Here are images of the proposed redevelopment of the former Jaguar site at Washington & Hennepin. Downtown-based Ryan Cos. US Inc. is the developer on the project, which calls for 287 luxury apartments and a new Whole Foods grocery store at street level. The proposal is going before the Minneapolis City Planning Commission tonight.
Street-level retail, greenery, and new development in general are all good things. That said, if this project is realized in this proposed form, I’ll be kind of glum about it and here’s why.
Luxury condos. Do we need more luxury condos? Well, apparently there’s still a market for them because even though the poor keep getting poorer, the rich keep getting richer and they want their luxury condos. The downtown tax base provides a huge portion of the revenue the entire city of Minneapolis runs on, so luxury for some, with responsible budgeting, can help raise the ships of even those who live in less luxurious accommodations. That said, wouldn’t it be nice to have a development that included provision for affordable housing? Such things do happen in this world.
Also, this design is blah. I get that those cute little postmodern-lite towers are meant to add visual appeal and distinction, but really what they do is add “visual appeal” and “distinction.” This McLuxury isn’t bad as luxury condo design goes, but I almost wish it was: at least bad would be distinctive.
And of course there’s a Whole Foods. Downtown definitely needs more supermarkets, but it would be nice if we could have one that’s less Whole and more affordable. A nice scratch-n-dent Rainbow would be great, please and thank you. Last week everyone was excited about a LivingSocial deal that offered $20 worth of Whole Food for $10; I didn’t get the excitement. What you can buy for $20 at Whole Foods is what you can get for $10 at Cub every day of the year anyway.
I get that the politics and economics of these major developments are complicated, and tend to favor the safe bets over the risks. I’m pointing a finger, but I’m not pointing it at the mayor or the architect or the developer. I’m just pointing it at this whole proposed project and saying, yes, this is better than a vacant auto dealership—but let’s remember that feeding a healthy, diverse, distinctive community will take a lot more developments that don’t look a lot like this one, not a lot more that do.
- Jay Gabler
