The Bridge -

Unrequited love in the Witch’s Hat Tower

Reporter2 — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 11:46:32 -0500

by Jen Ortendahl and Jeremy Stratton

ScreenLabs contest brings filmmakers to Prospect Park icon

A collection of recently created short films includes an iconic setting familiar to many Bridgeland neighbors — the Witch’s Hat Tower in Prospect Park.

The annual ScreenLabs film competition — for which local screenwriters and filmmakers make original films with grassroots connections to Minnesota — requires participants to write, produce, film and edit their movies while following a theme and including a specific Minnesota location. This year’s films had to include the tower and a theme of unrequited love.

Though 33 people registered for this year’s competition, nine completed films appear on the ScreenLabs website. Visitors to the website can vote on which is best. The films will be screened, and winners will be announced, on Oct. 11 at the annual meeting of the Screenwriters’ Workshop at Minneapolis Community and Technical College.

ScreenLabs Executive Producer Robb Mitchell views the challenge as “a discovery process, as filmmaking is a highly collaborative effort; and in order for the writers, directors and talent to be successful in this art form, they must form teams of talented individuals and then focus and channel those abilities collectively.

“We put forward these obstacles and see what happens, what comes out of it,” said Mitchell. “This encourages people to be imaginative and get involved with the community.”

One challenge was the inclusion of the Witch’s Hat Tower, which is only open to the public once a year (during the Pratt Ice Cream Social). Some filmmakers, like Chris Durant, paid for permits and insurance to film inside the tower, while others found other ways to include the tower.
For his film Speaking to the Sky, Durant paid permit fees of $400 (discounted because he is a student) to shoot in the actual tower itself. “The Witch’s Hat Tower became a significant piece of the story,” he said, “as it became a special place for one of the characters in the story.”

Speaking to the Sky is about a young man who has floated from foster home to foster home since the age of 13, because of his family’s inability to accept their son’s sexuality. “I like that my story deals with a subject matter that is often unacknowledged,” said Durant, who said he’s “experienced hatred as a member of the GLBT community.”

In another film, Chris Jones’ Out of Time, the tower was used as not only setting but as a metaphor for unrequited love. An artist sketching the tower meets a jogger in the park at its base. “No matter where I stand, I cannot get a view of the entire tower, top to bottom,” he tells the woman. “The top of the hat is missing; it is as if she always wants to keep a part of herself hidden.”

The woman reveals that she has keys for the tower, and the two climb to the top, where the film culminates with a love-ballad musical number.

Julie Kane Meyer found her own way of including the monument. Instead of paying “big bucks for permits,” Meyer decided to film the tower from the street and use a set of woods located in Bloomington with the same feel as those around the tower.

Meyer wrote the winning film in last year’s challenge and added the roles of producer, director, composer, and graphic designer for her 2008 film, Good Love Rises, about a nursing home orderly who takes a woman and her catatonic husband for a picnic on their 50th wedding anniversary.

Meyer said her film “has a brightness to it that offsets some of the sadness associated with loving someone who can’t love you back.”

Though Meyer is finding a new way to challenge herself this year by taking on a bigger role in the production of her own film, she has not lost sight of what she feels is most important in the competition.

“We are all helping each other by proofing scripts, getting equipment, acting as extras, [giving] general advice on where to find things and who to cast,” she said. “I believe you can’t do anything in this world with a zero-sum-game mentality. We’ve got to help each other to get better, to build up the community in the Twin Cities in whatever way we can. It’s all about making art.”

The ScreenLabs Challenge gives out four awards for the submitted films. A jury will select the best film, runner up and best screenplay, while a fourth award will be given for audience choice.

While winning is a nice perk, recognition is not the top priority for the filmmakers. Durant said he’s excited for people to see his film, although he wouldn’t mind winning. “I invested some serious pennies and time into this production,” he said, “but I did this challenge because I was moved to.”

Meyer feels the same. “It’s gone beyond competition, into the realm of community,” she said. “I can truly say we are a community of artists and writers, and it’s fun. It’s great just to see movies being made, and it sure beats having all those wonderful stories sit in the drawers.

“Their victory is your victory,” she said. “And vice versa.”

Glendale food shelf nonprofit under investigation; program being reorganized

Reporter2 — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 10:10:04 -0500

by Scott Russell, Twin Cities Daily Planet

The Minneapolis Public Housing Authority (MPHA) has asked federal investigators to look into financial irregularities at the Glendale Residents Organization, a now-folded nonprofit that provided services at the 184-unit town home near the University of Minnesota.

Cora McCorvey, MPHA executive director, said staff oversaw contracts for the organization and discovered inappropriate withdrawals from a food shelf account. Staff contacted the bank, found inconsistencies and sent the information to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Inspector General.
“They are actively investigating this case,” McCorvey said.

MPHA first learned about the problem in late spring, McCorvey said. From what staff knows, it had been going on roughly six months before it was discovered.
She did not give a dollar estimate, saying the books were still being audited. “I can tell you it was a number that disturbed us,” she said.

The Minnesota Attorney General’s website provides information on nonprofit organizations and their Form 990s, the nonprofit’s version of a tax return. It listed the Glendale Residents Organization but gave its status as “withdrawn.”

The most current return on file, for fiscal year ending May 31, 2006, listed annual revenue of $40,723. It also said the organization ended that year $1,295 in the red.
The organization’s purpose was to provide, through programs and contracts, advocacy, the food shelf, welcome committee, laundry facility, youth council, resident employment, childcare and interpreters for community meetings, the website said.

McCorvey said she has asked the Minneapolis Highrise Residents Council to help restart a residents’ organization. It will hand-pick and train members.
The food shelf remains closed. MPHA is working with a social service agency to reopen it soon.

The Bridge adds: Ginia Klamecki, a Glendale food shelf volunteer for 20 years through Prospect Park United Methodist Church, said in August that the food shelf is being reorganized under the sponsorship of Eastside Neighborhood Services (ESNS). In May of this year, ESNS Executive Director Bill Laden told The Bridge that his organization was considering a reorganization of the closed program. Calls to Glendale management were not returned at that time.

Though an exact opening date is not known, Klamecki said it will be open just two days a week.

“[It] will need much community support in the forms of volunteers, funds and food,” she wrote on the Prospect Park e-list. Grants restricted to non-food support have been applied for, but food is expected to cost $900 a month for the 8,000 pounds required to feed approximately 150 families twice a week. Food from sources like Second Harvest is 16 cents a pound, she wrote.

If and when the program reopens and a manager is hired, donations will be welcomed. Klamecki emphasized that while many people like to donate food, money goes much further.

Jeremy Stratton contributed to this article.

State primary election is Sept. 9

Reporter2 — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 09:57:15 -0500

by Jeremy Stratton

On Tuesday, Sept. 9, eligible Minneapolis voters can cast their ballots to send candidates for a number of federal, state and local offices on to the Nov. 4 general election.

Offices on Bridgeland area primary ballots include U.S Senate, U.S. Representative District 5, State Representative Districts 58B (which includes Downtown East) and 59B (Cedar-Riverside and Southeast neighborhoods), two Supreme Court Associate Justices and one Fourth District Court seat, and Minneapolis School Board.

Eligible voters — U.S. citizens at least 18 years old who have resided in Minnesota for at least 20 days prior to the election — may register on election day at their respective precinct’s polling place.

For a host of election information, including links to county and state information, visit www.ci.mpls.mn.us/elections. Election information is also available by calling Minneapolis 311.

Get to know the School Board candidates

Reporter1 — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 10:22:07 -0500

by Jeremy Stratton and James Sanna, Twin Cities Daily Planet

On Sept. 9, Minneapolis voters will send six of nine candidates for School Board to the general election on Nov. 4. Those six will then vie for three at-large seats.

In late August, The Bridge and the Twin Cities Daily Planet teamed up to profile the nine candidates. Click on each name to see the candidates’ respective profiles. Address and phone numbers are provided from public filing information; website or email has been provided by the candidate, when applicable.

Carla Bates
Mary Buss
Jill Davis
Thomas Dicks
Sharon Henry-Blythe
Allison Johnson
Lydia Lee
Doug Mann
Kari Reed

West Bank Community Coalition, August 20 board meeting

jeremy — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 15:47:54 -0500

by Roxanne Bergeron

NO SEPTEMBER MEETING; Bluff Street Park memorial; Smith Partners representation; Gateway demonstration project; LRT stations to be expanded; safety walking patrols

Editor’s note: In our September print issue, a WBCC board meeting is listed on the calendar for Sept. 17. In fact, no September meeting was scheduled. The next WBCC meeting is on Oct. 15; see info at the bottom of this post.

