Strong Local Economy : Development News

Soon, a building in Minneapolis's Northeast Arts District that sat vacant for a year will become a hub for beer, art, and solar power.

It's been dubbed the Solar Arts Building, according to Nathan Berndt, a cofounder of Indeed Brewing Company, which will be its anchor tenant on the first floor.

In the past, the 1914 building had various uses, including housing a Sears Roebuck distribution center and more recently, an electrical transformer company, before it went through foreclosure stages, according to Indeed Brewing information.

Besides the brewery, artist-geared spaces, some of which have already been snatched up, will fill the building's remaining two floors.

It’s an ideal location for the new brewing company, which recently signed a lease for the space with building owner Duane Arens, Berndt says. “We’re involved in the community and we support being in a place for people to come together,” especially artists, he says. “We like being around creative people.”

Another dimension of the brewing company will be a public taproom, for which the design is still being developed.

A strong visual feature will be the building’s original wood columns, which lend a turn-of-the-last-century warehouse feel, he says.

Sustainability is also an important aspect of the building’s overall rehab. On the building’s rooftop a sizable solar array will be installed. It’s also getting new energy-efficient windows and mechanical systems, Berndt says.  

The effort to go green is something that’s important to the brewing company, as well, he adds.

“This sleepy dead-end adjacent to the Northstar Commuter Rail tracks will be a bustling intersection of art, craft beer, solar power, and urban revitalization,” the brewing company’s website states.

Indeed plans to open this summer.

Source: Nathan Berndt, cofounder, Indeed Brewing Company
Writer: Anna Pratt

The Minneapolis Sculpture Garden and nearby Cowles Conservatory, popular attractions at the Walker Art Center, are due for a facelift, according to Phillip Bahar, the museum’s chief of operations and administration.

It’s been almost 25 years since the sculpture garden was inaugurated, he says.

Back then, the garden, which is run by the museum on city parkland, was the “first major urban sculpture garden in America,” and it became a model for many others.  

The University of Minnesota’s Landscape Arboretum ran the conservatory in the beginning, and the Minnesota Department of Transportation constructed the colorful bridge that connects Loring Park and the sculpture garden.

“It was an amazing example of what can happen when the community comes together around one idea,” Bahar says.

Since then, over 8 million people from all over the world have visited the sculpture garden, which is also the most tagged photo subject on the photo-sharing site, flickr, he says. “It carries the message of Minnesota and the arts.”

However, over the years the garden’s soil has become so compacted that water doesn’t drain properly anymore. It needs to be refreshed to “loosen up the topsoil.” Granite pavers that have settled into the land also need to be reset. “Those are some of the things that are hit the hardest by water,” he says.

A new drainage system that’s been designed for the garden would capture rainwater to irrigate the land, a process that's especially useful for the famous Spoonbridge and Cherry sculpture, which has a water feature.

Beyond that, the conservatory’s mechanical systems have become outdated, and its greenhouse use is also nearing an end. The conservatory will probably be turned into an exhibition space of some sort, he explains.

Altogether, it’s an $8.5 million project, which the state legislature is considering in its current bonding bill. To be clear, he says, the park board is making the funding request. As such, “None of this money goes to the art. It goes to infrastructure and landscape,” the sculpture garden’s “hard parts.”

Depending on how the legislative session goes, work on the garden could begin as soon as the fall.  

“We have this beloved state asset,” Bahar says, and, just like any other major infrastructure project, the garden needs work to “replenish it to its glory when it was new.”

Source: Phillip Bahar, chief of operations and administration, Walker Art Center
Writer: Anna Pratt

This spring, a pop-up tree nursery is coming to St. Paul’s Frogtown neighborhood as a creative way to get more trees planted in the area.

Part of the reason for the project, which is a collaborative effort between St. Paul, Frogtown Gardens community activists, and the University of Minnesota, relates to a 2010 tree canopy analysis of the city.

The study found that Frogtown has a lack of tree cover, according to Brett Stadsvold, who works for the city’s parks and recreation department.

Last fall, the partners worked together on a pilot project to address the issue. They involved “citizen foresters” in planting and maintaining 18 boulevard trees throughout the neighborhood.

