KIX Field in South Minneapolis
The most impressive thing (to me) about KIX field in South Minneapolis wasn’t the throng of kids and families on the field last night.
And it wasn’t the brilliant bank of lights illuminating the field after dark, or the lush playing surface.
What most impressed me was that the field was only visible from the Mid-Town Greenway, a 5.5 mile, sunken railroad corridor-turned-bike path running between Lake Calhoun and the Mississippi (it connects to 80 more miles of bike paths).
Virtuous (Development) Cycle
Just to the north of the KIX field is the Wells Fargo (formerly Honeywell) building, which obscures the field from the street.
However, to the south KIX field runs parallel to the Mid-Town Greenway, where hundreds (thousands?) of bikers were passing by (including my group) on a gorgeous, warm summer night.
In fact, on my ride I noticed a handful of new businesses — including a restaurant on Lyndale and a bike shop near Chicago Ave. — that were either oriented towards the Greenway or even located directly on it, but were invisible from the street.
The effect is reminiscent of the High Line in lower Manhattan, where new development is playing off the High Line, which in turn makes the High Line (even) more interesting.