35W MEMORIAL PROJECT/BLUFF STREET TASK FORCE
Task force co-chair Rosemary Knutson explained to the board that the area is currently a staging area for the 35W bridge repair, and people want a memorial created on the bluff.

“Everybody grieves,” Knutson said.

Knutson described that the bluff as a place where people can go and commune with nature. She shared her vision of creating a big historical area including a memorial, the bluff and Bohemian Flats, and suggested the Minnesota Historical Society might be solicited to get involved.

“This is our next step forward with that,” Knutson said.

The board passed a resolution requesting the Minnesota Department of Transportation to preserve some of the twisted steel beams and other bridge remnants from the collapsed structure for the creation of a community memorial.

SMITH PARTNERS PROPOSAL/CEDAR-RIVERSIDE PARTNERSHIP UPDATE
Board member Todd Smith explained that a process began two years ago to bring large businesses, neighborhood partners, funding partners and institutional players into a partnership to benefit the community, institute change and develop long-terms plans.

Smith described the four basic issues: safety and security, youth, jobs creation, and parking. Fairview Hospital is the largest employer in the neighborhood, Smith said.

Some discussion ensued regarding a return on investment, communication, altruism, and the partnership’s desire to have a single formal representative at the next meeting.

Smith said that the WBCC board’s role was informational, “not to drive the agenda” for the partnership.

“Let’s let them go at it and see what happens,” Smith said. The process is going on in an “altruistic fashion.”

Board member Doris Wickstrom commented that she wants to see a “community benefit agreement” document developed, and that such a document was not about telling people how to do their job.

Wickstrom and board president Laura Silver expressed their desire for improved communication between the board and the partnership. Wickstrom suggested that representatives from the partnership attend a board meeting to discuss its workings.

Silver commented that to date there had been no formal communication between the WBCC and the partnership.

“It’s an issue of respect, professionalism and transparency,” Silver said.

Board member Jim Ruiz expressed his desire to join Smith as a board representative to the partnership to bring the renter/resident perspective to meetings. Smith objected to this, saying that the partnership wanted only one representative, particularly if a voting matter should arise.

Wickstrom said it was important to have a residential perspective to balance the business perspective and that she would be more comfortable with two representatives.

A motion was made and passed that both Smith and Ruiz would serve as representatives.

GATEWAY DEMONSTRATION PROJECT NEWS
Sheila Delaney of the West Bank Business Association gave a presentation to the board regarding the University District Partnership Alliance (UDPA).

A project to demonstrate a solid alliance between the neighborhoods has been requested. Delaney explained that the project must be “replicable, innovative and demonstrable,” and that the beacon project may not be enough of a project to fit these criteria.

The Metro Design Center (MDC) will need to be involved as well, said Delaney, as they will be doing an analysis of all community planning, speaking to what will benefit the community. She explained that whatever the MDC accomplishes for Cedar-Riverside will go into a handbook to share with other neighborhoods in the future.

Project ideas include building a kiosk to served as a gateway to the West Bank, perhaps located at the Cedar Cultural Center, for wayfinding and as a community board. Funding for façade improvements, lighting improvements, and the third beacon are also included.

Delaney asked for a motion of support from the board, stating that it is important to demonstrate that all the parties are working together as a community. She wants to keep communication tight to avoid any communication breakdown as was experienced earlier this summer.

The board passed the motion.

UDPA BOARD UPDATE
Wickstrom advised the board that a meeting, the location of which is yet to be determined, was scheduled for Sept. 20 at 8:30 a.m. She said it is an open meeting focused on what each neighborhood’s plans are, and so the meeting needs board participation.

CURA is sponsoring an event on October 17 that will highlight some guests from Ohio State University, who will discuss their experience working with adjacent neighborhoods.

The alliance is working on a website, Wickstrom said, and a volunteer is needed to write something about the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood for inclusion on the website. UPDA representative Peg Wolff said there will be a property/neighborhood link on the site to “get a sense of the flavor of the neighborhood.”

COUNCILMEMBER CAM GORD’S REPORT
Gordon’s aide, Robin Garwood, highlighted for the board three pertinent items on the report:

Gordon is calling for the City of Minneapolis to establish a moratorium on demolition of single family homes, duplexes and triplexes in the University District area. Gordon has also called for a study that addresses land use and development concerns in the University district, including parking, occupancy, design standards, zoning, inspections and the development review process — “all those pieces that make for a better neighborhood,” said Garwood.

Garwood said that someone needed to participate along with Haila Maze, the staff member who drafted the Cedar-Riverside small area plan and who will be leading the effort for the City.

Gordon supports Rybak’s budget item investing $2.1 million in lighting for the Hiawatha LRT bike trail beginning in 2013. Garwood advised the board that the Cedar-Riverside LRT and downtown are not likely to be lit up anytime soon.

The Cedar-Riverside LRT station is one of several stations slated for a size increase to accommodate three-car trains. The larger station size may help eliminate bike/LRT rider conflicts, Garwood said. The expansion will extend the station for 70 feet to the south. The construction project is scheduled to begin next spring and be completed by the spring of 2010.

The station will be closed thee or four times during that period, said Garwood. “It’s an electricity issue.”

EVENTS RECAP
“It was a beautiful day,” said Wickstrom of the Bohemian Flats Day event held on Aug. 16. She attended the event in an official capacity to help sign people up for the energy challenge.

The National Night Out event at Currie Park was well attended, reported board member Benjamin Marcy. Some 200 people and came to participate, and the event enjoyed business contributions. Wickstrom added that the Riverside NNO had a great turnout, as well.

SAFETY COMMITTEE
Board member Russom Solomon reported that safety patrol walks continue to help build community relationships. “It was a fair turnout,” he said of the last walk, which are held on Tuesdays and Fridays. On the walks, participants are able to clean up the streets, clean graffiti, and get to know their neighbors.

Russom urged the board members to show up for the walking patrols. He would like to do daily walks but “people don’t show up.”

Smith commented that block clubs should be resident driven; Marcy said that the walks began with six Tower residents, including Somali women elders. He added that there is no access to these residents on a daily basis.

Wickstrom suggested that staffer Hani Mohamed could possibly send out an impact statement to encourage participation.

NRP CONTRACT CLOSEOUT
Silver and board member Robert Metcalf are working on the final reimbursement forms to report the final balance on the contract. A check that never cleared the account is causing an issue, as the monies must be held for two years. The monies to accommodate the check will be set aside then turned over to the Cedar-Riverside NRP at that time.

“We’re doing the right thing as far as following employment law,” said Silver.

LAND USE COMMITTEE (LUC) REPORT
Wickstrom explained that three traffic areas are critical to the Central Corridor road design. They are the three intersections heading north on Riverside Avenue at 19th Avenue, 20th Avenue, and Cedar Avenue. Meetings will be held in October regarding traffic planning. “It’s an important thing,” Wickstrom said. The layout “will affect the area for many years to come.”

Wickstrom said that a tax increment financing (TIF) district might be established to help fund what the community might need, such as a train down the middle of the Washington Avenue bridge with housing on either side at street level. “There are lots of possibilities,” Wickstrom said.

“It’s a cool idea,” said Smith.

Tim Schwarz, in attendance as a representative of the Central Corridor Citizen Advisory Committee (CCCAC), said the establishment of a TIF district is “a long shot.”

Central Corridor Citizens’ Advisory Committee UPDATE
Schwarz explained that a pool of artists were working on station design elements.

“I was pretty impressed,” said Schwarz, adding that he now needs to find out what the WBCC role can be in choosing the artist.

Schwartz also passed out copies of the latest route proposal.

AUGSBURG COLLEGE’S PLAN TO CLOSE SeventhTH STREET
Wickstrom encouraged board members to attend the Aug. 27 LUC meeting at 6:30 at Augsburg College in the Gateway Center. Topics include plans to close Seventh Street. The closure would create an issue for access to Murphy Square.

Smith thought Augsburg’s plan was “pretty cool” and said the board would want to support the project, as it makes for a better campus and better community. He added that nobody uses Murphy Square park right now.

Wickstrom explained that the City would give the street to Augsburg.

She also informed the board that the college is not planning on building a parking ramp and are working with Fairview regarding parking issues.

RIVERSIDE TASK FORCE
Wickstrom told the board there were a lot of new faces present at the Aug. 19 meeting and that three goals were established: Removing buckthorn in Riverside Park; restoring the WPA stairs, and restoring the WPA paths across upper and lower Riverside Park. Anyone who wants to help can contact Wickstrom.

BOARD OPENINGS
No nominations have been received regarding the four board vacancies, including three vacant renter seats and one vacant business seat. A seat on the District Collaborative Council Board is also open. Contact Board President Laura Silver via email at lauransilver@gmail.com for more information.