Building on the project's success, “The next idea was to develop a citizen-run tree nursery,” but starting small, with a pop-up or temporary nursery, says Stadsvold. “We wanted to gain support and get people interested.”

The 25-tree nursery, which will include a mix of shade and fruit- and nut-bearing trees, will go on the corner of Dale and Lafond avenues--a city-owned parcel--for one growing season, starting close to Arbor Day.

Experts in the subject will help volunteers “learn how to propagate trees from seed.”

At the nursery, there’ll also be space for demonstrations and social events for which University of Minnesota agriculture students will be submitting design proposals on Feb. 27, he says.

Signage and furniture made out of repurposed materials will make the lot inviting year-round. “We’re repurposing things that may be seen as waste items, and acquiring them at low cost,” he says.  

Later the trees will be transplanted onto private properties in the neighborhood.

Although the project’s budget is $3,000, it’ll probably only use half of that amount, says Stadsvold.

In the future, the project could be expanded. “We want people to feel empowered to take care of trees and be stewards,” he says, adding that the effort has come from community members.

The city is providing support in the form of “labor with the logistics and acquiring the trees,” he adds.


Source: Brett Stadsvold, St. Paul parks and recreation, forestry unit
Writer: Anna Pratt

The historic Uptown Theatre, a well-known fixture in Minneapolis’s Uptown area, closed on Jan. 31 for renovations.

Its operator, Landmark Theatres, which is based in Los Angeles, plans to reopen the place this spring, according to a prepared statement from the company.

The 900-seat theater is a destination for foreign, art and cult films, including the long-running "Rocky Horror Picture Show."
 
As a part of the renovation, Landmark plans to turn the concession stand into a full bar, according to a prepared statement from the company. The theater will also get a giant new screen, luxury seats, and a digital projector. Its distinctive neon sign will remain intact, and  and so will its balcony, which is one of the few of its era in use locally.

The existing Uptown Theatre was constructed in 1939 after the 1913 building on the site burned down. Originally it was known as the Lagoon Theater.

It’s defined by a classic Streamline Moderne style employed by its designers, architecture firm Liebenberg and Kaplan, which also did the Suburban World Theatre down the street, according to the Star Tribune.

The Uptown Theater last underwent a major remodeling in the late 1960s, the Star Tribune story states.   

Alicia Garatoni, who works at Keller Williams Realty and serves as the vice president of the Uptown Association, welcomes the changes. “I’m thrilled, both as someone who loves independent and foreign films and has a business in the Uptown area.”  

“It’s in keeping with the forward movement of Uptown,” including the remodel of Calhoun Square and a number of other area renovations and development projects. “I’m glad it’s getting attention and will drive traffic into the Uptown area.”  

She says it’ll help the area be a well-rounded destination center. “So much is going on in Uptown,” she says. “There’s a lot of reasons to come to Uptown and this is just one more.”  

“I love [the theater] because it has an old-time feeling to it. It’s so charming,” she adds.   

Source: Alicia Garatoni, realtor, Keller Williams and vice president, Uptown Association  
Writer: Anna Pratt

As a new way to reach targeted audiences, Minneapolis has recently joined Foursquare, a location-based social network.

On Foursquare, users can connect with friends by “checking in” at a site on their smartphone or other mobile device.

They’re able to swap local knowledge or get deals that are tied to certain locations.

Minneapolis spokesperson Matt Lindstrom says that the city is offering tips at specific places that help “advance and achieve specific goals for the city.”

He adds, “We’re trying to be strategic about where we reach people on Foursquare.”  

For example, if someone checks in at an area dog park or a pet store, they’ll find information about pet licensing, which “is important for animal control.”

The city is also trying to build awareness for its STEP-UP youth summer jobs program. On Foursquare, people can learn more about the program when they check in at school.
 
Likewise, check-ins at city buildings will pull up tips about following city council meetings in person or online, which, Lindstrom says, promotes transparency.

More tips will be added later on. “We want our tips to make sense and have a purpose for where we leave them,” he says.

Minneapolis has also been successful with Twitter and Facebook, according to Lindstrom.

Recently, the city got props from Government Technology magazine for having a couple of the most-followed municipal Twitter feeds nationwide.

