On April 15, at Logan Park, Katie White, Senior Transportation Planner at Minneapolis Public Works, presented what her team described as their final presentation of their proposed redesign of Quincy Street.
The plan appeared to be a residential street — a change from its status as an industrial zoned area.
When asked if Quincy Street was zoned for industrial use, White said that it was. As for the cost of the broader project to rework the Logan Park Industrial area, which has been estimated at approximately $20 million, White said, “Quincy (Street is) accounting for between $7-$9 million of that portion, but (it) still is not finalized.
“The businesses pay 25% of those costs.”
Two parking scenarios for Quincy Street were presented at the April 15 meeting. City of Minneapolis Public Works representatives said the options would result in the same number of parking spots. Jonathan Query, a business owner on Quincy Street, said the city’s preferred parallel parking appears to reduce available parking by nearly 50%. (City of Minneapolis)
That figure would be on the higher end of taxes charged for a Minneapolis reconstructed street. Taxes vary based on many factors, such as grants and the scope of projects, but the recent Phase 1 Lowry Avenue road reconstruction charged some businesses 5-8% of the costs. If White’s statement holds, Quincy Street businesses may pay double to triple in taxes for the project.
During the presentation, White showcased a graphic comparing parallel parking to perpendicular parking, saying the two would result in the same number of parking spots.
Jonathan Query, who owns the Q.arma Building, 1224 Quincy St. NE, asked for the final number of parking spots with the new parallel parking layout, but White did not have them on hand and said she “would get back to Jonathan.”
The following day, White said that “the new proposal will offer 45 parking spots.” Query said that “he found that currently Quincy Street had 87 parking spots” — a decrease of “almost 50 percent.”
Business owners present at the meeting said that, if the current plan is implemented, parking will become a free-for-all, as no one will have dedicated parking.
Kristen Olson, owner of Quincy Street Kitchen, a photography studio at 1310 Quincy St. NE, said they now have three designated parking spots, and the busy time for their business is 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. most mornings, which happens to be the same time as dozens of Los Campeones gym members also arrive. Olson said without parking for them to load up photography, food and prop stylist equipment, and frequent runs to get materials, their location becomes untenable and they would have to re-locate.
Olson added, “If parking is taken away from them to help with loading up photography food and prop stylist equipment, and frequent runs to get materials, their location becomes untenable and they would have to relocate.”
Artists, building owners and businesses owners on the street said the plan does not improve their businesses. They said they worried about paying for the construction and do not believe they can recoup the costs or flourish with the current designs.
When asked about the value of spending $20 million to improve the streets, White said that question is not Public Works’ purview.
At the presentations given surrounding the Quincy Street development, artists and businesses owners present have steadily said they want the City of Minneapolis to ensure any reconstruction benefits them.
Michael Rainville, Third Ward City Council Member, said there’s no other city street as “alive” as Quincy Street, calling it a “jewel of the Arts District.”