Video: The landscaping around the new Heritage Apartments development

[I’m going to be doing more experimentation with video here on LoGroNo so brace yourselves—it’s not likely to be pretty. You’ll notice a major audio goof in the first 10 seconds of this one: I say “Heritage Construction” instead of “Jasnoch Construction.”]

In an April blog post, I wrote about the new luxury apartment building that Jasnoch Construction was putting up on the southern edge of Northfield. They’re doing some significant landscaping for the project. Here’s a 2.5 minute tour.

9 Comments

  1. The landscaping looks great, and I’m generally excited about this project. It’s always great to see infill instead of taking more farmland, but this particular development has some extra plusses:

    • High density
    • Mixing residential and commercial (the lots on Jefferson Road are designated to be commercial).
    • Sidewalks! Apparently both new streets will have sidewalks on both sides. Jefferson Road and the connecting portion of Heritage Drive already have sidewalks on both sides.
    • No dead ends — and, hopefully, the north-south street (Declaration St) will eventually connect Heritage Dr to Honeylocust.

    Really my only objection is with those street names — not a fan of either “Legacy Lane” or “Declaration Street.” Thumbs up to Jasnoch. It’s hard to believe this is the same company responsible for extremely pedestrian-unfriendly Heritage Square.

    July 9, 2009
  2. Charlene Coulombe-Fiore said:

    Jasnoch was the best landlord and group of people I had the opportunity to work with in Northfield. They are wonderful and glad to see the community acknowledging their fine work and dedication to the community.

    Great Job!!!

    July 10, 2009
  3. Griff Wigley said:

    Thanks, Charlene… great to hear. I’ll alert them with an email.

    Sean, south Northfield is infested with those types of street names (Jefferson, Adams, Heritage, Constitution, etc).

    July 10, 2009
  4. I don’t object to the fact that the streets relate to America, I object to the fact that they seems patriotic in such a vague, unclear way. Thomas Jefferson was an actual, legit person to name a street (or several streets, in our case) after. “Legacy” is totally meaningless. I suppose Heritage is not particularly specific either, but it’s also been there for 20+ years — harder to get worked up about now.

    July 10, 2009
  5. Patrick Enders said:

    I agree on the odd names.

    Union St may seem fairly bland now, but it was certainly laden with meaning in the 19th century – assuming the name goes back that far.

    July 10, 2009
  6. Charlene Coulombe-Fiore said:

    I have seen street names around tree names….Indian tribes, flowers, and I am sure everyone else has as well…elm, oak, etc., I have also seen names after elected officials….why one developer even offered to name a bike lane, Char Lane….(Coulombe Drive) and often friends, family names get thrown in the mix as well, Lindsay Lane, after the Mayor’s daughter in one town. Why one day, there may be a Rossing or lansing Drive, for all one knows. The trouble is to find “themes” or names that work for everyone, is tough. Depending on how many streets are in the development. Jasnoch has the right to call the streets whatever they choose, as long as they are not duplicated to create any confusion in town. I am sure they would be open to suggestions, but again, there will always be someone who would prefer something different. Sounds to me like the street names are coming from making history in Northfield. Kinda cute actually. Legacy lane…I’d like that one. As far as “unfriendly” developments done by them, there is always a reason as to why things get developed as they do. Often, it is not a choice made lightly. Could be code restrictions, land restrictions, safety, or something perhaps not clear to you or I. But before I would crucify them, or make fun of something, I would ask them. I am sure they have a story or two to tell you on how the development process went and why it ended up the way it did. It’s not always the developer’s fault is my point. Just a thought. I have seen a lot of crazy things done during the development process and it does not always make sense.

    July 10, 2009
  7. john george said:

    The whole idea of naming a street is to aid in locating it on a street map. Names are subjective which, IMO, makes them neither right nor wrong. Complaining about a street name in a particular developer’s developement is a little like complaining about what name he gave to his son or daughter. It really isn’t anyone else’s business, as long as it does not violate common decency.

    July 11, 2009
  8. The street names are not an important conflict, but I don’t see any real problem with disliking them. I do think they’re wrong, though not because I kind of cringe at these specific names, but because they’re navigationally meaningless. Unlike the county/township numbers, they don’t increase alphabetically in any direction. Legacy Lane could be West 22nd St (or perhaps 22nd Lane or Road or something, since it’s not a through-street), and that I really can’t imagine would bother anyone.

    As far as “unfriendly” developments done by them, there is always a reason as to why things get developed as they do. Often, it is not a choice made lightly.

    Char, you know you’re right, I shouldn’t assume. I’ll contact Jasnoch and ask about the pedestrian access to Heritage Square.

    July 11, 2009
  9. john george said:

    Sean- I had the opportunity last month to travel by auto through the Massachussetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Vermont areas. If you think roads can be confusing around here, you should try navigating those states sometime. As my son said on the trip, it is evident that these roads were not laid out according to the Jeffersonian Grid System. Another place it is always fun to try to navigate is Eden Prairie. The next step in confusion is when a route goes through an urban area. The same road has a street name, a county road number, a stae highway number and a national highway number.

    July 12, 2009

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