“The reason we do [social media] is because that’s where people are,” he says. “It’s a great way to quickly share news and information. It’s also a way to hear what people have to say.”  

Source: Matt Lindstrom, spokesperson, city of Minneapolis  
Writer: Anna Pratt

For Patricia Ohmans, a proponent of Frogtown Gardens, a potential urban farmstead and demonstration site in St. Paul’s Frogtown neighborhood, the proposal is becoming more of a reality.

It's a mutlifaceted concept for a new kind of park that would go beyond a nature sanctuary, a place where people would “literally gain sustenance,” she explains. (See The Line's earlier story here.)

For those who've gotten involved in the effort, she says, “We are solidly in favor of a place to play and commune with nature and a place for food and eating,” adding that it makes sense to do it on the largest green space left in the city.

Until recently, the idea seemed like a bit of a long shot, due in part to the cost of the 12.5-acre parcel that the garden advocates are interested in. The site is owned by the St. Paul-headquartered Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, a nonprofit health and human services organization. Wilder put it up for sale through an auction, taking sealed bids on the site through late January, according to Ohmans.

Recently, the Trust for Public Land, a national nonprofit organization with a St. Paul office, partnered with Frogtown Gardens to put a bid on the land. “I think the TPL wouldn’t have decided to do it if it hadn’t see how much public support it’s generated,” Ohmans says.  

She hopes that the combination of a credible buyer and neighborhood and city support, including boosts from local institutions, will make it happen.

When the results could be in, though, remains an open question. Right now, “The ball is in Wilder’s court,” she says. Nevertheless, “It’s really a big step for us,” she says, adding, “It’s an idea whose time has come.”

On Jan. 26, the community activists hosted a cooking event at the Rondo Library to promote the project.  

In the hopes that the Frogtown Gardens will materialize, in the coming months, its advocates will be hosting meetings and design charrettes “to make sure the eventual design and creation of this park reflects as many people’s desires as it can,” Ohmans says.

Source: Patricia Ohmans, Frogtown Gardens and Urban Farm
Writer: Anna Pratt

A group of community members in St. Paul’s Summit Hill neighborhood are working to bring an idea for a community garden to fruition.

It’s something that the Summit Hill Association (SHA) has been talking about for several years and it’s finally starting to come together, according to Kate Pearce, who chairs the neighborhood group’s environment committee.

“As most community gardens are aiming to do, we want to use more green space for the cultivation of food and to do some community-building at the same time,” she says. “It’s just a more sustainable way of growing food and getting it local.”  

Community gardens are also good for security, with more people out and about who know their neighbors, she says. “It’s something the neighborhood wants and needs.”  

SHA, which has scouted out various locations for the garden, is currently eyeing a site at Linwood Park, between the recreation center and tennis courts, where there’s open lawn space.

Already, SHA has looked into the feasibility of the city-owned site. The biggest challenge will be to create the infrastructure to pipe water into the garden, which will probably cost $5,000, according to Pearce.  

The soil may also need to be tested, while the garden's size and the number of plots are also yet to be determined.

At a Feb. 28 public meeting that the environment committee is hosting, “We’ll get to know how many people are interested in helping to get it going,” she says.

Then, they’ll be able to come up with a rough timeline and a plan for fundraising and applying for grants for the project. At this point, Pearce is unsure what its total cost might be.  

Although the timeline is still unknown, Pearce predicts that the garden could be ready in the spring of 2013.

“We’re assuming there’ll be a high demand,” she says. “We have to figure out how to make it equal-opportunity [so] that it’s fair to everyone.”   


Source: Kate Pearce, environment committee, Summit Hill Association
Writer: Anna Pratt

Waite House, a community gathering place in Minneapolis’s Phillips neighborhood, started construction at its new home this month. It’s about 80 percent of the way to its goal of raising $250,000 for the project, according to Waite House information.

The neighborhood organization is moving from its cramped quarters at 2529 13th Avenue South only blocks away into the larger Phillips Community Center at 2323 11th Avenue South.

By the spring, the organization will be sharing the building with a handful of other community-oriented organizations, including the Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board, which has also revamped some parts of the complex.

Waite House director Francisco Segovia says that the new digs will allow for “collaboration with other organizations under the same roof."

