Stone Arch II at 600 SE Main denied

The site in question is visually at the northern end of the Stone Arch Bridge. The proposed development would put a 70-foot wall of apartments at the end of the bridge, where the cars are parked in this photo.

After weeks of review, the Minneapolis City Council denied an appeal by Bluff Street Development to build a 6-story, 79-unit residential development next to the Stone Arch Bridge. After deadlocking on a compromise, the council voted 8 to 4 in favor of upholding the city staff recommendation to deny the project.

Denied twice by the city's Planning Commission and unsuccessfully appealed twice to the City Council, the project has been embroiled in controversy since March of this year. FMR, the National Park Service, Sierra Club, the Marcy Holmes Neighborhood Association, local citizens and others opposed the project because of its inconsistency with city, neighborhood and park plans, and the potential for the project to impact key trail connections planned for Central Riverfront Regional Park. Situated at the northeast corner of the Stone Arch Bridge, the proposed development threatened to wall off a key gateway to the Stone Arch Bridge from the neighborhood and diminish the scenic and historical significance of the St. Anthony Falls Historic District.

The second round of the process was complicated by the threat of a lawsuit by the developer if the city did not grant the appeal, and it was delayed by a citizen's petition for an Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW). At the city's Zoning and Planning Committee, council members deadlocked on the appeal, leaving it to the full council to grapple with. The final discussion and vote had some surprising twists and turns.

At Friday's city council meeting, Council Member Hofstede offered a compromise in which the appeal would be denied in part, but a conditional use permit for 56 units would be granted. Before the council could discuss the motion, Council President Johnson offered substitute motion to grant the appeal for 79-units, with a caveat that permits would not be granted for one year in order to allow the developer to enter negotiations with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) about sale of the land for park. After some discussion and amendments, the council voted the motion down 7 to 4. The council then took up the Hofstede motion and deadlocked in a dramatic 6 to 6 vote. Those opposing the Hofstede compromise were of two camps. Goodman, Johnson, Remington and Samuels supported granting the appeal; Gordon and Hodges wanted to see full denial.

Seeing no possibility of a compromise and a 60-day clock that was about to run out, Council Member Schiff made a motion to adopt the staff report and deny the appeal, which passed 8-4 with minimal discussion. Voting to support Schiff's motion were Benson, Colvin Roy, Glidden, Gordon, Hodges, Hofstede, Ostrow and Schiff.

It was a long haul with some bumps along the road and a somewhat surprising finale. But in the end, the City Council did the right thing. They upheld the city's extensive and careful planning for a place of significance along the historic Minneapolis riverfront, and a place of great importance to the city's future growth in the surrounding neighborhood. It was clear that council members had spent a great deal of time poring over the extensive record of information submitted by both sides. After careful study, the City Council made an informed and thoughtful decision to stand up for riverfront protections and city plans. FMR would like to thank Councilmember Schiff, Gordon, Hodges and others that supported denying this appeal. We also thank the many groups, agencies and citizens that worked alongside us to protect the river from the negative impacts that would have resulted from approving this proposal.

Next steps are unclear, but it is hoped that the door to negotiation for acquiring the property will remain open. FMR hopes to play a constructive role in efforts to raise funds so MPRB can purchase the property for parkland.

For more on the project, please visit FMR's 600 Main Fact Sheet page.