The board vice-president seat is open and will be an item on the next meeting’s agenda.

NEXT MEETING
A September meeting was not scheduled due to Ramadan; the next WBCC meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 15, 6–8 p.m. at the Brian Coyle Community Center.

Minneapolis School Board hopefuls speak at candidates’ forum

jeremy — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 15:16:25 -0500

by Karlee Weinmann

At-large representation, race, achievement and language among issues discussed

Note: in addition to this article about the late-August candidates’ forum, check out our profiles of the nine School Board candidates.

On Aug. 22, the Minnesota Women’s Political Caucus partnered with the Sabathani Community Center in South Minneapolis to offer community members a chance to listen to and interact with School Board candidates at a forum designed to engage and inform.
Among the issues discussed were funding; race, class and the achievement gap; and the very makeup of the board itself.

Eight of nine candidates showed up to present their plans. Allison Johnson was unable to attend because of a scheduling conflict.

The six top vote-getters in the Sept. 9 primary will move on to vie for three seats on the board in the general election on Nov. 4. Voters will also decide on two referenda: a tax levy providing $60 million a year, for eight years, to the district; and a change to geographic representation for the board, which is currently elected from a pool of at-large candidates.

Each candidate’s opening two-minute speech centered on improving the existing system, but proposals to do so ranged from an educational overhaul to staying on the same track. Mary Buss called for a “grassroots revolt against No Child Left Behind.” She said teachers should “not teach to test, but teach to learn.”

Incumbent Sharon Henry-Blythe, calling her seven years on the board “challenging but rewarding,” emphasized the importance of the board-approved strategic plan to minimize achievement gaps and set stringent staff expectations, among other things.

Kari Reed, a mother of five who home-schools her children, was the only one to speak against the levy referendum. Proponents say the money will help compensate for an estimated $100 million budget shortfall in the district over the next several years.

More discussion revolved around the other referendum, which would shift the School Board representative election process from an at-large system to a district- or ward-based structure. Five candidates supported the current system; Carla Bates and Jill Davis favored the referendum, while Thomas Dicks said board members shouldn’t be elected at all.

Instead, they should be education professionals who are on the front lines of education in the district’s schools, Dicks said, questioning whether parochial interests could sway board members and suggesting that students be allowed to voice opinions as well.

Most agreed the primary purpose of the board should be to equalize schools and the quality of education among them, and those who disagreed with the proposed referendum cited multiple qualified people in the same ward as a key reason not to adopt a representative system. Supporters said geographic, rather than at-large representation, could invite equality.

While proponents have argued that the current election system has limited representation for certain areas of the city — primarily North Minneapolis — it should be noted that all but one candidate (Davis, who lives in Northeast) who filed for election is from the south side of the city.

“Board members need to represent everyone in the district,” said Doug Mann. “They need a commitment to making quality education available to everybody.”

One forum attendee quizzed candidates on what they plan to do to combat ongoing problems with standardized test scores of students of color. English Language Learners (ELL) programs were a hot topic, and most candidates insinuated that the state wasn’t doing enough to fund this necessary curriculum, as classroom demographics change and more immigrant students make their way to school.

“The state has really crippled our ability to work with ELL students,” Henry-Blythe said.
Not only is it essential for ELL students to have access to a multitude of English-learning resources, said Buss, but native English speakers should be mandated to learn up-and-coming languages, specifically Chinese, Russian and Spanish.

By contrast, Reed said ELL funding isn’t necessary, nor is ELL in general. She said she learned language by being immersed in it, and that’s the best way to do it.

“We’re here, we’re in America, we speak English,” she said, adding that ELL can too easily become an “excuse for not learning.”

Davis broadened the focus from institutional racism to classism and said attention must be paid to that problem as well.

“Many people in our education system don’t understand the environment where our children come from,” Davis said, be it one of different cultural values or less-than-ideal living conditions.

Another forum attendee followed up, asking whether institutional or personal racism within the education system plays up achievement gaps between the wealthier, white students and poorer students of color.

Lydia Lee, an incumbent and longtime teacher in the district, said she had worked with teachers specifically on the city’s North side and had been dismayed by educators’ “our-kids-can’t-do-that” attitudes and frustration with students.

Bates echoed that sentiment. “It’s huge that every single teacher believes every single student can learn,” Bates said, adding later that early-childhood education — which is meant to involve parents — is where it all begins.

But overall, candidates were somewhat divided on the issue. Some said parenting should be left to parents, and a School Board should be dealing with only the fundamentals.

“The Board needs to focus on making the system work and not pointing fingers at parents,” Mann said.

Arrests made in Aug. 14 Cedar-Riverside shootings

jeremy — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 15:07:34 -0500

by Roxanne Bergeron

Three Somali men were charged on Aug. 19 in Hennepin County District Court with assault and attempted murder for allegedly shooting two people on Aug. 14 in the outdoor plaza area outside the Riverside Plaza towers. (Official police complaints mistakenly list the address as 1615 Fourth Ave. S., rather than Fourth Street South.)

Taken into custody were 19-year-old Ahmed Ali, aka Adnan Isse Ali; 21-year-old Abdikani Ali Nour; and 20-year-old Abdulsalam Mohamed Usee. All men have Minneapolis addresses. Each man is charged with two counts of attempted second-degree murder, one count of first-degree assault and one count of second-degree assault; all are felony charges. Bail for each man was set at $1 million.

The two victims reportedly were sitting in the plaza area when they were approached by three Somali males, who began shooting at them with semi-automatic weapons. One victim was shot in the buttocks; the other was shot in the chest and stomach. Both were taken to Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC).

A witness had seen three men get out of a Mitsubishi SUV in a parking lot and head westbound on foot down Cedar Avenue. The witness, who had written down the license plate number, then heard the gunshots coming from the Cedar Riverside complex area and observed the same three males running northeast toward Riverside Avenue.

A Metro Transit Police (MTP) officer spotted the Mitsubishi shortly thereafter; the SUV was stopped in the middle of the 1900 block of South Eighth Street with its lights on and the doors open. One man was standing in the grass next to the vehicle and another was running along the wall near I-94. The officer made a u-turn and followed the vehicle. Minneapolis police subsequently stopped the vehicle and detained six males. Two semi-automatic handguns, both listed as stolen from a Minnetonka gun shop, were recovered from the area where the Mitsubishi had been spotted by the MTP officer.

On second thought: outer sections of Washington Ave. bridge closed

jeremy — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 14:43:32 -0500

by Jeremy Stratton

Little more than a week before the start of University of Minnesota classes, Hennepin County announced restrictions for pedestrians and bicyclists crossing the upper deck of the Washington Avenue bridge, which connects the Minneapolis campus’ East and West banks.

Pedestrian and bicycle traffic will be limited to the inner, covered section of the bridge.

The original Aug. 22 announcement from Hennepin County — which took over authority of the bridge in 1997 — stated that no traffic, foot or bike, would be allowed on the outdoor areas on either side of the bridge, but would instead share the middle area.

On Aug. 21, a study by the engineering firm URS Corporation — prepared in the course of engineering and repair work previously authorized for the upper deck — recommended the deck’s outdoor areas be closed to all pedestrian and bicycle traffic.

While an email earlier this week from University of Minnesota Vice President for University Services Kathy O’Brien stated that the outside portions would be open to bike traffic, county officials decided decided to limit use of the outer portions completely until the deck is strengthened, stated O’Brien.

The Hennepin County release cited safety concerns and stated that extra braces would be added to the bridge.

No new restrictions were placed on the lower bridge deck, which carries vehicle traffic across the Mississippi River and is restricted to vehicles of “legal weight,” according to the release.

In an email sent to university students, faculty and staff, University of Minnesota Vice President for University Services Kathy O’Brien asked that people use caution on the bridge, “especially on the bridge head where pedestrians and bicyclists will cross paths.” Bicyclists are expected to walk their bikes across the covered part of the bridge.

The work is expected to be completed this spring, wrote O’Brien.

Born to be kind of wild

jeremy — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 13:40:49 -0500

by Dan Nordley

Scooter madness takes over Bridgeland

When Bob Hedstrom, owner of Scooterville, handed me keys to a 50cc Kymco People scooter four years ago, my arthritic hips had me searching for summer transportation alternatives to a car or bike. With the ease of stepping onto a stool and a simple twist of the accelerator grip, I was off, and delighted — just like riding a bicycle, but downhill. All the time.

Thanks to Scooterville, perhaps, Bridgeland is buzzing with these elfin motorcycles. Hedstrom, based in Seward since 2007, estimates he has sold more than 1,000 scooters to Bridgeland residents over the last few years.

