When controversy happens….when tempers flare….we read the comments, so you don’t have to. Emergency kitten Perhaps you have heard of the Ford Site, in St. Paul? It is no longer being used to make trucks. It is one of the largest, best pieces of land to be developed in the city core right now on […]
Here’s a map that comes from the real estate marketing packet for Saint Paul’s famous Ford Site, the 100+ acre former truck factory in Highland. It shows the “retail” near the site, using logos and arrows. For one thing, this map shows how many Paneras and Targets are nearby. But on top of that, […]
One of the riverbank exits of the Ford Plant tunnel system
Ford site retail parking
Ford Plan 1930
Ford Plan overview
Aerial photo of Ford development site.
Ford plan under construction in 1924. When you teach urban geography, you inevitably come across the concept of “post-Fordism.” The term refers to the shifting economic and geographic arrangements that followed in the wake of globalization, automation, and technological revolutions. The concept is best illustrated by the transformation of the auto industry in […]
The current Ford Site at it’s most scenic. In August 2016, the city of Saint Paul lost a court case in the Minnesota Supreme Court. It was about right-of-way fees, a primary funding source for the city’s roads. To make a long story short, the court found that the fee was not a fee but […]
The 135-acre Ford Plant site in Saint Paul. (Pioneer Press: Ben Garvin) As the public forums churn on to test visions of how the former Ford Plant property might be developed, I find little evidence of complementary planning to alleviate the impact on the communities surrounding the Ford site. At a recent gathering, participants […]