[Vision2020] Sangria Favored for Sixth & Jackson?

[Saundra Lund]

Visionaries:

Does anyone know more about the MURA development of Sixth & Jackson?
Somehow, I've missed out on the discussion & am interested in learning more.
There was an article in today's Daily News, but there weren't many details &
it sounds like a decision may be made tomorrow morning?  Have there been any
meetings with stakeholders to present the proposals and take public comment,
or did I just miss the announcements?

It seems to me I recall reading an article about Gritman's proposal a month
or so ago that I thought would be a fantastic addition to our community.  In
a state with many employers who are exempted from providing health care
insurance for employees and that has refused to expand Medicaid, it would
have brought much needed affordable mental health & dental care to our
community, and I think it was also going to house the Recovery Center
Darrell has posted about.  Plus, it would have brought much needed decent
wage jobs to our community, which was particularly appealing to me.

After reading the article in today's paper, I see that the Sangria
Development proposal scored higher on some basis that wasn't clear to me.
Don't get me wrong -- I love the Sangria Restaurant, and I think their
proposal is lovely . . .  but I'm not sure it's a good fit for downtown
Moscow.

So, is the Sangria Restaurant going to move from the mall to downtown?  What
parking provisions are there for restaurant customers?  I see that there
will be parking for the micro-apartment tenants, which is great.

And, if the Sangria moves downtown, will they keep Maialina (another place I
really enjoy) open to compete with themselves?  The food is quite different,
but I'd sure hate to see Maialina close -- there were three years or so that
prime location right on the corner of Main & Sixth was closed & dark, which
wasn't good for the city.

I'm very intrigued by the whole micro-apartment aspect -- does anyone know
what kind of micro-apartments these will be?  I know a little bit about
micro-apartments in other (urban & European) areas, so I'm curious who the
target renters will be?

Another aspect that's near & dear to my heart is accessibility  :-)  I
notice that all of the micro-apartments are on the second floor.  Does
anyone know what -- if any -- provisions there for those with mobility
challenges or will they simply be excluded as potential tenants in this new
construction housing?

If anyone can share more details, I'd greatly appreciate it!


Saundra Lund
Moscow, ID

Teaching a child not to step on a caterpillar is as valuable to the child as
it is to the caterpillar.
~ Bradley Miller