The birth of Scooterville

In 2002, Hedstrom was infected with the scooting bug by a well-meaning instigator, an older artist friend who had a vintage Vespa scooter and kept at Hedstrom daily to get one himself.

Ten years ago, however, there weren’t really any new scooter stores. Hardly anyone was making them, and the Vespas weren’t allowed into the country due to air quality regulations. Finally, Hedstrom found a 1980 Vespa in the back of a BMW repair shop in St. Louis Park that did vintage scooter repair and some sales. After taking out the extra life insurance his wife required, he took a ride that changed his life.

Soon he noticed new models from India and Asia hitting the market and Hedstrom started seeing more future in scooters than his then-business of building sets for a credit-rolling Minnesota movie-making scene. In 2002, he transformed that business into the set of a classic motorcycle shop called Scooterville.

Originally located in a warehouse north of University Avenue near the University of Minnesota campus, Scooterville puttered along for a couple of years. Things started looking up when the U decided to build a football stadium across the road. Suddenly, visions of visibility danced in Hedstrom’s head. Unfortunately, bigger money saw the same thing, and Hedstrom’s was given six months to, well, scoot.

Fortunately, Hedstrom had been eying the vacant former motorcycle shop on the corner of Cedar and Franklin avenues, near I-94. Though he gets that “how-in-the-heck-did-I-pull-that-off -in-six-months” glaze in his eyes, Hedstrom couldn’t be happier with the move. Fueled by the rising price of gas and the new location — all those folk stuck on traffic on the freeway able to see his sign — scooter sales doubled this year, and he was basically sold-out by the end of June.

The scooter, then and now

Scooters — defined by their “step-through” design — came of age when the Italian aeronautic company Piaggio — forced after WWII to find something less threatening to make than helicopters — gave the Cushman scooters that American GIs were riding an Italian make-over. The resulting motorbike was light, easy to ride, and protected a rider’s attire (including skirts) from road spray. The owner of Piaggio initially thought they looked like a wasp, which he pronounced “vespa.”

Nowadays, there are several types of scooters. Some go as fast as highway motorcycles, others putter along under 30 mph. Generally, the ones with engines under 50cc can be licensed as mopeds, which you can ride with just a regular drivers license. Otherwise you will need a motorcycle endorsement on your license.

A typical scooter and accessories will cost in the neighborhood of $2,000–$3,500, with running costs at one-fourth of an automobile’s — about $.10 per mile. If you are trying to justify purchasing it for something other than the fun of it, you may start breaking even after about 10,000 miles, which takes a while in Minnesota.

Sins of emission

Unfortunately, the environmental impact of scooters using internal combustion engines is a bit problematic. On the plus side, scooters are attractive in an urban environment in terms of decreasing congestion and wear on roads and parking, and they takes less resources to manufacture. The approximately 90 miles-per-gallon fuel economy means much less energy is used to haul a person or two around. According to John Seltz in the Minnesota Polution Control Agency’s Air Policy Unit, “If you are looking at CO2 emissions related to climate, emissions are pretty much proportional to gas mileage. So in this way scooters are better.”

The problem is scooters emit more hydrocarbons than cars. Lots more. Scooters using 2- or 4-stroke internal combustion engines are in the same family as motorcycles, snowmobiles, ATVs, jet skis, outboard boat motors and riding lawn mowers. Unlike automobiles, vehicles in this class do not have present day systems to contain evaporation of raw gas, fuel injection systems to burn gas more efficiently, and catalytic converters to burn anything left over. The models using two-stroke engines (for which oil is mixed in with the gas to provide engine lubrication) are especially prone to spitting out particulates.

In 2006, the Environmental Protection Agency updated its 1978 emission standards to reduce harmful emissions by half, but it is still twenty-some times that of passenger vehicles. (EPA Finalizes Emission Standards for New Highway Motorcycles.) To stay up-to-date with the worldwide attention motorcycle emissions are receiving, check out this link to the EPA’s site. According to Seltz, “If scooters continue to make up a larger and larger portion of the total fleet, EPA may need to ratchet down the existing standards, perhaps requiring catalytic converters, which would be the next step.” In Italy, the government has created a 300-euro incentive to trade in old two-stroke models for new ones.

Environmentally conscious buyers will want to avoid cheap, two-stroke engine scooters and pre-2005 models. Models with catalytic converters are starting to enter the market, and of course there are electric models — though your recharging source could be burning coal.

Ride safely

The July 15 death of Tommy Earl White on Southeast University Avenue underscores the fact that scooter riding can be dangerous. Like a bicyclist, a scooter rider is virtually unprotected on the road, and as scooter folk are more likely to run with the cars, it can be more dangerous than bicycling.

While that may be part of the “born-to-be-kind-of-wild” thrill that scooter riders love, you should scoot with a Spidey sense of danger. Keep your headlight on, be extra defensive and courteous (leave your inner-Ninja at home), be noticeable, avoid riding in blind spots, watch intersections and make eye contact with drivers waiting at them.

And dress appropriately. “I just want to scream when I see people riding in thongs [the footwear kind],” said Hedstrom. Cover the parts of your body you really like; goggles or glasses is the only mandatory wear, but a good helmet is a must if you don’t want people tsk-tsking over the time you lost your brain.

I found having a mobile phone in my hip pocket was handy when I took a corner too fast, skidded on a patch of sand and laid the bike down in apparently spectacular fashion in front of a group of people waiting for a bus. I was fine, but my phone, which took the brunt of the skid, got a bit cracked. The lesson: you might consider an assortment of hip pads and gloves and the advice above about non-aggressive scooting.

Like all things cool and out of the mainstream, there are clubs for scooters riders. They meet regularly through out the year and organize rallies.

A short list of clubs include The Regulars
and the Minnesota Maxi-Scooters.

Also, check out the amazing 22,000-mile peace scooter journey of Alix Bryan, who rode her scooter around the U.S. in the form of a peace sign. Bryan asked the same question of everyone she met: “What is your definition of peace?” Bryan completed her journey in August.

Dan Nordley is a Cooper resident and owner of Seward—based Triangle Park Creative, which publishes The Bridge newspaper.

City, residents at odds over NRP

jeremy — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 12:27:03 -0500

by Jeremy Stratton

Neighborhood groups offer alternative plan to city’s proposal

Acting on legislation passed last session to provide a funding stream, the City of Minneapolis has announced a plan to extend the Neighborhood Revitalization Program (NRP) — the backbone of grassroots community organization funding for the last 20 years — with Mayor R.T. Rybak “committing” $8 million a year, for 10 years, to support it.

Still, opposition from a group of neighborhood organizations continues to be vehement. A coalition of residents from around the city called Neighbors4NRP presented an alternative proposal and has asked the City Council to postpone decision on what they see as a fatally flawed proposal that will spell the end of NRP.

What is NRP?

The Neighborhood Revitalization Program, now nearing the end of its second 10-year phase, funds neighborhood organizations’ administration (staffing, office space, etc.) and a wide range of projects and programs through revenue from development projects in tax-increment finance (TIF) districts. Last session, the Legislature voted to extend those districts for another 10 years, to fund NRP and also pay down the debt on the Target Center.

The city’s ‘framework’ plan

At the end of July, the City Council received the final report of the “Framework of the Future” from the NRP Work Group, which includes four council members, a mayoral aide and NRP Director Bob Miller (who has publicly opposed the proposal.) The framework would reorganize NRP under a new city department of Neighborhood and Community Relations in the City Coordinator’s Office, to be overseen by a Neighborhood and Community Advisory Board consisting of 18 members — nine selected by neighborhood groups and nine appointed by the City Council (7) and mayor (2).

Funds would be allocated through a non-competitive Neighborhood Investment Fund (NIF) for neighborhood-designated priorities and a smaller Community Investment Fund (CIF), from which neighborhood associations could apply for grants to pay for other initiatives.

An earlier draft of the framework, posted on the city’s website, includes line-item responses by Neighbors4NRP from an earlier round of public comment. Major concerns included a lack of specificity about long-term funding, insufficient funding levels, and a lack of involvement by residents and other non-city entities on the proposed centralized governance body.

(The current NRP Policy Board includes representatives from neighborhoods, the city, Hennepin County, the School Board, the Park Board, state legislators and “community interest groups” — a multi-jurisdictional makeup that opponents of the framework want to continue.)

The funding question

At an Aug. 12 press conference, Rybak “committed” $8 million a year for the program for ten years, beginning in 2011, from TIF revenue (see sidebar). Each year, $3 million would be split between neighborhood groups and the new city department (which would include other city services) for administrative support, with $5 million in discretionary funding going to the NIF (90 percent) and CIF (10 percent).

