Negative Thoughts (Lakeville: foreclosures, renting, crime rate)

[QuantumIguana]

It took a while for people to realize what was being given up when the "old" buildings were torn down. A friend of mine went to school in Italy, and they put her in the "new" building. The new building was 400 years old. Our idea of "old" is different than in other parts of the world. If some of these buildings would have lasted a few more years, they likely would have been caught up in the historic preservation movement, and would be considered treasures today. No one will ever love a plain box.

[1stpontiac]

5-8.

i^2.

NO3-.


Oh, wait, that's not what you meant!



(sorry, couldn't help myself )

[Cruz Azul Guy]

Originally Posted by audadvnc

Good thread call. I can't stand the Minnesota (particularly Metro) penchant for tearing down so many historical buildings and neighborhoods, as demonstrated by Larry Millett's books, "Lost Twin Cities" and "Twin Cities - Then and Now" . It's as if we can't wait to destroy our own heritage, replacing it with seamless glass facades that have no connection to the public life around them.

The greatest building in Minneapolis I was never able to see fell victim to the so called "urban renewal" that took place in the 1950's and 1960's. That would be the Metropolitan Building. What a tragedy.

Metropolitan Building (Minneapolis) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[uptown_urbanist]

Minneapolis wasn't alone in tearing down its historic buildings, but unfortunately had more money and means to do it than did some cities.

On the "walkability" issue: keep in mind that the street issue is also related to urban planning-type issues. It's true that because neighborhoods like Uptown (and most others outside of downtown) mostly developed in the late 19th and early 20th century and therefore were streetcar-oriented, there were later decisions made to make them more car-oriented; take Uptown, for example. Much of the neighborhood is pretty good for walking, but there are definitely some problem intersections. Hennepin and Lagoon is at the top of my list. Lagoon in general is unpleasant for pedestrians. Lagoon is also a newer street; the city did lots of tinkering and moving of streets, creation of one-way streets, and other things designed to speed up through-traffic. It could have been a lot worse, though; I've seen mid-century plans that would have created a 29th street crosstown and would have made Lyndale into more of a highway. As an aside, things could also have been better: at one point there was even talk of a subway, and more recently we could have had a light rail line. Even in more recent years the city has to battle traffic planners (I think some of them are from the county; I don't know the ins and outs of it, but some of these major streets are highways and I think perhaps then considered county roads so it gets muddled) who want to make it faster for people farther out to drive home from downtown. (some ideas have been eliminating parking to speed up traffic, that sort of thing.) Uptown's worst intersections could become much, much nicer overnight if some new traffic policies and street rules were put into place, but that won't happen because it would slow down traffic even more.

I'm no expert in local policy, but I'm also assuming that some of these issues are compounded by the fact that the city itself has relatively little power as a central city, and the suburbs have a lot of power. There's also the role of the Metro Council, etc. So while some issues were and are the city of Minneapolis's alone, in other ways they're also facing an uphill battle due to their position in the larger metro area. You could certainly see that at work in most local public transportation debates. There's far more interest in bring suburban commuters into downtown jobs than in actually creating a regional public transportation network that works for everyone (including suburban residents who want to use LRT for more than just commuting purposes).

One last historic preservation comment: while it's depressing to look at all the things lost, we still have a lot left. The industrial heritage is still largely around and still very fascinating; it's nice to see people begin to appreciate it. I do wish there was a greater appreciation for the smaller commercial buildings in neighborhoods, though; most neighborhood historic preservationists tend to focus on homes (and mostly the single family houses) and are more likely to overlook the commercial and industrial stuff outside of downtown.

[FamousBlueRaincoat]

On the topic of historic preservation, this is a great website I came across: NETR Online • Historic Aerials

At the time of me posting this, it seems to not be working. But it's really great. It has aerial photographs of the Twin Cities (and a lot of other places) going back to at least the 50's (there might be some older ones - I found some Philadelphia ones going back to the early 30's). You can move the map around just like google maps.

You can see both downtowns change over the decades. You can watch them knock down neighborhoods and start to build highways. You can watch the U of M expand. Farmland turn into sprawl.

[ZeusGT]

One of the biggest negatives about Minneapolis/St Paul are the TAXES! Period. Property taxes, State taxes, income taxes, small business taxes (small business owner), property taxes that are constantly going up by the minute... you name it, you are taxed on it and it gets old! Another big negative is the home costs and construction of the homes.

Albeit, I am from the south and I am not used to this type of construction (stucco huts and fiber board shingle ramblers), but they want an astronomical amount of money for the very little home you get. Heaven forbid you by a piece of property on a popular street or district for that matter.. $$$ property taxes will eat you through the roof if the mold repairs from the stucco huts don't get to you first. Plan on spending about $2000 a year additional for ice dam removal and maintenance.

***Sigh*** I honestly don't understand why the homes here are so expensive. I hear it all the time that the cost of living and the price of homes here are not bad and that I'm being delusional, but you can get a very nice built two story brick home back in Texas for $175,000 with land... You can barely get a 1000 square foot rambler in Robbinsdale for that kind of money...yuk!

So my negative thoughts are... too expensive and taxed to death. Oh and child care costs are that of a college tuition... wtf?

If you are natively from Africa or Norway, come on in and let all the working people pay for your education, cars and homes... stupid!

[Globe199]

Walmart expanding in the Twin Cities.

Don't need it, don't want it. Fight.

[Globe199]

Originally Posted by ZeusGT

$$$ property taxes will eat you through the roof

Are you aware of why property taxes are so high in the Twin Cities?

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by ZeusGT

***Sigh*** I honestly don't understand why the homes here are so expensive. I hear it all the time that the cost of living and the price of homes here are not bad and that I'm being delusional, but you can get a very nice built two story brick home back in Texas for $175,000 with land... You can barely get a 1000 square foot rambler in Robbinsdale for that kind of money...yuk!

You can't find what you're describing for that price in a good part of Atlanta, either. FWIW. Two-story brick for 175k? Dream on... And Atlanta is considered to be a relatively inexpensive housing market.

Construction in MN and in many northern states requires that structures are able to handle a certain amount of snow weight on the roof, so that will increase costs somewhat.

I think, though, that the Twin Cities, while still expensive compared to many southern states, is still very affordable compared to major metros on either the east or west coasts.

It also sounds like you're used to one of the most inexpensive markets in the country, at least if the price you are citing is correct. Most other areas of the country will be more expensive, at least if you're talking about housing within 30 minutes of a major urban area.

[ZeusGT]

Originally Posted by Globe199

Are you aware of why property taxes are so high in the Twin Cities?

Please tell me why... It doesn't make any sense to me.