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Progress on Our Doorstep: Blight or Bright?
At the busy corner of University and Snelling Avenues in St. Paul, there's a sign in a store window reading "We Survived Blight Rail." It's a punny swipe at Central Corridor transit construction work that disrupted traffic on University for most of this year.
Problem is, equating modern light rail with blight, especially the Central and the widespread urban redevelopment it has already sparked three years before trains start running, could hardly be further from the truth.
Merriam-Webster defines blight as "a deteriorating condition" and gives as an example, "Expanding urban sprawl is a blight on the countryside." Dozens of new residential, commercial, office and arts developments are springing up along the Central Corridor, many in once-blighted historic buildings. These transit-oriented improvements in the compact heart of the Twin Cities also ease pressure for development that blights exurban greenfields.
The Metropolitan Council lists 38 private projects recently completed, underway or in planning along the light rail corridor, including more than 5,100 new housing units whose value will be enhanced by convenient connections to both downtowns and the University of Minnesota's Minneapolis campus. The tally doesn't even include large Midway-area apartment developments such as the Metro and the Lyric that opened before this year. Nor does it count smaller efforts such as the blighted rental duplex a friend of mine refurbished a block off University.
Just down the street from Minnesota 2020's offices, Exeter Realty is turning a vacant 1917 mattress factory into 104 loft apartments. "We would not be there trying to do something with that property had it not been for the light rail line," said Exeter Chairman Jim Stolpestad. "University had to be redone."
University and Snelling is one of Minnesota's most congested, polluted intersections. At the junction of a state highway and a major county road, it is chronically short of parking for its many storefronts. Before long, however, the merchant with the sign in the window can complain all the way to the bank as light rail boosts pedestrian bustle along the de-blighted Central Corridor.
Posted in Transportation | Related Topics: Small Business Minneapolis / St Paul Central Corridor Roads & Highways
3 Comments
December 22, 2011 at 11:36 am
The question about light rail is not whether or not it will work economically for us near the Central Corridor. It will. We own rental property within 3 blocks of the station. They now rent well, to tenants we like, are often fond of But this will only help.
The real issue now is to organize ourselves to make the most of it, by finding better ways to welcome new homeowners to the neighborhood, and provide better business development, particularly along Rice Street.
The question I long had—whether or not it was worth the billion dollar investment—is now moot. Now it’s tim to plan to make the most of it.
December 22, 2011 at 11:10 am
Midway Books have always been jerks about how light-rail is going to destroy their business. Every time I see another of their cute anti-rail signs up in their windows I want to ask them to move out to Northtown Mall (near where I grew up) where the parking spaces are endless and see if they can stay in business for more than 3 months. Or maybe they’re just being cool in complaining about something that will make them more money.
Ginny says:
December 22, 2011 at 1:50 pm
This can only help our economic development—moving people quickly and efficiently and, as one commenter said, helping rent apartments and set up businesses near the corridor. And getting some of the traffic out of the daily parking lot. It’s wonderful.