City officials estimate $24 million in revenue annually from the recertification of all eligible TIF projects, though a smaller percentage might be leveraged. The remainder, beyond the $8 million, would go towards debt restructuring to pay for the Target Center, and perhaps property tax relief for residents.

Bob Cooper, senior NRP/citizen participation specialist with the city’s Finance Department, provided a rundown of current NRP spending. Though cut-and-dry amounts are difficult to nail down, NRP Phase II estimates over a nine-year span show annual allocations of $3,449,028 for discretionary funding — $1.55 million less than proposed by the mayor.

Current administrative funding is even more difficult to calculate. Estimates of neighborhood-group administration spending range from $1,158,976 to $3 million per year, depending on which costs and allocations are included. In addition, $1,731,558 per year was spent between 2001 and 2008 on central NRP administration (which the proposed city department would replace.) That’s roughly $2.9 million–$4.7 million for centralized and neighborhood administration, compared to the $3 million proposed by the mayor.

The mayor’s funding is a best-case scenario of maximized TIF revenue, with “final allocation decisions” up to the mayor and City Council, according to the framework report.

The rub

It’s uncertain what NRP activities are allowed by the legislative action. According to an Aug. 4 report from the city attorney’s office, the legislation contains “ambiguities” and may preclude the use of TIF funding for administration. It is also unclear if the funds could be used for programs such as the home-improvement revolving loans widely offered through NRP.

There is also question as to how the current NRP Phase II will be funded until the framework plan begins in 2011. Until then, the mayor’s budget proposal includes $500,000 a year to create the new city department and provide neighborhood organizations with funding. Opponents want the current NRP administrative structure to continue to oversee the transition — and long afterwards, for that matter.

Also in question is the financial contribution of current NRP partners. While framework opponents say those partners are frozen out of the framework plan, the city has essentially asked those partners to put their money where their mouths are, requesting that each to vote to allocate funds — $12 million a year from Hennepin County and $4 million each from the Park Board, School Board and state.

The other plan

The alternative plan drafted by Neighbors4NRP puts more power and funding in the hands of neighborhood organizations than the city’s framework allows for.
The plan calls for at least $10 million a year in discretionary funding, from maximized TIF revenues, with all future interest and program income going back into the fund. The city would administer another fund, above and beyond the $10 million, for which neighborhoods would compete.

In addition, at least $3 million would come from the city’s general fund annually for operating expenses.

A “restructured and renamed” NRP policy board would govern the program, made up of eight neighborhood representatives, five City Council and mayoral appointees and one appointee each from the county, Park Board, School Board and Legislature. The NRP director would be hired by and report to the policy board.

Some aspects of the two plans are similar. Neighborhoods would set priorities through plans similar to current NRP Action Plans, and funds would be distributed through a formula similar to the one in place. The alternative plan’s funding pools mirror those proposed by the city, but with notable differences in the amounts and sources of funding.
Neighbor4NRP expressed “qualified support” for some parts of the framework, including the proposed resident advisory board and city department, as well as changes that could eventually lead to the merging of NRP “with a successful new community engagement structure in the future.”

Still, at the Aug. 20 hearing, a long list of residents spoke almost unanimously against the framework. Many aligned themselves with Neighbors4NRP, which claims the support of nearly half the city’s 72 active neighborhood groups.

A few elected officials joined them, including Hennepin County Commissioner Gail Dorfman, who chairs the NRP Policy Board, and state legislators Rep. Karen Clark and Sen. Patricia Torres Ray, who both championed NRP at the Legislature. All three praised the city for its work to extend NRP but moved quickly to concerns about the framework.

“I have seen the transition of grassroots models into government entities,” said Torres Ray, “and they really lose the perspective of residents’ involvement.”

Melanie Majors, executive director of the Longfellow Community Council, said that NRP “represents the will” of residents and communities. “Through their NRP plans, we’ve seen what they prioritize,” she said. “This framework has derailed that, and I think that’s disrespectful.”

Many characterized the framework as an attack on NRP, with one speaker calling it “a thinly veiled process through which city officials will dismantle NRP and cripple most neighborhood organizations.”

After the hearing, Ward 6 Council Member Robert Lilligren (who chairs the NRP Work Group and the City Council’s Committee of the Whole) told The Bridge that the general theme that the city would be “taking away” NRP was based on “misinformation.” NRP was founded as a 20-year program, “so this is essentially the succession planning,” he said.

Public comment on the Framework for the Future can be submitted until Sept. 11 via email to anissa.hollingshead@ci.minneapolis.mn.us or by mail to Council Committee Clerk, 350 South 5th Street, Room 304, Minneapolis, MN 55415.

The Committee of the Whole is expected to take up the issue again on Sept. 11, followed by the full City Council on Sept. 26.

You can read the city’s Framework for the Future report here, and the Neighbors4NRP alternative plan at www.neighbors4nrp.com.

Longfellow Community Council board meeting, Aug. 20

jeremy — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 12:09:38 -0500

by Sarah Phemister

'Framework for the Future' frustration; Vice Lords in Longfellow; LCC to sever ties with Seward Redesign

FRAMEWORK FOR THE FUTURE: LCC board members expressed their frustration to Ward 9 Council Member Gary Schiff about the Committee of the Whole’s decision to deny neighborhood requests for six months to response to the Framework for the Future. The Committee gave neighborhoods until September 26 to submit comments.

The Framework, drawn up by Council Members Robert Lilligren, Paul Ostrow, Barbara Johnson, Betsy Hodges, Cara Letofsky (policy aide to Mayor R. T. Rybak), and Neighborhood Revitalization Program (NRP) Director Bob Miller, is designed to replace the NRP that has funded neighborhood organizations and programs since 1990. Neighborhood organizations are primarily opposed to the portion of the Framework that shifts the ability to set priorities from the neighborhoods to City Council.

“What do we have to do to get City Council engaged in discussions with us?” asked board member Don Hammen. “Seven council members support the Framework,” Schiff told the board. (Lilligren, Ostrow, Johnson, Hodges, Lisa Goodman, Don Samuels, and Ralph Remington) “That doesn’t mean that some of those seven wouldn’t agree to changes to the Framework.” Schiff recommended that NRP supporters draft specific resolutions to present to the Council.

Schiff promised his continued support of NRP and pledged to help shepherd an amendment through the council.

“I want you to know that we vote and there will be political consequences if NRP goes away,” board member Stacy Behm warned Schiff.

VICE LORDS ACTIVITY IN LONGFELLOW: Schiff reported that Longfellow residents have expressed concern about groups of boys wearing red shirts and black shorts gathering around a house on 30th Avenue near 32nd and 33rd Streets. Schiff photographed graffiti on a fence two blocks west of Longfellow Park. Minneapolis police gang specialists identified the tag as belonging to the Vice Lords gang.
Because of past crackdowns, Schiff told the board, most Vice Lords leaders are in jail. That and the fact that the Vice Lords have historically been associated with the north side of Minneapolis lead police to believe that, if a cell is forming in Longfellow, it is still in its infancy. “We very much want to visit their parents,” said Schiff of suspected gang members, “and start intervention.”

Schiff encouraged residents to report groups of youths in red and black gang colors and graffiti featuring a backwards cane or top hat and the letters IVL, which stands for insane vice lords.

15-YEAR-OLD ARRESTED IN LONGFELLOW HOMICIDE: Schiff told the board that police arrested a 15-year-old boy for the August 7 stabbing death of a 24-year-old neighbor man.

LCC FORMS ADVANCEMENT COMMITTEE: The board approved the formation of an advancement committee. The committee is charged with pursuing new fundraising and marketing opportunities for LCC.

BOARD REVISES PROTOCOL FOR GUEST SPEAKERS: LCC clarified the steps that a task force, committee or other group needs to follow before bringing an actionable item before the board. A group must hold a documented vote, present an account of those present for the vote, provide the board with written recommendations or resolutions for the board to consider, and provide a minority report or recommendations if applicable.

LCC TO END RELATIONSHIP WITH SEWARD REDESIGN: The board approved sending a letter to Seward Redesign severing their relationship and asking that Seward Redesign stop referring to itself as the “official developer of Greater Longfellow”.

The letter cites a change in funding and housing climates and LCC’s disappointment with the level of Redesign’s work on Longfellow-based projects like the 46th Street Station, the Super America at 39th Ave. and E. Lake St., and the Coliseum Building as reasons for the split.

FUNDING FOR COMMUNITY GARDEN APPROVED: LCC approved $1,250 in NRP funds for compost bins, black dirt, and flowers to enhance the 32nd Street Community Garden.

