How in the world does Longfellow have 142 crimes Jan-March? (Minneapolis: neighborhood, live in)

[uptown_urbanist]

I hate those developments. Strip malls are strip malls, wherever they're located. I would hope that they would not be allowed to develop in their current form if proposed today. I don't think they're unique to Minneapolis, however. And remember that many of those locations used to be highly industrial; I'm assuming part of the reason the big-box stores were plopped there was simply because that's where they could find the land. The first Target there, for example, came in the mid-1970s (an unfortunate period for Minneapolis -- and national -- city planning) on the shuttered Moline factory site, and I assume people were just happy to have local shopping available as well as to keep the money within city limits. That's the same era when they closed Nicollet at Lake and put in that Kmart.

[FamousBlueRaincoat]

Originally Posted by uptown_urbanist

I hate those developments. Strip malls are strip malls, wherever they're located. I would hope that they would not be allowed to develop in their current form if proposed today. I don't think they're unique to Minneapolis, however. And remember that many of those locations used to be highly industrial; I'm assuming part of the reason the big-box stores were plopped there was simply because that's where they could find the land. The first Target there, for example, came in the mid-1970s (an unfortunate period for Minneapolis -- and national -- city planning) on the shuttered Moline factory site, and I assume people were just happy to have local shopping available as well as to keep the money within city limits. That's the same era when they closed Nicollet at Lake and put in that Kmart.

Yeah, bad time period, I know. What about the strip mall on the west side of the light rail? That strikes me as a newer one, since it seems to make incredibly lame attempts to be pedestrian friendly. But I don't know.

That's something I've been wondering about for a while.

[xandrex]

While I'm not generally a fan of strip malls in the city, I actually really don't mind the Quarry. It's really convenient for me as I live just south of there in the Como neighborhood. It's a quick 5 minute drive and the whole area feels fairly suburban to me anyway. Another nice thing about the Quarry is that if you need to get there by bus, there seems to be a decent drop-off zone that doesn't make you cross any roads or anything.

That said, I wouldn't generally promote strip-mall-style developments in the city.

[Blue Earth]

I suspect that many of the larcenies cited for the Longfellow neighborhood are shoplifting reports from the Target at the northeast corner of Lake and Hiawatha. 100 larcenies in three months, that's about one shoplifting report per day. Most of the crime is probably in that shopping center.

[audadvnc]

Target moved out of their Broadway location years ago, partly because of the high rate of shoplifting. The building sat empty for years until Cub took it over.

I'm ambivalent about urban strip malls. They're aesthetically empty and eat up tremendous space, OTOH it's easy to park there, and brings the aura of "American Middle Class" to people in neighborhoods that have been beaten down by poverty. The Quarry is a tremendous improvement over what was there previously - an industrial junkyard. And the Lake St Target used to be an abandoned rail switchyard, didn't it?

[MplsTodd]

Originally Posted by FamousBlueRaincoat

Yeah, bad time period, I know. What about the strip mall on the west side of the light rail? That strikes me as a newer one, since it seems to make incredibly lame attempts to be pedestrian friendly. But I don't know.

That's something I've been wondering about for a while.

The Hiawatha-Lake Center actually was built back in the late 1950s-early 1960s. However, the center received a new facade about 6-8 years ago. I'm not a big fan of the design, but they really didn't have a lot to work with either. They did urbanize the layout somewhat by adding the Corridor Flats condo building, with Aldi.

[Cruz Azul Guy]

Originally Posted by audadvnc

Target moved out of their Broadway location years ago, partly because of the high rate of shoplifting. The building sat empty for years until Cub took it over.

I'm ambivalent about urban strip malls. They're aesthetically empty and eat up tremendous space, OTOH it's easy to park there, and brings the aura of "American Middle Class" to people in neighborhoods that have been beaten down by poverty. The Quarry is a tremendous improvement over what was there previously - an industrial junkyard. And the Lake St Target used to be an abandoned rail switchyard, didn't it?

I would agree with this. It isn't an ideal use of space over there but it could certainly be alot worse. As a nearby resident, I can't complain about living within a mile of a Cub Foods, Rainbow, Target, Radio Shack, Dollar Tree, etc. I think it fits the area alot better than the KMART that was plopped down on top of Nicollet Ave at least.

[Laggard]

Originally Posted by Slig

I think it fits the area alot better than the KMART that was plopped down on top of Nicollet Ave at least.

Cant wait for them to get rid of that mistake.

[FamousBlueRaincoat]

Originally Posted by MplsTodd

The Hiawatha-Lake Center actually was built back in the late 1950s-early 1960s. However, the center received a new facade about 6-8 years ago. I'm not a big fan of the design, but they really didn't have a lot to work with either. They did urbanize the layout somewhat by adding the Corridor Flats condo building, with Aldi.

Thanks - I always wondered about that strip mall. Between the condo and the fact that there are several stores that sort of wrap around the parking lot it sort of seems like it could be a newer development. Plus the weird carnival like decorations around the buildings.

[northsub]

So, what makes something a "strip mall"? I'm seriously asking. I hear lots of people putting down strip malls (here and elsewhere), but I don't quite understand what is objectionable. To me, it seems that adjoining a bunch of stores together is economical, environmentally-friendly, and walkable.

Is it the parking lots that are the issue? Is there any real difference between a strip mall and something like Dinkytown? (besides Dinkytown being bigger) Is it the perception that only chain stores are in strip malls?

Maybe a better question is, what would you like to see instead? Individual buildings? Parking behind the buildings? A parking ramp somewhere nearby? Brick facades?