If Ford plant in St. Paul closes in 2011, what could take the place of it. (Rice: credit, homes)

[moving123456]

MLS Stadium and a Minnesota MLS expansion team to go with it.

[Slig]

Originally Posted by moving123456

MLS Stadium and a Minnesota MLS expansion team to go with it.

I've heard that suggestion before. Unless Minnesota Thunder support goes lights out suddenly I don't see this ever happening. I went to a couple Thunder matches last year at the NSC in Blaine and it was alot of fun, there was a decent amount of hardcore fans but overall their attendance is pretty low.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by moving123456

MLS Stadium and a Minnesota MLS expansion team to go with it.

Yes! Bring the Minnesota Kicks back!

[Haver]

I'm going to take some wild swings here and suppose that since its an assembly plant, there's probably going to be a "brown field" issue that needs to be cleaned up. With the state of the auto industry, then it might fall on someone else to foot the bill so they'll be looking for ways to recoup costs with a higher-value investment - which probably excludes housing, especially with the parcel's industrial history.

There's not a lot of office development in that area; I know Richfield is planning a row of offices along Cedar avenue so someone's already run the numbers on that and determined feasibility. With the 35W/62 reconstruction the commute there will be pretty decent, and St. Paul will probably be wanting to add density to raise the tax base and be less dependent on local government aid.

So ... look forward to anonymous office towers, parking ramps, Applebee's and one or two good restaurants.

[golfgal]

Is the site even large enough for a stadium, including parking? I wouldn't be too happy about that idea if I lived in the area-just what Highland Park doesn't need is MORE traffic and parking issues.

[Minnehahapolitan]

That parcel could hold the Metrodome and still have 3/4th of it left for parking.

[Ben Around]

Originally Posted by Oildog

Great place for riverfront townhomes and the new Saints stadium.

Living within 1/2 mile of the plant, let me offer a resounding NO!!!

While those of us of more modest means would be ignored, I'm sure the swells who live on the Boulevard won't let this happen.

[Ben Around]

Originally Posted by golfgal

Is the site even large enough for a stadium, including parking? I wouldn't be too happy about that idea if I lived in the area-just what Highland Park doesn't need is MORE traffic and parking issues.

It is larger than it looks from the street. The Ford Parkway side is the "short" side. In addition to the administrative building, there is a large training facility, massive assembly buildings, employee parking, a huge parking area where they store their finished product (pretty full, these days ), a truck loading facility and an entire railroad yard with a swtch engine assigned to it full time.

[pirate_lafitte]

I am still thinking of one think: Jobs. Jobs to replace the ones that will be lost when the Twin Cities Ford Plant closes up.

[Camden Northsider]

Maybe an automaker or other manufacturer that actually knows how to manage a company?

pirate- nice dream but pretty unlikely. Have you seen all of the vacant (and mammoth) former Ford/ GM factories in Detroit? And there are very very few companies building new plants these days anywhere in the country to my knowledge - I'm actually pretty amazed that Coloplast has recently just built their North American Headquarters here in North Minneapolis (beautiful building and campus grounds if you haven't seen it- on w. river road), which has/ will create a lot of new jobs in the area- but, although I'm not for sure and could be wrong, I don't think the medical device industry has suffered as much as other manufacturers in the US- especially a giant like Coloplast. It was interesting to hear of another industry that has been having a lot of growth in the current economy- the plasma donation industry.

And even if the site were to go to redevelopment for office buildings, condos, or what have you- that would create sorely needed construction jobs here in the metro area, and although they would only be temporary (which is about as good as most entry-level jobs get these days)- they'd at least be something and a potential local economy booster, and in the case of office buildings and/or stadiums, jobs are created there as well.

The only possibility that a company/ organization/ manufacturer, etc. will be utilizing the plant itself is if it's government run or hugely government subsidized....hey, that sounds perfect for Ford!!!