NEXT: Board meeting, September 18, 2008
MEETINGS: 3rd Thursday monthly, 6:30 p.m., check www.longfellow.org or call 612-722-4529 for meeting location
CONTACT: 722-4529, www.longfellow.org
BORDERS: Mississippi River to Hiawatha Ave., Minnehaha Park to 27th St. railroad tracks

More stringent review for student housing?

jeremy — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 11:45:47 -0500

by Liz Riggs and Jeremy Stratton

Small developments raise big issues with city approvals proces

Update: At the City Council’s Aug. 22 meeting, Ward 2 Council Member Cam Gordon introduced the subject matter of a moratorium on the demolition, new construction, or establishment of single and two-family residential dwellings and multiple-family residential dwellings having three- or four-dwelling units in the residential zoning districts in the “University District” area, including the neighborhoods of Cedar Riverside, Marcy Holmes, Prospect Park, Southeast Como, and University. The council voted to send the issue to the Zoning And Planning Committee. Watch for more coverage of this as the issue progresses.

Three months ago, the corner lot at 1217 Yale Ave. in Prospect Park held a two-story home. By late August, a four-unit, 20-bedroom building is nearing completion in its place.

The project is just one of many going up in neighborhoods surrounding the University of Minnesota, drawing a range of opinions from residents — particularly homeowners. Larger developments, like the 13-story Dinkydome project, are making their way through the city’s public approvals process, which usually includes at least some input from residents via the respective neighborhood organization.

Other small projects, like 1217 Yale, don’t warrant that level of review but have raised the hackles of nearby residents, some of whom take issue with the city’s zoning and permits policies. They claim the lack of oversight lets projects be built under the radar without any notification to — much less review by — the surrounding neighbors.
Meanwhile, developers say they’re just playing by the current rules and following a market trend toward student housing. Rental property owners — like Tim Harmsen, who along with his wife Karen owns close to 70 rental properties in the University area — say they are often improving the neighborhoods by replacing dilapidated, unsafe homes and filling a very real demand for quality student housing.

The lack of review for small projects has prompted some residents to call for a review of the city approval process itself. City planning staff admit it might be a good conversation to have, but nothing specific is planned as of yet.

‘Under the wire’

One of the problems most often cited by neighborhood residents is that developers are able to slide projects “under the wire” via the city’s site plan review standards, which, when adopted in April 2005, were designed to make the process of approving smaller projects more objective and efficient from a city planning perspective.

According to Haila Maze, principal planner for the Northeast/ Southeast sector of Minneapolis, any residential property with four units or fewer that does not require a rezoning or variance request is subject to only administrative review by city staff. The site plan review standards developed several years ago added a points system to the process. As Maze explained, the points system ensures projects are in compliance with the zoning code, while also offering incentives for certain building features such as additional landscaping, garages tucked behind a development or incorporation of lots of windows. A total of 24 points are possible, and a minimum of 15 points must be achieved for a zoning approval to be granted, according to city documents.

From neighborhoods’ perspectives, the process leaves them powerless to appeal such decisions, and often the neighborhood organization doesn’t find out about smaller projects that have received administrative review until weeks after the fact — often when it’s too late to provide input to the developer.

Florence Littman and Jo Radzwill, the respective chairs of the Prospect Park/East River Road Improvement Association (PPERRIA) and Marcy-Holmes Neighborhood Association (MHNA) land use committees, say the most urgent concerns surround issues like the number of off-street parking spaces required per unit by the city, the number of housing units with four or more bedrooms, the location of high-density developments in the neighborhoods and the over-saturation of housing aimed at a specific demographic.

More stringent review of student housing?

For instance, a building with four five-bedroom units might house 20 students but only require four off-street parking spots.

Does administrative review need a review?

Maze admitted that the regulatory process sometimes has “unintended consequences,” but she said her understanding from talking with city staff is that there has been a general improvement in the quality of projects approved since the new site plan review standards were adopted. But neighbors like Radzwill and Littman disagree, claiming the points system has actually made it easier for developers to get their projects approved.

Maze said almost every city has some sort of administrative review procedure, without which there would be so many public meetings the city planning process would be unable to function effectively. “That’s quite a price to pay for efficiency,” Littman said, acknowledging that city planners are already overworked but suggesting they could rely more heavily on an important resource at their disposal — the local neighborhood groups.

The city isn’t oblivious to neighbors’ development concerns in the University District. In fact, Maze said the City’s Department of Community Planning and Economic Development (CPED) plans to look into such topics as occupancy, design, parking and enforcement issues, in the University District especially. The process will include looking at “what we can do to improve our system and make it work better,” she said. While Maze said she didn’t know what form the outreach would take at this time — whether it would include a survey of core constituencies (including neighborhood organizations, students, businesses and residents), a series of individual meetings in the neighborhoods, or further study of the specific communities — she did say neighborhood organizations would be a key group to start with, although this isn’t the first time the University neighborhoods or CPED have addressed housing issues together.

CPED is also interested in what other communities dealing with University housing issues across the country are doing to address the same concerns. “We didn’t invent these issues,” Maze said, adding that there is a lot to be learned from other cities in the same situation. Having a large university nearby is a “wonderful resource,” she said, “but there are some very predictable challenges associated with it.” [The issue of student housing is further complicated by the fact that the city has no way to differentiate between student housing developments and other high-rise or high-density units in its record system, she added.]

The result of addressing topics could possibly result in zoning changes in specific areas and amendments to the zoning code or administrative review process, she said, although the City has to be thoughtful about the consequences of such changes, which affect not just the University District, but the entire city of Minneapolis. Maze also mentioned the possibility of creating an overlay code to apply to the University District specifically — a city planning tool sometimes used to construct special zoning for parts of a city that possess unique qualities not shared by other areas.

Radzwill said she is aware of the city’s plans and welcomes the idea of looking at the university’s needs specifically. “We’ve been pushing on that [point] for a long time — for years,” Radzwill said about the possibility of overlay zoning for the University District.

Littman also supports the idea of an overlay district, although she remains unconvinced that renewed conversation between the neighborhoods and the city is the best way to improve the situation. “We don’t need a whole big study,” Littman said. “We’ll talk, and talk, and talk, and get nothing done. We need action … We’ve already lost a couple of houses.”

To see our rundown of current student housing developments in the University District here.

Student housing developments in the University District area

jeremy — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:21:46 -0500

by Liz Riggs

UPDATED FOR WEB: Dinkydome project passes City Council; Florence Court plan denied by HPC; PPERRIA likes Campus Crossroads plan

Below is a summary of some potential student housing projects, both large and small, that are under construction, being reviewed or on the horizon near the University of Minnesota. Information is current as of mid-July 2008, unless otherwise noted.

Campus Crossroads

Washington Avenue Southeast between Oak and Ontario streets (in the footprint of current businesses such as Harvard Market, Campus Pasta and Pizza, and Oak Street Cinema.)
Units: 175 (tentative)
Owner: Opus Northwest (pending purchase agreement)

Preliminary plans include an eight-story mixed-use development with retail on the ground floor, apartments in the seven floors above, and underground parking. CVS/Pharmacy has been identified as a possible commercial tenant.

Becca Farrar, senior planner with the Minneapolis Department of Community Planning and Economic Development (CPED), said that, based on conversations with a project architect, she expects an application by the end of July. The project could go before the Planning Commission and City Council this fall. As planned, the project would be contingent on some rezoning approvals, Farrar said. Dave Menke, vice president of real estate development for Opus, told the Star Tribune in July that Opus hopes to complete the project by fall 2010.

_Update: PPERRIA reaches “memorandum of agreement” with Campus Crossroads developer and architects*
Read our report of the July presentation about the project to the PPERRIA board_ here

Sydney Hall and Dinky Dome Redevelopment
1500–1506 SE Fourth St;
310–316 15th Ave. SE
Units: 198
Owner: Doran Companies

Plans for the 13-story mixed-use development call for ground floor retail with dwelling units above and the simultaneous rehabilitation of the Dinky Dome. It would provide 192 underground parking spaces for residential tenants and 23 surface parking spaces for both residents and retail patrons.

The project stalled in mid-June when the Planning Commission denied rezoning and variance requests, saying the project was too tall for its location.

A revised plan increased the distance between the edge of the building and the property line, among other changes.

Update: In late July, the City Council granted an appeal by the developer, with a long list of conditions, which include:

— Final plans for the Dinky Dome shall be approved before building permits for the new addition are issued;
—at least 50 percent of the Southeast Fourth Street elevation above the first floor shall be stepped back 10 feet from the property line;
—architectural elements, including recesses, projections, and windows, shall be included in certain areas, and the building shall not contain blank, uninterrupted walls that do not include window, entries, recesses, projections, or other architectural elements that exceed 25 feet;
— clearly identifiable pedestrian access to the surface parking area from the Southeast Fourth Street sidewalk shall be provided; and
— a decorative, ornamental metal fence shall be provided adjacent to the parking and loading adjacent to the southeasterly property line in lieu of required landscaping and screening.

