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Development Around the Ralph


puck

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  • 2 months later...
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  • 4 weeks later...

The Jimmy Johns is now open on the south end (we stopped in to get a menu tonight) but they said the "Ralph-O-Rama's" Jimmy Johns wouldn't be opening until September...I guess they think us poor north-enders can't afford no gor-met sammiches and they prefer to wait until the students return...

PS - I'm starting a campaign to call the mini-mall the RALPH-O-RAMA...pass it on...

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  • 2 months later...
By the way who would want to live in the house right next to the ralph like in the parking lot i would hate all that traffic all the time. the dorm idea sounds like a good one tho.

I'm puzzled by the townhouse idea too except that I suppose it would be convenient if the tenants are Sioux fans and just want to walk to the games.

The restaurant in the development will be called 23 (does everyone know the significance of that?) and should open by the World Juniors.

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The townhomes have actually been selling very well. I think most people will be quite impressed with the complex once it's done. As far as traffic is concerned, sure it will be bad on game nights, just as it is anywhere within a several block radius of REA. But I would venture to guess that most of the people who buy the homes will also be season ticket holders, so any inconvenience the traffic causes will be more than offset by the convenience of being able to walk to and from the games (or the convenience of walking to and from work if he or she is a UND employee). My parents have already purchased one that will be pretty much right on the coulee and they are very excited about it.

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  • 1 month later...

Trio of Herald articles about the development today:

Boom town University Village is going up fast

"It's the most expensive quarter of land north of the Twin Cities," says Rick Tonder, UND's associate facilities director.

...

Completed this year were the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center ($7 million) and a mini-mall ($1.2 million).

Under construction are the 104,000 square-foot UND Wellness Center ($22 million), 13 townhomes ($7 million), the University Station gas station/convenience store ($2.2 million), an unnamed restaurant ($2 million) and a Community Bank of the Red River Valley branch ($1 million).

...

Olson, whose main partner is Randy Brown of Grand Forks, said the restaurant will be upscale, but with a casual feel along the lines of the franchised Fox Sports Grill and ESPN Zone, which also play off sports themes. It will have plasma television sets and a patio. Kim Holmes, owner of the Sanders 1997 restaurant downtown, is developing the menu.

An interesting history of the Bronson property and how it was ignored for so long:

UND expansion, Ralph, flood control project make Bronson prime property

Parking is always the victim:

REA loses some sports

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  • 4 weeks later...

From last week's Herald: Stores and housing proposed west of UND

Although not near the REA, the most interesting aspects of this development are the "Student" apartments and the New Urbanism aspect (mixing commercial and residential space in the same building). As the article implies, this smaller development buildings could be a sort of trial run for what the University Village will look like. The Excelsior and Grand development in St. Louis Park, a classical example of New Urbanism, may be a sort of template for what to anticipate near Engelstad.

UND made it official that they are interested in having a hotel built near the Ralph, which could only help the Betty to host conferences. Some interesting ideas:

Conceptual plans for the village include a $6 million, 100-room hotel directly north, and within walking distance, of the arena.

• Partnering it with Engelstad Arena, restaurants or other nearby University Village developments.

• Expanding UND's housekeeping services to a new hotel.

• Supplying hotel management assistance, using students in UND's College of Business and Public Administration programs.

• Building the hotel close to the $20 million student wellness center that's under construction. The two could feed off one another, or possibly share a swimming pool - something the wellness center won't have right away.

DEVELOPMENT: 'U village' attracts hoteliers to table

DEVELOPMENT: Breaking point?

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  • 1 year later...

Interesting articles from the NYTimes on the University of Connecticut's plan to construct a town center from scratch. Although not entirely applicable to UND's situation, the northeast corner of the Bronson Property is just begging for this type develop to help UND become even more attractive to students. UND's strategic plan (See Table 18) includes a $7 mill hotel and $10 mill urban village near the Ralph, but that pales in comparison with what UCONN is attempting on 15 acres.

StorrsCenter041115.jpg

Colleges have traditionally tempted top students with ivy-covered campuses, towering Gothic buildings and up-to-date student centers. But nowadays, there is a sense that a beautiful campus is not enough. An alluring college town is seen as necessary as well.

The University of Connecticut decided on a sweeping project at its main campus in this hamlet in the still-rural town of Mansfield. Working with local officials, it plans to demolish the meager downtown, which looks more like a makeshift set for a Hollywood western than a New England college center, and build a town from scratch.

Construction of the development, called Storrs Center, is scheduled to begin next year. The project will include up to 300 market-rate rental housing units, up to 500 residential units for purchase, about 200,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, 40,000 to 75,000 square feet of office space and 5,000 to 25,000 square feet of civic and community space. A town square will be at its core, mimicking the greens at the center of hundreds of New England villages.

University officials conduct a survey every two years of 9,000 undergraduate applicants who have been admitted; in any given year, about one-third attend and two-thirds decide to go elsewhere. The surveys indicate that the lack of a college town was the primary reason that students chose another university, said M. Dolan Evanovich, the vice provost for enrollment management at the university.

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  • 1 month later...

I wasn't sure where to put this, but it appears that the soccer field in front of Barnes & Noble it going to be used by the medical school. If that is the case, where is the soccer field going to be placed? Start conspiracies theories ........ now.

UND Bronson Property Booms

The university also has reserved the land occupied by a soccer field in front of Barnes and Noble for a proposed School of Medicine and Health Sciences building devoted to research. Tonder said the proposed new building would be paid for with some state funds and some local funds. He said he hopes it will be completed within the next four years.

There is also a mini-mall being built on the property.

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Weren't they at one time talking about putting a couple of student housing highrises on the Bronson property? But then said that they didn't want any buildings put up that would take away from the REA? As for a hotel going up by or close to the REA, with room being an issue, they would (or you would think) have to make that a highrise type hotel. Guess we'll wait and see.

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Start conspiracies theories ........ now.

'cause I know you'd expect nothing less from me, how about (multiple choice):

- soccer and lacrosse in a new indoor training center on field turf*

- soccer and lacrosse on field turf* in The Al

I hope I didn't disappoint. :lol::blush:

* NCAA rules require soccer on real grass or field turf. A soccer ball never stops rolling on Magic Carpet like what's in The Al or Memorial today.

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'cause I know you'd expect nothing less from me, how about (multiple choice):

- soccer and lacrosse in a new indoor training center on field turf*

- soccer and lacrosse on field turf* in The Al

I hope I didn't disappoint. :lol::blush:

* NCAA rules require soccer on real grass or field turf. A soccer ball never stops rolling on Magic Carpet like what's in The Al or Memorial today.

Sounds good - get your check book out. :huh:

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  • 2 years later...

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