2.8 Report on Urban Character & Building Stock Loring Park Neighborhood Master Plan Discovery Report on Urban • Individual Landmarks Character & Building Stock • Historic Districts Updated June 2011 • Conservation Districts • Design/Character Districts This report summarizes the major findings and • Individual Listings—National Register planning issues regarding the private development • Individual Landmarks—Locally of the Loring Park Neighborhood, addressing Designated each in this order: • National Register Districts 2.8.1 Analysis: Loring’s Urban-to-Rural Transect. • Locally Designated Districts • Loring Park Future Land Use Plan (as • Opportunities Adopted) • Issues • Descriptions of the Future Land Use Categories of Loring (as adopted in 2.8.3 Summary List of Opportunity (Potential 2009) Redevelopment) Sites. This section ncludes: • Lessons from the North Loop Small Area Plan • List of Opportunity Sites • Loring Park’s Built Current Intensity • Map of Opportunity Sites (Transect) Analysis • Map of Property Ownership • Map: Existing Building Heights • List of Property Owners 2.8.2 & 2.8.3 Summary of Neighborhood Historic District(s) Status & List of Historic 2.8.4 Opportunity Site Base Maps. Preservation Opportunities. 2.8.4.1 Opportunity Site Base Map #1 “Historic Preservation in The 2.8.4.2 Opportunity Site Base Map #2 Loring Park Neighborhood” 2.8.4.3 Opportunity Site Base Map #3 2.8.5 Summary List of Building Reuse • Thematic/Developmental Framework Opportunities. Identify and locate for Historic Preservation buildings that the neighborhood would like • Results of previous investigations to see reused. • Map: Era of Construction Sustainability, Public Realm, Creative Assets & • The Legal Infrastructure for Historic Economic Vitality are discussed in other Preservation Discovery documents. • National Register of Historic Places • Local Designation Citizens for a Loring Park Community www.loringpark.org 612-874-9002 P E T E R M U S T Y L L C Page 1 of 24 2.8 Report on Urban Character & Building Stock Loring Park Neighborhood Master Plan 2.8.1 Analysis: Loring’s Urban-to-Rural The dominance of the automobile in the latter Transect part of the twentieth century has created gaps in many of the transects throughout the city. Transects Found in Minneapolis The transect (see diagrams) is a natural Loring’s Complex Urban Pattern characteristic of many natural habitats, and also The Loring District is well located at the found in human environments globally from small intersection of four street systems; the downtown settlements to large cities. Indeed, most of the grid, the south Minneapolis grid, the organic urban fabric and pattern of Minneapolis, including network characteristic of the Loring Loring, were built at a time when walking was the Hill/Kenwood mansion neighborhoods, all giving predominant form of daily travel. This urban way to Loring Park. fabric exhibits gradients of urbanism (transects) throughout most of the city. Although mixed use buildings are found throughout the district, Loring has two more Transects in Minneapolis show gradients of commercially intense corridors (Nicollet Avenue intensity from more ‘urban’ intensity and character & Hennepin Avenue/Harmon Place) that serve as near mixed use centers and streetcar nodes, to less commercial corridors, with varying intensities of ‘urban’ residential areas interspersed within a housing throughout the rest of the district; from generous pattern of parks, waterbodies and open varying concentrations of towers, to four-to-six spaces. Uptown, Linden Hills & Dinkytown are story walk-ups, to mansions on the hill. The examples of ‘streetcar suburbs’ – with mixed use current height and land uses of the district are cores giving way to apartments giving way to mapped in other areas in this chapter. There are neighborhood single family homes and parkways only a handful of freestanding single family around lakes, all within walking distance of the dwellings found in the district. neighborhood core. There are dozens of neighborhood nodes throughout South The diagrams and illustrations on this page are from Minneapolis that also exhibit a transect; you may Fayetteville ((Dover Kohl) Form based code (top), and find a three story mixed use building right next to the newly approved Miami 21 – a city wide form a slightly taller apartment building, then duplex or based zoning code that is based on the transect as the quads and single family homes, all within the same organizing principle. (bottom). block. Citizens for a Loring Park Community www.loringpark.org 612-874-9002 P E T E R M U S T Y L L C Page 2 of 24 2.8 Report on Urban Character & Building Stock Loring Park Neighborhood Master Plan Design Guidelines & Municipal the city. The zoning code, though still