The proposed Pillsbury A Mill Complex, just across the river from downtown Minneapolis, is being touted as the future home to a community of artists by the developer Dominium. The buildings at the national historic landmark would be remodeled into 252 rental units, with one building set aside for commercial use.
The developer asked the Minneapolis City Council Zoning and Planning Committee for a variance in the number of parking spaces required for future tenants, usually one parking space for each dwelling unit, and came to the table with 260 available parking spaces.
That’s enough parking for everyone until you subtract 30 set aside for commercial use.
The neighbors were not happy. Most of the curb space in the area is posted for “no parking” or metered. A nearby ramp and a surface lot are both expensive.
“Parking is tough to find now,” said Peter Bachman, who lives in the area, and urged committee members to say no to the request for the variance, which would, Bachman said, “create a real livability problem for the neighborhood.”
Committee members approved all 260 parking spots for future tenants and guests with instructions to the developer to come back for another talk about parking when the commercial space is ready for occupancy.