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Columbia Arena

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Buzzfeed: 'Mighty Ducks' movies, Mississippi River among '38 Things Minnesotans Are Too Nice to Brag About'

Fridley has ties to the 'Ducks' franchise and a whopping seven-mile stretch of North America's longest river.

Mighty Ducks movies the Mighty Mississippi take their place beside tater tots, Bob Dylan and butter sculptures in one of Buzzfeed's trademark lists, 38 Things Minnesotans Are Too Nice to Brag About. Fridley can lay claim to its share of credit for both the hockey flicks and the river. The city of Fridley has about seven miles of Mississippi River shoreline. D3: The Mighty Ducks, the 1996 installment in the Mighty Ducks film franchise, showed the world the inside of the now-closed Columbia Arena on University Avenue NE in Fridley. In Buzzfeed's opinion: The greatest movie franchise of all time is basically a documentary about Minnesota hockey. Have you guys ever seen a flock of ducks flying in perfect formation? It's beautiful. Pretty …

Sunday, May 6, 2012

What's Happening at Columbia Arena on University Avenue in Fridley?

Centerpoint Energy's project on E. River Rd. starts Monday.

Not much happens most of the time at the old Columbia Arena on University Avenue NE, but when there is activity there, people notice. A couple people contacted Fridley Patch via our Facebook page and our news tips feature about what's going on at the arena, where trucks and other equipment has appeared recently.  Here is how City of Fridley Community Development Director Scott Hickok explained the situation via email:  Currently CenterPoint Energy is using the parking area of the former arena for staging their pipe and equipment for a project along East River Road. They anticipate they will use the lot for about 6 months. As for the Senior Residential Development on that site, the owner/developer has been meeting with staff and providing …

Monday, December 5, 2011

Fridley Council Meets Monday

Read the Fridley Council agenda, including a request for proposals on garbage and recycling.

The Fridley City Council will start a search for a company to provide trash and recycling pickups if it approves a request-for-proposals (RFP) at its meeting Monday night. The city's current contract with Allied Waste Services expires on March 31, 2012. The RFP allows for Allied and other companies to compete for residential service. The meeting starts at 7:30 p.m. at the council chambers at Fridley City Hall. It also includes a public meeting on the 2012 City of Fridley budget. Other items on the agenda (see short version here or full agenda above) are:

Sarah Keisha

9:27 am on Saturday, October 27, 2012

Thank you for posting this. We we'll see what happen with garbage disposal and management after the meeting. After all we know that private ones do the job better than public sewer contractors   more ›

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Fridley Wood Debris Stacking Up as Planned at Columbia Arena

Drop off and pick ups will resume Tuesday.

The City of Fridley program to pick up and accept dropoffs of wood debris from the May 22 tornado is going "reasonably well," according to Director of Public Works Jim Koslucher. After a two-day break, the program resumes Tuesday at 8 a.m. "Residents can move their tree waste to the curb prior to next Tuesday and boulevard pickup will be honored," Kosluchar said by email Friday. "After that, when we move through an area we will be done with that area." The program are designed to serve areas of the city that suffered storm damage, so pickups are restricted to those areas and residents dropping off wood debris should bring ID.  On Friday afternoon, a steady stream of resident, contractor and city vehicles arrived at the Columbia Arena lot …

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Fridley Collecting Wood from Tornado-downed Trees Through May 31

Crews making single sweep to pick up curbside piles.

Fridley's tornado-related wood-removal program is underway and will continue through Tuesday, May 31.  The Fridley City Council approved the program Monday night. At midday Tuesday, the city's Department of Public Safety announced details about the weeklong program.  City crews are beginning to pick up curbside piles of brush, branches and logs that are no longer than six feet. The city government asked residents and property owners with trailers or other means of transporting wood waste to bring it to the Columbia Arena parking lot, 7011 University Ave NE, from 8 a.m.–8 p.m. (daily except Sunday).  Director of Public Works Jim Kosluchar told the city council Monday that he expected crews to visit the most heavily damaged sections of the …

Monday, May 23, 2011

Document: Fridley Tornado Cleanup Plan

City will take wood leftover from fallen trees.

The Fridley City Council approved this plan Monday night to assist with disposal of trees downed by Sunday's tornado. As in 2005 and other years when storms knocked down many trees in Fridley, the city government will grind wood from storm-damaged trees that residents and property owners bring to the Columbia Arena parking lot—or stacked by the street, if they have no way of transporting the wood. Still to be determined: the hours and dates of operation and exactly which properties are eligible. City staff said those details would be posted on the city's website Tuesday.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Assisted-Living Project Adds to Senior Housing

New apartments help meet the needs of Fridley's older residents.

Construction of an assisted-living facility on Old Central Avenue brings Fridley closer to meeting its goal of providing adequate housing for older residents. White Pine Senior Living’s facility at 6352 Old Central Ave. will be built in two phases. The first, already under construction, is scheduled to be completed by April 1 and will have 40 one-bedroom and studio apartments. Of those units, 22 will be in a secured area for residents with illnesses that impair memory. The second phase, which is not yet scheduled, will consist of 19 studio apartments. The facility is privately financed. Community Development Director Scott Hickok said the addition of the White Pine apartments, as well as other projects under development, goes a long way …

Hazel

10:53 am on Tuesday, January 29, 2013

I have to disagree! My family has two loved ones at the Fridley location and the LOVE the staff and management at that facility! They are all like our family, yes they have some turn over with staff it's only because the maganement does not have people work there that so not love the elderly or passionate about thier job. I am ver satisfied with the staff and magagement at white pine of fridley. …   more ›

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Unity Hospital Campus Gains New Fridley Medical Center

Massage and acupuncture at Virginia Piper Cancer Institute-Unity Hospital are available to all.

In the span of a year, the former Fridley Medical Center on Osborne Road has been reduced to surface parking for Unity Hospital next door—and a new medical center has risen nearby to replace it. The new two-story, $14 million Fridley Medical Center opened last month and houses Multicare Associates, a clinic owned by its health care providers which also has locations in Blaine and Roseville. "This was going to be built on the Columbia Arena site [south on University Avenue]," said Fridley Community Development Director Scott Hickok. But that 2009 plan, for a smaller, 50,000 square-foot building, died when a co-developer backed out. The Unity Hospital campus site attracted more businesses interested in moving in. Multicare is just one of …

Monday, December 13, 2010

Columbia Arena Set for Conversion to Senior Citizen Apartments

The project, pending financing, would re-use the ice rink's shell to house the elderly.

Where Zambonis once zoomed, motorized wheelchairs might soon meander. Where coaches once counted assists, developers now count assisted-living units.  The Columbia Arena skating rink on University Avenue, vacant since 2005, is poised for a dramatic conversion to senior citizen apartments, pending financing that the developer's representative says could come within the next two weeks. A somewhat skeptical Fridley City Council cleared the way for the redevelopment last week, approving a zoning variance and special-use permits for the project. Several officials remarked at the meeting that the city has seen many recent redevelopment plans fail to go forward, including a different proposal last year for a new Fridley Medical Center on the …

Nick Tuomi

4:00 am on Monday, March 5, 2012

I agree with Fredy it would be a great location for an indoor soccer facility plus bring in younger revenue to the Fridley area because we all know it needs it!   more ›

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