Reflections at Bloomington Central Station

[MinnesotaPulse]

Has anybody had the opportunity to tour a model of the condos going up in Bloomington, Reflections at BCS? Although they are not as appealing as one of the many projects going on in Minneapolis, I am thinking they might be a feasible less-expensive alternative as this area is being developed into the "Third Downtown" (lots of retail + commerical development planned in the next 10 years) and is located right on the lightrail... a quick 10 minute ride and you're downtown.

Any thoughts?

http://www.reflections-bcs.com/

[K6-III]

...more like a 20 minute ride to downtown...

Anyway, the area has potential, especially if they put in more pedestrian-accessible venues in the area.

[fehler]

...more like a 20 minute ride to downtown...

Anyway, the area has potential, especially if they put in more pedestrian-accessible venues in the area.

The area is now directly under a just opened runway, so I doubt pedestrian activity will be big.

There could be room for park-and-ride services, ie drycleaning, childcare, stop-and-shops, in the area. However the biggest untapped potential is somehow tying this to the river. The Minnesota River is a step to the left, and no one without an arial photograph whould know about it. This station is closer to the river valley than even the Fort Snelling Station (ok, not really). Need to get some kind of path/trail to link one of these stations to the valley trails, so bikers can ride the train down and bike back, or vice/versa.

[MinnesotaPulse]

I agree with you on the challenges with attracting pedestrians that close to a busy airport/runway... but obviously enough people think that the area will be booming:

http://www.metrocouncil.org/directions/dev...bloomington.htm

The article highlights the plans for developing the area into the "potential third major downtown."

How interesting will it be if in 15 years the Twin Cities becomes the Tri-Cities??

[nickmgray]

That article was written over a year and a half ago. Since then I think the plans to add a hotel have fallen through and there are no other housing projects planned as of yet. It would be nice to see this area develop, but there are a few fundamental flaws as well.

A few weeks ago I decided to drive by the Reflections construction site to see how things were progressing and found that there is no majore road that passes through the area. Because the lightrail has been positioned right between two parking lost, you have to dirbve through the lots to get to the location.

It may develop into a commercial park, but I don't see it ever turning into a viable "downtown" area.

[Minneapolitan]

I need to start a suburban development thread.

[K6-III]

These particular buildings seem very problematic to me. Too much damn glass. With natural gas prices going where they are, these buildings will be unheatable in the near future. I do realize that this is triple-paned glass, but, nevertheless, not a good idea. Plus, who wants to live in a condo with no balcony or fresh air.

This makes sense for the couple with one person working in downtown and the other in suburbia, but otherwise it's somewhat of a stretch.