The conditions include deadlines for work, as well; all work on the Dinky Dome must meet Secretary of the Interiors standards for rehabilitation and must be completed by July 25, 2010; and site improvements required by Chapter 5230 or by the Planning Commission shall be completed by July 25, 2009, or the permit may be revoked for non-compliance.

Florence Court
1022 University Ave. SE
Units: unknown; tentatively 190–200 bedrooms
Owner: Clark Gassen

The project involves the redevelopment of historic Queen Anne-style rowhouses, built in 1886.

Update: On Aug. 18, the project came before the city’s Heritage Preservation Commission (HPC), which approved some “certificates of appropriateness,” but with some major conditions — most important, the denial of the demolition of four “non-contributing” buildings adjacent to the larger 1886 apartments, which were not a subject of that particular review. You can read the report and the HPC’s actions here.

The denial will likely will require a reworking of the developer and architect BKV Group’s plans.

The developer has met with the Marcy-Holmes Neighborhood Association’s (MHNA) Land Use Committee on several occasions. Committee Chair Jo Radzwill said the original plans for the redevelopment showed four separate buildings connected by a skyway, with townhomes on the bottom and smaller units above. Revised plans showed changes to the walkways, so they don’t looks as much like skyways, she said. Plans presented at a July 10 Planning Commission Committee of the Whole meeting showed a previously open underground parking area covered, with more townhouses added above, according to Radzwill.

At that July 10 meeting, Planning Commission members asked the developer to try to make the project look “more like individual buildings,” according to Hilary Dvorak, senior city planner and staff contact for the project. A formal project application is expected in the next couple of months.

In July, the MHNA board voted not to support the project at this time, citing the large number of bedrooms in some of the units and saying that the plans don’t complement the historic part of Florence Court.

Jefferson at Berry
950 Jefferson Commons Circle, St. Paul (behind Hubbard Broadcasting)
Units: 150; 552 bedrooms
Owner: JPI

These new student-rental apartments — on roughly 4.25 acres at the northwest intersection of Territorial Road and Berry Street — were completed in April 2008. The first residents moved in May 17, and 64 percent of the units are currently pre-leased, said Angelia Jarvis, director of community operations for the development.

The Lodges of Dinkytown
1309, 1315, 1317, 1323, 1331, 1335 SE Eighth St.
Units: Three units per address, with five bedrooms per unit (six “Lodges” with 90 bedrooms)
Owner: Tim and Karen Harmsen

The Lodges are currently five separate triplexes in a row, with a sixth to begin construction in mid-September. Tim Harmsen, who owns Dinkytown Rentals with wife Karen, said the projects, decorated in the interior with a North Woods theme, could have been built as a single large development on the six lots, but students prefer the smaller setting. “I think it maintains the character of the neighborhood… versus a big monolith — a big apartment building.” The triplexes have gray siding, partial stone fronts and shingled porches.

The first five triplexes could be finished by Aug. 15. Close to 87 percent of the units are pre-leased, Harmsen said. Construction will begin on the last triplex, 1323 SE Eighth St. in about a month and a half.

The Cottage
1120 SE Eighth St.
Units: Two units with three bedrooms each
Owner: Tim and Karen Harmsen

Like The Lodges, The Cottage would have a themed interior to match its name and come with off-street parking in the rear.
A site-plan review was approved by CPED staff in May, demolition and building permits were issued, and the foundation for the new project was recently poured, but staff found it had issued the building permit in error since the property’s lot size necessitated a variance. A stop-work order was issued. The project was initially planned for completion before the 2008–2009 school year, but stalled again when the Minneapolis Board of Adjustment denied the builder the necessary variance to reduce the minimum lot area to allow for a new duplex, saying it does not fit in with the character of the neighborhood. Harmsen is appealing the decision.

1217 Yale Ave. (project name unknown)
Units: Four units with five bedrooms each
Owner: Clark Gassen

Demolition of the previous home occurred in June, and the current project is slated to be finished by Sept. 1. Each unit of the two-story, 20-bedroom four-plex will have a full basement, with a total of five surface parking spaces on the west side of the development, according to Jason Klohs of One Call Property Solutions, the builder on the project. Fiber cement siding will be used, and an extra half-bath will be located on the main floor of each unit. Clark Gassen, the owner of the property said the project is centered on “upper graduates” from Augsburg College and the University of Minnesota, and that several renters moving in this fall are international students.

633–635 SE Ontario St. (project name unknown)
Units: Six units with five bedrooms each
Owner: James Eischens (633), Pop Goes The Weasel, LLC (635)

Builder Jason Klohs said the three-story project will feature “green” elements such as tankless hot water heaters, fiber cement siding, high-efficiency windows, solar electric and solar thermal, LED lights, and as many as six mopeds available for rent. Nine
surface-level parking spaces and a privacy fence are also part of the plan.

Klohs said he planned to submit a formal application in July, with the goal of completing the project by Jan. 1. He said he intends to meet with representatives from the Prospect Park/East River Road Improvement Association (PPERIA) before presenting the application to the city.

1015 SE Seventh St. (project name unknown)
Units: Three units with five bedrooms each
Owner: Bryan Spille

The Classic City Apartments website describes the 2,400-square-foot units as “Victorian Townhomes.” Each unit has two bedrooms in the basement and three on the second floor, with full baths on both floors. The main level of each unit includes a half bath, living room and kitchen with a dining area. Classic City Apartments advertises rental availability starting this fall.

1810 Washington Ave. S., former Grandma’s Saloon (project name unknown)
Units: Unknown
Owner: Alatus Management

The city was shown initial plans for a 30-story rental high-rise project, but Senior City Planner Emily Stern said the exact number of stories could fluctuate, as a formal plan had yet to be submitted, as of mid-July.

Alatus owns the property at 1810 Washington Ave. S. and bought the adjacent Seven Corners Municipal Parking Ramp from the city in a deal approved in July 2007. A city press release sent shortly after the deal was reached said housing and “street-level retail” were possible at the site and that, per the purchase agreement, LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council was a requirement for any new development there.

Close to home

Reporter1 — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 11:45:05 -0500

by Liz Riggs

For 70 years, Seward-based architectural firm has been designing Bridgeland

While the boxy wooden office building on the corner of East Franklin and South 31st avenues has housed the Close Associates for 55 years, the story of the architectural firm began 15 years before the building was constructed and extends into the neighborhoods of Bridgeland, where the business has firmly left its mark.

In 1938, architects Winston Close and Elizabeth Scheu (Win and Lisl to those who knew them, and for our purposes) started the firm Close and Scheu. The business later became Elizabeth and Winston Close and, finally, Close Associates, which this year is celebrating its 70th year. It’s a legacy that began with the Closes and is still growing under the watch of their protégé, Gar Hargens.

The founders

Win and Lisl met while studying for their master’s degrees at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The founding of the firm was not their only union in 1938 — the two got married, as well.

Win became a professor of architecture at the University of Minnesota, and he later held the position of campus advisory architect from 1950 to 1971. Win was largely responsible for the planning of the school’s West Bank campus. He also led design work on the Washington Avenue bridge, though his plans included a much grander bridge — with a moving sidewalk and shops on the top walkway — than was actually built.

During those years, Lisl ran the couple’s architectural firm. One of only a few female architects in the country during the early part of her career, Lisl designed her first home for three University of Minnesota professors in 1938. The house, at 252 Bedford St. in Prospect Park, cost just $7,643 to design and construct. (Fifty years later, an article in With Respect to Architecture stated that the house, with its flat roof and blue concrete sidewalk, “was so shocking in Minneapolis in 1938 that it was facetiously credited for giving a passerby a heart attack!”) In the decade that followed, Lisl designed several other houses in the neighborhood, including ones at 222 Melbourne Ave. SE and 19 & 21 Barton Ave. SE.

Never one to fill the traditional woman’s role of her day, Lisl, in past interviews, has attributed her accomplishments as an architect to having a good housekeeper. Ironically, that help around the house might have influenced her designs; the Close’s youngest son Bob, a Minneapolis-based landscape architect, said some who have bought Close-designed homes have criticized the functionality of one room in particular: the kitchen. “They were her weakness,” said Bob, “because she was never in one.”

The disciple

In 1968, aspiring architect Gar Hargens traveled cross-country to attend graduate school at the University of Minnesota. That fall, at the suggestion of the late Ralph Rapson — one of his professors at the School of Architecture — Hargens took a part-time internship at Close. He’s remained at the firm ever since and is now the principal architect.
“Having been here with them for so long, I really believe I’m a disciple of theirs,” Hargens said about his mentors. “I’m proud of them and what they’ve stood for.”

