Thursday, April 26, 2007

One down...

Well, one of the many eyesores on Gateway Drive has finally been destroyed. For the last couple of days, a small crew has been tearing down the old Transport Inc. building. The dilapidated structure, which used to offend from its position a block or two east of old Westward Ho property, is currently a pile of rubbish. This demolition was first mentioned on GFL last year.

Let's hope that the Weekley Auto Wrecking building/house are the next to go! This very visible stretch of Gateway seems to be a prime place for redevelopment of some sort. Let's just hope it won't be another auto parts store. Seriously, I see a gradual redevelopment of the Gateway corridor taking place over the next decade or so. I think some things are already in place for such a renaissance and I think we'll see more good news for the corridor in the future.

Goodbye, Gateway eyesore...you won't be missed. Now, if we could send that wrecking crew to a few other properties in your neck of the woods...

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

"One down"...that's laughable. Know what? That building had character. You point your finger at "the building". Will you be happy when some cheapo strip mall rolls in and sets up a sub shop, a Curves franchise, ANOTHER auto parts store, ANOTHER liquor store?

I know you want to slam me because "that buliding" was "ugly". Here's an example....Borrowed Bucks, Joe's Crab Shack, a killer modern diner (with great food), could have redeveloped that into a JEM. But, noooooo, we need new. What...the grass is ALWAYS greener? Not always!

It's no wonder the long time residents with REAL talent are running for thier lives and moving after generations. It's not just an "educate students, and walk 'em" outmigration anymore.

GFG...you have a great opportunity with this blog, mostly because the *City Beat blog is such a laydown. Take the high-road. Try some investigative reports. Are you too busy eating off the dollar menu of the most recent new franchise and your brain is malnourished? Is everyone that doesn't agree with you a "naysayer"?

*Sorry to pick on The Alerus (it's such an easy target), but I want to qualify my City Beat point...

T.T. reports on a "concert fund". Essentially, the commission says talent is bypassing G.F.. We're going to promote the shows "in-house" and bring in the talent. Welll....one year later, concert fund...GONE, and ZERO shows. I wonder if there's a story there? Also, T.T. reports that The Alerus Commission won't initiate pay parking because it would cost TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS to set up the systems, and we don't have it! Huh, now...paid parking? Where's the story on where the 250K comes from? Is it a genuine concern? Was it a bluff?

Sorry to sound like an asshole. I'm just an average dude. But, I, like most people, don't like to be played.

Anonymous said...

Yeah I was driving by there this morning and I saw it too! All that was left there was a flattened out pile of dirt. I sure hope Gateway Drive will look nicer and nicer in the future! Also, I saw the old Westward Ho under construction progress, at least the front of the building looks much nicer as of right now. The only problem is, with the nasty-old Simplot still there, no matter how nice they make that part of Gateway, the Simplot will still make that area look like crap. Agree?

Anonymous said...

Well personaly, i say those building were very nice. personally i wish they would never have considered taking one of our historical buildings. sure it may have needed a paint, and possible some foundation repairs. But why spend 300,000 on a new building when you can co get some cement and patch that old history up. and some paint from menards...... lets see here 30 bucks tops. so compare 300,000 to a couple hundred bucks. and guess who pays for it..... the cities taxpayers. So if you want a "nice" gateway drive go ahead and pay more money for the cause. Money you could use to refurbish your own home. You see this really ticks me off when things like this happen.

Anonymous said...

FACT...Simplot can "turn off" the stink, and blast it from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. It's a fact.

Problem is...our "city leaders" don't give a shit about the north end. The stink at Simplot helps further their cause.

Also...I'm not ripping on Simplot, they've been there a long time, they're a successful business, they employ hundreds, and don't stand at the EDC, and Jobs Commission (whatever it's called) with their had open everytime a fat kid rolls into MickeyD's and wants an order of fries.

(I'm generally a lover, just in a "mood" today).

Coffee Guy said...

This blog is HOT today!

Anonymous said...

CG, I suppose I could take you up on the offer to share a cup. But, that would be too easy. What I'm saying is...I'm profiling you dude. Now...I'm almost there. I've got you sitting with a freshly pressed, great, home-roasted, cup. You're in a quiet contemplative locale. It's not a church, necessarily, however, it is very spiritual. You're quiet, deep in thought, reacting favortively to every sip, almost orgasmic. You're thinking, hard. Maybe, perhaps, weighing Obama's chances over Hillary's. Now, I'm almost there. You're wearing sandals. One question....

Are you wearing socks with your sandals?

Your answer to this inquiry will complete my quest.

Thanks in advance.

Anonymous said...

yeah baby

Beth Lemer said...

If he is he must contemplate to himself...did Jesus wear socks with his sandels? Now..THATS deep.....;o)

Coffee Guy said...

Sorry, you're wrong on so many levels.

1. "sitting with a freshly pressed, great, home-roasted, cup...reacting favortively to every sip, almost orgasmic."

** Well, yes, that's true.


2. "You're in a quiet contemplative locale. It's not a church, necessarily, however, it is very spiritual."

** If you've ever been to my house, you'd know that between a hyperactive dog and kid, there is nothing quiet and spiritual about this place. Especially when I have some Bad Brains playing while I work.


3. "weighing Obama's chances over Hillary's"

** more like weighing Bill Richardson's chances.


4. "You're wearing sandals."

**Sandals? Wow, no. I'm 100% against sandals on men unless I'm at the beach, where I'm 95% against them. Have you ever noticed that a GREAT number of men have big, yellow, fungal, broken toenails? Well, I've noticed. I'm not sure what is the larger percentage, men with gross toes or men who don't wash their hands after using a bathroom.

I think I just threw up into my mouth a little bit.

BTW, I have well-kept, very much not gross toenails.

And I ALWAYS wash my hands when I need to, and I taught my kid to do the same.

You are still welcome to come over. Shoot me an e-mail at kidsoncoffee"at"gmail.com.

Justme2003 said...

Speaking of Gateway, I saw yesterday that Al's Grill & Catering is moving into the old Capone's building

GrandForksGuy said...

"Speaking of Gateway, I saw yesterday that Al's Grill & Catering is moving into the old Capone's building"

Really? That sounds like a good restaurant for that space. I've never been to Al's, but I'm thinking it isn't quite as "upscale" as Capones...right? That Capone's building is actually a very nice building for a restraurant, but the location makes an upscale restaurant there a silly idea. Al's sounds like a good fit for that building. As it is, I'm sure most people in town have never even heard of Al's...it's almost invisible in that strip mall on Washington. BTW, it would be kind of odd having a restaurant called "Capone's" replaced with a restaurant called "Al's".

DrJ said...

GFG -I was wondering if Al's is owned by the Capone's people? The name is scarily coincidental.

Anonymous said...

Industrial zones pretty much aren't very lovely to look at anywhere. Highway 2 is an industrial zone. The sooner everyone accepts that reality, the happier everyone will be.

Oh, and for anonymous who suggested Simplot "turn off the stink" to between 2am and 6am, the only way that would be possible is to run the factory 4 hours a day and leave it shut down 20 hours a day. You might as well just shut down the factory.

Anonymous said...

Hey tomteboda, you're assuming that "the stink" comes from the manufacturing process. It's my understanding that the origin of the odor is actually from their lagoon used for waste processing.

I know that they can control it (to an extent).

Anonymous said...

Anonymous, the "stink" is the manufacturing process. This is not an assumption, its the truth of the matter. Simplot paid for half of the city water treatment plant and sends their waste there. Lagoons have a very different odor than the one we asssociate with Simplot (which smells rather like burned rotten potatoes, not sewage).