at its core Regulation organized by land use, has begun the process of reform and is becoming more form based, as Nationwide, zoning and development guidelines several of the new zoning districts are based on are being created that reflect the growing the recognized need (and comprehensive plan aspiration to preserve and encourage more directive) to align zoning with small area plans that diverse, walkable multi-modal urban pattern – often include directives that support a where permitted land uses are more flexibly sophisticated, walkable, multi-modal (pre-WWII / prescribed and the adherence to a desired, traditional) urban pattern. contextual built form becomes the organizing principal of regulation. Zoning in many cities, The Loring Hill Guidelines and the Harmon Place despite reform, has often not been found to Historic District Design Guidelines are both adequately regulate for such contextual, walkable examples of overlay guidelines. The Harmon urbanism. In those cities that wish to reform Design Guidelines have been municipally adopted. instead of replace their zoning, overlays and The Loring Hill Design Guidelines, although additional guidelines have become necessary to originally intended to serve as a small area plan respond to the desire to more intricately regulate amendment to the comp plan, have not yet been built form. adopted as a municipal overlay, so they are not considered regulatory at this time. The Minneapolis Plan calls for for the support of a walkable and diverse urban pattern throughout Citizens for a Loring Park Community www.loringpark.org 612-874-9002 P E T E R M U S T Y L L C Page 3 of 24 2.8 Report on Urban Character & Building Stock Loring Park Neighborhood Master Plan Loring Park Future Land Use Plan - As adopted 2009 in Minneapolis Plan. The Master Plan Process will need to issue a revision to the Future Land Use Plan as adopted in 2009, using the Met Council standards for Future Land Use. Existing Land Use (as updated in 2009) Future Land Use (as adopted in 2009)* (* conforms to Met Council standards) Descriptions of the Future Land Use Categories of Loring (as adopted in 2009) Citizens for a Loring Park Community www.loringpark.org 612-874-9002 P E T E R M U S T Y L L C Page 4 of 24 2.8 Report on Urban Character & Building Stock Loring Park Neighborhood Master Plan There are five future land use categories that Mixed Use (MU) currently cover Loring Park within the city Everything else: Nicollet District to Loring Park (north of comprehensive plan approved in 2009: 15th), Loring Grenway, Harmon, Hennepin, land to the east of Convention Center Open Space & Parks (OP) Loring Park (Does not include Loring Greenway) “Allows for mixed use development, including mixed use with residential. Mixed use may include Applies to land or water areas generally free from either a mix of retail, office or residential uses development. Primarily used for park and within a building or within a district. There is no recreation purposes, natural resource requirement that every building be mixed use.” conservation, or historic or scenic purposes. This designation does not capture privately-owned and operated open spaces and plazas, such as Crystal Court in the IDS Center. Public and Institutional (PI) MCTC Campus, Convention Center, St Thomas Campus (Emerson School is in Mixed Use) “Accommodates public and semi- public uses, including museums, hospitals, civic uses, stadiums, airport related uses, and college and university campuses. Note that some smaller uses (including schools, libraries, and emergency services) may be incorporated into Urban Neighborhood, where they are generally allowed.” Urban Neighborhood (UN) Loring Hill to 15th & across LaSalle. Commercial Corridors Nicollet Avenue, Hennepin Avenue “Predominantly residential area with a range of densities, with highest densities generally to be “Traditional Commercial Corridors in the city concentrated around identified nodes and serve as boundaries connecting a number of corridors. May include undesignated nodes and neighborhoods and serve as focal points for some other small-scale uses, including activity. Development and revitalization of these neighborhood-serving commercial and corridors helps to strengthen surrounding urban institutional and semi-public uses (for example, neighborhoods. schools, community centers, religious institutions, Commercial Corridors can accommodate public safety facilities, etc.) scattered throughout. intensive commercial uses and high levels of More intensive non-residential uses may be traffic. The corridors support all types of located in neighborhoods closer to Downtown commercial uses, with some light industrial and and around Growth Centers. Not generally high density residential uses as well. intended