For the first few years that Hargens was at the firm, Lisl was on her own, directing a staff that varied in size from six to a dozen employees. Though Hargens describes Lisl as a slight Viennese woman, he said she had the potential to intimidate at times. “[I’ve] seen 250-pound superintendents quake when she was unhappy,” he said, chuckling.

But his boss had a soft side, too. Asked by Hargens toward the end of her career what the most important thing was to her in her practice, Lisl answered, “That we made a lot of friends.” Hargens said this caught him off-guard, “because she was always so vehement about architectural principles.”

The Close trademark

Both Roy and Bob Close said their parents’ designs took on certain trademark characteristics. Roy said their work features a “real attention to light and shadow,” as well as a relative absence of interior walls. Their use of natural materials — from redwood to homasote — was also a signature trait. Hargens said there was a sort of “egalitarian-ness about their designs, even though, later on, they were designing for the rich and the famous.”

Since Hargens has been at the firm, Close Associates’ Bridgeland designs have included a remodel of Prospect Park United Methodist Church, work on parts of the University of Minnesota Medical Center-Fairview and the interior work on the historic renovation of the Pratt School building.

But of all their Bridgeland designs, Hargens says the Close’s pride and joy was undoubtedly Ferguson Hall, the music school at the University of Minnesota. As musicians — Lisl was a cellist, Win a violist — their unique perspective and enthusiasm for the project was remarkable and left the project’s selection committee “beaming,” he said. Roy agreed.

“The opportunity to do that building was really important to them,” he said.
Over the years, the Closes won numerous awards for their designs both in and out of Bridgeland. In 1969, the two were elected to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and in 2002, Lisl was awarded the Minnesota AIA Gold Medal for Lifetime Achievement.

In what was a gradual progression, Hargens became sole owner of Close Associates in 1988, although the Closes continued to work with him on occasional projects into the early 1990s. Win died in 1997, and Lisl now resides in a Minneapolis nursing home and is in good physical health, though she has senile dementia which affects her cognitive abilities, Roy recently said. She celebrated her 96th birthday earlier this year.

Different styles, same mission

Despite his different architectural style, Bob and Roy Close said Hargens “was definitely influenced” by their parents. Like Win and Lisl before him, Bob said Hargens has a knack for understanding clients’ needs. Hargens said he’s learned the right questions to ask from designing living spaces, and attention to detail in smaller projects like residential designs has made Close’s larger projects better.

Gail Graham, who oversaw the construction of the Seward Co-op’s current building at 2111 E. Franklin Ave. more than a decade ago, said she was impressed with Hargen’s ability to deliver on the Co-op’s vision. “There’s always challenges working with architects,” Graham said. “They always have great ideas, and some of them cost too much, so you have to talk them back down to the ground along with you. I found Gar was able to create a vision and deliver a project … that kept us to our budget, and that was unique.” (Hargens also designed the Co-op’s future home, just a few blocks east of his Seward office.)
Since taking over the business from the Closes, Hargens said one of his biggest changes has been a departure from solely modernist architecture. He has also taken on more renovations in recent years, including additions to the Closes’ own designs. “I love those projects where we’re taking what Win and Lisl started, and adding to it,” he said.

Toward the end of Lisl’s tenure, Hargens talked her into doing a couple projects with peaked roofs. “She was kicking and screaming the whole way,” Hargens recalled, admiring his mentor’s staunch dedication to modernist architecture.

The Hargens legacy

To say Hargens’ impact on Bridgeland in recent years has been substantial would be an understatement. In addition to the Seward Co-op projects and Pratt School, other projects have included Dartmouth Place townhomes between I-94 and Stadium Village; Metro Place, a combination of shops and condominiums on East Franklin Avenue; the Ronald McDonald House at 621 SE Oak St.; and several private homes and home renovations in the Marcy-Holmes, Prospect Park and Longfellow neighborhoods. Additionally, Close Associates was commissioned four different times to renovate Dania Hall — the historic Cedar-Riverside community center. Nearing completion in 2000, however, the building and the project were lost to a devastating fire. Hargens calls it the project he “mourns the most.”

Hargens attributes the reason for so many Close Associates designs in Bridgeland to the friendships his former colleagues developed throughout their careers. “Architecture is largely a result of relationships,” he said.

While Close Associates celebrates a 70-year milestone this year, its owner just reached a landmark of his own. Hargens celebrated his 65th birthday not long ago, and though it’s an age most often associated with retirement, he’ll be the first to tell you he’s not planning to leave the business anytime soon.

The topic of retirement begs the question of the fate of Close Associates when Hargens does decide to leave — a prospect further complicated by the fact that he has been a solo practitioner for the last 15 years, hiring out for each of his projects based on the specific need and expertise each individual job requires. While Hargens seemed to dodge the question, the Close sons appeared confident that their parents’ legacy is more than just the name. “While it would be nice to see the name carry on, it probably wouldn’t be a high priority for my parents,” Bob Close said.

Dining al fresco

jeremy — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 12:58:27 -0500

by Jeremy Stratton

Bridgeland makes the most of sidewalk season

In Minnesota, we hold our summers precious. The long, Siberian-like winters mean we make the most of our temperate days, the likes of which So-Cal and Florida take for granted.

Of course, those days are far fewer than the long winter, which gives rise to phenomena like shorts-and-flip-flops during the February thaw and the anxious wait for the opening of outdoor seating at area bars and restaurants. For some, it can never come soon enough.

By August, the summer is in full swing and al fresco dining has taken over the city, from the humble chairs and tables parked on the sidewalk outside the mini-market to the sprawling patios and unique spaces designed to pay homage to the fleeting sunlit days and breeze-cooled nights of summer.

A brief tour of outdoor dining in Bridgeland must start where the city did: along the Mississippi riverfront. While the newly redeveloped, more urban Downtown side has a few remarkable standouts — such as Spoonriver and Harry’s Food and Cocktails — it is the east bank that takes the cake for scenery with your seating. A stroll down Southeast Main Street — from the upscale Nicollet Island Inn to the hit-the-spot, beer-and-burgers fare of Tuggs Tavern — offers a full range of dining and drinks with views of the river, St. Anthony Falls and the Downtown skyline beyond.

Just blocks to the north, the bustling East Bank neighborhood offers an even wider range of options. With another outdoor seating area around just about every corner, from tucked-away garden patios — like the one shared by Rachel’s and Punch Pizza — to sidewalk tables complemented by flowering planters, low fences or simply the street scene itself.

Of the Bridgeland neighborhoods, however, Cedar-Riverside wins the prize for sheer volume (thanks in no small part to Sgt. Preston’s), and the unique character of the neighborhood is reflected in the creativity of its outdoor dining. Several designated patios fill in spaces along Cedar Avenue, from the picnic tables out back of Palmer’s to the side-stretch of tables across the street at the Nomad World Pub, where on cold nights a
fireplace has been known to warm the assembled smokers.

To the north, Seven Corners is a Midwestern slice of the European café scene, while, south of the freeway, the street that holds The Cabooze and The Junction is like a Harley-crowd block party on summer weekends. Just a bit further down the LRT line, Bedlam Theatre’s rooftop patio offers an excellent view of passing trains and Downtown Minneapolis.

Seward sports several nodes of outdoor dining. There’s the nexus of Franklin Avenue and 22nd Street South, highlighted by the back-to-the-garden goodness of Seward Café’s Green Space; there’s the old Hub of Hell-area bars and bowling alley; and, famously tucked away in the neighborhood, the twin relaxations of the Birchwood and Cliquot Club along East 25th Street.

Near the southern border of Bridgeland, Lake Street features street-side seating near Minnehaha and the wonderful backyard patio at El Norteño, with other notables peppered along the finally paved street — including the original summertime stop, Dairy Queen.
In all of Bridgeland, however, Overflow Café on University Avenue gets the award for most ambitious outdoor seating area. Tables and chairs sit on the upper deck above — and around the grassy lawn beside — a pool (complete with a waterfall and fountain) that is larger than the café itself. It’s just one of the finds along the long hill of that Prospect Park thoroughfare. Further west on campus, students study at sidewalk café tables during the day — and don’t study at bar patios in the evening.

Only the largely residential Southeast Como neighborhood seems to be lacking in outdoor dining and drink. Manning’s has outdoor seating; otherwise, we found only a couple of tables outside the Subway on East Hennepin and Mississippi Market at 1828 Como.

But then, it’s not the patio itself that’s the point, is it? It’s the chefs, servers and bartenders that make Bridgeland’s al fresco dining more than a well-ventilated smoking section and our wealth of great restaurants and bars worth visiting — inside or out.