Newman Center project

[Bison bison]

Father Cheney is pretty cool guy. He was a parish priest in Devils Lake when I was in High School.

[BadlandsBison]

Father Cheney is pretty cool guy. He was a parish priest in Devils Lake when I was in High School.

Yup. Extremely dedicated guy, can't see him ignoring anybody who asked for his help.

[THEsocalledfan]

Father Cheney is pretty cool guy. He was a parish priest in Devils Lake when I was in High School.

So, incorrect priest? That could explain the lack of contact.

[bisonbuddy]

So, incorrect priest? That could explain the lack of contact.

No. They are both there, we were told to contact Msgr Schlesselman and were both told he would get back to my son. Sounds like Father Cheney should have been the guy recommended.

[HerdBot]

I went to google maps and there is already a 4 or 8 plex apartment at the end of the block they are tearing down and right across the street on the other side of University, there is another large apartment called Sully Place. Doesn't appear that the zoning standards are being enforced anyways or they are very inconsistent.

I don't think this will make the area much more dense either way.

Removing 17 large houses. Most of those houses were split up into apartments and assuming they had between 8-10 people living in them, that's 136- 170 people there already.

Replacing it with

136-units but according to their fundraising site it's for staff and students, it says "75 - 100 beds for student faith-based housing." Priests obviously don't take up more than 1 bed and they were already there to begin with.

Worst case scenerio
136 units x 2 people = 272 people plus another 24 units

That's up about a hundred people. Then there are the other 24 units that may be a wash from staff people who were already living there.

And with the parking in the back, it's not going to have much of an impact on traffic. If anything, students will be able to walk to campus since it's kitty corner.

[Hammerhead]

No young family is going to want to move into that part of town. I feel for them that everything is changing but they are kind of clinging to a fantasy at this point.

Or older families. We were 47 three years ago and looked at a house in that area that was remodeled, but the rest of the block was a dump.

[Bison bison]

So, incorrect priest? That could explain the lack of contact.

Yep. I'd actually blame this on the local priest. He probably knows and respects the monsignor (who is assigned to the Newman Center), but he's not the right person to talk to.

Stereotyping, but there are usually different qualities that make one a good parish priest versus a monsignor.

I'd bet a donut that the local priest finds Father Cheney off-putting, as he's a vibrant guy which is exactly why he's a very good fit for the Newman Center. I'll go further and bet that the monsignor is parked there as he shouldn't have a parish of his own, but it fills a need for another priest and keeps him in Fargo to do more diocesan work, which he is probably great at (and makes him better known around the diocese and appealing to some priests - as he's more scholarly, more reverent, or something that makes him more appealing to the local priest).

[roadwarrior]

What the issue with the height?

I think it will pass since it's a block away from commercial to the south and to the north there is already commercial. Plus Churches are typically in residential neighborhoods.

The south end of the block is 11th Ave. The closest commercial to the south is at 8th Ave. I don't think the neighborhood association has an issue with the new church. Their issue is with single family homes being replaced by a 5 story apartment building. Height was a factor in the design of the project across from the SHAC. The tallest portion of the building is along University Drive, not directly across the street from the single family homes on 12th St.

[roadwarrior]

I went to google maps and there is already a 4 or 8 plex apartment at the end of the block they are tearing down and right across the street on the other side of University, there is another large apartment called Sully Place. Doesn't appear that the zoning standards are being enforced anyways or they are very inconsistent.

All of the lots on University are currently zoned for multiple. All of the lots on 12th St and 11th Ave are zoned single family.

I'm not here arguing against the project. I am simply pointing out what obstacles they are going to face. No doubt eventually the planning commission will go along with the project although you might see major changes to what is currently being proposed for the apartment building. Then the city commission will OK the project by either a 4-1 or 3-2 vote depending on how Strand votes.

[bisonbuddy]

Yep. I'd actually blame this on the local priest. He probably knows and respects the monsignor (who is assigned to the Newman Center), but he's not the right person to talk to.

Stereotyping, but there are usually different qualities that make one a good parish priest versus a monsignor.

I'd bet a donut that the local priest finds Father Cheney off-putting, as he's a vibrant guy which is exactly why he's a very good fit for the Newman Center. I'll go further and bet that the monsignor is parked there as he shouldn't have a parish of his own, but it fills a need for another priest and keeps him in Fargo to do more diocesan work, which he is probably great at (and makes him better known around the diocese and appealing to some priests - as he's more scholarly, more reverent, or something that makes him more appealing to the local priest).

He should have passed the request off to Father Cheney or at least made some type of effort to help my son. There is no excuse for how it was handled. 4-5 calls and none returned, from clergy whose calling is to help others.