Highland Bridge: Ford Site Redevelopment

[altus4]

The first apartments at Highland Bridge are set to open in July, and their website is now live (although with no actual pricing info that I can see): https://thecollectionathighlandbridge.com

[nickmgray]

Prices are listed on their floorplans page, ranging from $1410 for a 480 sq.ft. studio to $6,620 for a 2145 sq.ft. 2/be/, 2bath + office corner unit.

https://thecollectionathighlandbridge.com/floor-plans

[Qhaberl]

Actually very curious, what profession are people working him that they have that kind of money to afford that? I’m talking in particular about the unit that costs over $6000.


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[MNdible]

Income required to support that rent would be about $240k annually, so if you're a couple, that's two $120k salaries. Which is good money, but certainly not outrageous for a couple of professionals doing well in their careers.

[MattW]

Income required to support that rent would be about $240k annually, so if you're a couple, that's two $120k salaries. Which is good money, but certainly not outrageous for a couple of professionals doing well in their careers.

Or a corporation looking for executive housing

[altus4]

There wasn't really any new information, but there was a segment on Highland Bridge on WCCO last night:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqmdkI4bmhM

[altus4]

Some media coverage of Gateway Park grand opening

Star Tribune
https://www.startribune.com/gateway-par ... 600182135/

After more than a decade of planning and construction on one of the largest redevelopment projects in city history, Gateway Park became the first portion of St. Paul's Highland Bridge site to open to the public...

...Apartments, a grocery store, roadways and a second city park are slated to open later this summer on the site, which is undergoing a multimillion-dollar transformation into what officials have dubbed an "urban village."...

...The site's first residents will move in later this summer when a 230-unit luxury apartment building opens in August. An adjoining Lunds & Byerlys is slated to open in early fall. Uŋči Makha Park, second of four public parks planned for the development, is also scheduled to open later this summer, city officials said.

Pioneer Press
https://www.twincities.com/2022/06/14/s ... nd-bridge/

Tired of begging their parents for rides to skate parks and restless after days of distance learning, Highland Park buddies Luke Hanno and Theo Miller put their heads together and acted on Miller’s dad’s advice. They contacted those in the know about all things parks and planning at St. Paul City Hall with a request...

...Little did they expect exactly how elaborately those dreams would come together. On Tuesday, the boys — now 13 and 14 — joined Stewart, St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter, Parks and Rec Director Andy Rodriguez, representatives of master developer the Ryan Cos. and others in debuting the city’s first “skater trail” at the new Gateway Park, a linear park that weaves from Mississippi River Boulevard at Bohland Avenue to Ford Parkway at Woodlawn Avenue. The 3.6-acre park also features game tables, picnic tables, walking paths, a viewing platform and a water fountain...

...Parks officials were determined to fill unmet needs in the city by programming each of the four future parks accordingly. Later this summer, the city will debut Unci Makha Park at the southern end of Highland Bridge, across from Hidden Falls Regional Park. It will feature sand volleyball courts and a nature play area for the very young. Also on the horizon are a medical office building, currently under construction, and thousands of units of housing.

[DanPatchToget]

Doesn't Canadian Pacific pay taxes for that property, or is there some kind of tax loophole where railroads don't have to pay property taxes for railroad right-of-way that's out-of-service? That rail yard and the Ford Spur aren't generating revenue for them, and assuming they pay property taxes for that land I can't imagine why they would hold onto it for as long as they have.

[MN Fats]

The Pioneer Press article confirmed the railroad does not pay taxes for that land. I'm not sure of the reason however.

Community members have questioned whether, as university property, the sports facilities would be exempt from property taxes. On Thursday, Ryan Cos. confirmed that they would be, as is the current Canadian Pacific Railway property.

https://www.twincities.com/2022/07/07/s ... ll-remain/

[Cat385]

The Pioneer Press article confirmed the railroad does not pay taxes for that land. I'm not sure of the reason however.

Community members have questioned whether, as university property, the sports facilities would be exempt from property taxes. On Thursday, Ryan Cos. confirmed that they would be, as is the current Canadian Pacific Railway property.

https://www.twincities.com/2022/07/07/s ... ll-remain/

That would be because rail companies don’t pay property taxes on rail lines. Active or not, all rail lines are exempt.

[Cat385]

Mini milestone. Montreal is open from Mississippi River Boulevard to Cleveland. Cretin is open at Ford Parkway.

One of the first travelers thru was a gentleman on a motorcycle, who proceeded to drive down three different sidewalks marked Ped/Bike only.

[Cat385]

Cretin is now open thru the entire site.

I believe five units are now rented above the new building.

The busiest spots with people enjoying the parks are the Ped bridge over the central water feature, and the dog park on Montreal.

[seanrichardryan]

Walked most of the site yesterday, looks great! Hardscape and landscaping is coming along nicely, though there was a bit more rock than I expected. The main water features/ storm water management areas are not yet running at full capacity. A few observations: they need to bring in more benches because there are few places to sit other than an occasional kasota stone block which are too small and too low. The sidewalk under the iron bridge over the central water feature has low clearance. So low, they had to lower the sidewalk by a foot or two. Now the sidewalk floods because it below the lake level. details lol. A slimy algae piece dislodged and only slightly blocked the circular drain to Hidden Falls creek, which in turn floods out the stairs and stepping stone features with several inches of water.

[mulad]

Here's a piece by Bill Lindeke about the park. He mentioned that the water levels may shift by up to six feet, so things may be more dynamic than we usually see in park streams.

https://www.minnpost.com/cityscape/2022 ... ibilities/

I visited on Monday, and a lot of the algae I'd seen a week and a half earlier in the upper pond seemed to have disappeared, though the water there was murkier than before.

In other news, the new Lunds is scheduled to open on Thursday, September 29th. A pre-opening event at 2:30 and the opening itself at 3:00 pm.

[StandishGuy]

I biked this on Monday, and the parks and creek are indeed delightful. The central water feature will definitely benefit from buildings surrounding and framing it, as the area feels like a ghost town with no buildings.

[datasage]

First rowhouse residents moved in mid last week.

[bubzki2]

There's also a TON of lumber staged on site. I was wondering if that got delivered the day the CC exempted new construction from the rent control...

[datasage]

There's also a TON of lumber staged on site. I was wondering if that got delivered the day the CC exempted new construction from the rent control...

Much of it is prefabbed framing panels for the row houses. They seem to be on track for having all the buildings for the first phase framed before the snow sets in.

[Br4dM]

Does anyone know when they will remove the fencing atop Hidden Falls (and in front of the trail-access tunnel)?

[twincitizen]

I wonder how much impact the spiking interest rates will have on future sales of the rowhomes, once Pulte gets through the initial waiting list of folks that have been waiting years to live here. Perhaps there's enough interest (the other kind) from older folks that are selling similarly-valued homes and therefore putting down a lot of cash, so the increased borrowing costs don't bother them as much. It wouldn't surprise me too much if all 300-something of these are already spoken for or will be soon, even at 700k and 6% interest. It's just such a rare product in a unique and brand new urban setting, truly one of a kind in the entire metro. What's the competition for a buyer considering these row homes? A 15-20 year old condo in North Loop or Mill District?