for most, and I have adjusted everything downstairs way down. There is one vent without a damper or an adjustable register... I will get a new register for that and try shutting that down too. HVAC company is sending out a tech tomorrow to see if...

Update: got the furnace as described. Works *great* for first floor and basement, but AC barely makes a dent upstairs. Which, I guess I knew was a likely risk, but a little disappointing. One thing that I think is making the problem even worse is that they installed a self-adjusting "Cor" ...

The traffic on the regional trail? It will go through a tunnel under Wooddale, that is a separate project.

Oh SWEET! Didn't realize that was happening.

The Wooddale Ave bridge has a final design. With this much reconstruction I wished the bike lanes had more curb protections at some of those pork chop islands. Is trail traffic now supposed to go up to the TH 7 intersection and wait on the porkchops instead of crossing at the frontage road? That re...

The rise and fall of Southdale name is interesting to me. Seemed like it has been being steadily replaced by businesses that just identify as "Edina". For example, I had a can of paint from "Hirshfield's Southdale" from 10 years ago. Brought it in to get a new quart of that color...

The medians between 35 and Penn have been landscaped and they look good. I was terrified they were going to remain covered in crab grass. I think they just hydroseeded quick last fall to make sure it didn't become a muddy mess. I agree, they look great. I really like how they kept the left turn lan...

Nicollet & 66th closed today completely (no four-way stop). They say the roundabout will be open to traffic by Memorial Day -- which would be a pretty crazy pace. Portland took a whole season.

Local Roots opened on Saturday. Website is http://localrootsmn.com/ I've already been twice in 2 days. Currently open 6am-3pm 7 days/week for breakfast and lunch. Eventually they will add dinner service and beer/wine. Lunch menu prices are definitely at the upper limit for what the Richfield market...