Dan Bergeson, NDDC President, and I really miss Bagel Bros. Joe Grundhoefer, NDDC Vice President, and I really wish we could buy a pair of Dockers in town. Therefore, we’re kind of hoping for a Bruegger’s (or the local equivalent) and a place that sells Dockers as part of any development on the Q Block.

(…and, of course, we’re all assuming that the Quarterback Club would always be a part of the Q Block…)

The problem would be parking. Those types of stores really want to be sure that there’s plenty of it available. So you’d probably have to build a fair amount of parking on the site.

There’s also many people in town, including a number of NDDC stakeholders, that believe that crossing Highway 3 should be made safer. Some of the experts suggest that the key to making it safer is for north-south drivers to realize that they’ve entered our downtown and thus be encouraged to slow down. A substantial built presence, like a two-story structure with a near-zero lot-line, along the highway corridor would contribute to this desired realization.

A vision comes to my mind.

This is a relatively new structure at Grand and Victoria in St. Paul. It has a parking ramp hidden behind zero-lot line retail. Of course, you’d need a stop light at 3rd Street so people could get around to the ramp entrance.

Those are my thoughts about the Q Block Development. If anyone else has any photos of good development ideas, please send them to us, we’d be happy to post them. (Click the photo for a larger view.)