Community members will be able to take advantage of the fitness center, eat healthy meals, and take classes. It also has a double gym, teen center, kitchen, dining room, offices, parking, and more.   

“This will enhance and provide services to a lot of kids in Phillips,” says Segovia.

The remodeling project mainly involves tearing down walls, installing new flooring, and upgrading systems, he says.  
 
Until now, the Waite House has had to juggle a community café and a gym in the same space.

In the new building, the functions will be separate. It’ll also have a computer lab, community-organizing-focused library, wireless Internet access, and meeting space.  

The food shelf is going to be bigger, he says. “We’ll be able to store more fresh food than we can at this point.”  

In the future, he hopes the organization will be able to open a coffee cart to have on hand for meetings.

“It’s a place in the neighborhood where community members of all nationalities and ages can come and network with people there,” he says.

Source: Francisco Segovia, director, Waite House
Writer: Anna Pratt

A vibrant mural at 12th Street and Hennepin Avenue South uniquely calls attention to the coming Butcher and the Boar restaurant while also sprucing up a previously nondescript corner.

Local artist Adam Turner, whose work also adorns Creative Lighting in St. Paul and the Surly Brewery in Minneapolis, says, "All the work the company is doing is really upping the beauty of that area. That building was kind of rundown. It’s bringing new life to it.” 

The 20-foot by 20-foot mural, which could be enlarged later, pictures a blond-haired woman who is poised with a vintage-looking bicycle. A silhouette of the Minneapolis skyline is behind her while oversized stalks of wheat frames the figure.

It's characterized by fall colors.

On the whole, the image speaks to the clientele the restaurant is planning to attract along with the area’s bike and beer culture, he says. "The mural is about the vibe [the restaurateurs] want to have."

As if to demonstrate that, a woman who resembled the figure in the mural, who had a similar bike, posed in front of the scene one night for a photo.  

The mural came together over the summer and fall months.

During that time, the parking lot that the mural faces was being redone, so he worked in the mud. Nevertheless, he’s enjoyed being in the elements.

Already attracted a lot of comments from passersby who spotted him working. “Hopefully a lot of people will see it and like it.”   

He hopes it paves the way for other businesses to do more work like this and “not be afraid to come up with a proposal that’s a little fun and expressive of its views.”

Source: Adam Turman, mural artist, Butcher and the Boar
Writer: Anna Pratt

Soon, Minneapolis's East Side will get something called a Local Food Resource Hub.

The hub, which is still in planning stages, is a part of a program that was piloted in the city last year. Through neighborhood-embedded hubs, it connects hundreds of gardeners to discounted seeds and seedlings, tool sharing, workshops, and more.

Stephanie Hankerson, who is a program volunteer, explains, “A hub implies a physical location that people descend to but it’s more of a network of gardeners supporting each other." She adds that the hubs have only temporary locations.

Another hub is also in the works in St. Paul.

Gardening Matters, a local nonprofit agency that provides support for community gardens, is administering the program in partnership with the city and various community organizations and businesses.  

Hankerson explains, “The idea is to lower the barriers to get food-growing happening in backyards and community gardens and even support for commercial enterprises.”

It’s based on a model that’s been successful in Detroit, according to Hankerson.

Hubs offer memberships to gardeners based on a sliding scale fee, and scholarships are available.

Last year, each hub had about 200 members, which is a number that she expects to increase this year.

The individual volunteer-driven hubs each have a different flavor. “It reflects the neighborhood and community it’s coming from,” says Hankerson. 

“My hope is that the hub would be a support system for folks to grow their own food,” she says, adding, “At the same time, it’ll make our neighborhoods more sustainable and self-sufficient.”

On March 3, the hubs are hosting a program-wide fundraiser, with a winter sowing demonstration, composting tips, and information about low-cost city trees and community gardens, according to program materials.

A couple other kickoff events for the East Side hub are also in the works for February. For more information, check the Gardening Matters website. 

Source: Stephanie Hankerson, East Side Local Food Resource Hub
Writer: Anna Pratt 

St. Paul’s Frogtown Neighborhood Association (FNA) has generated a geographic information systems (GIS) map of the 5,500-household district to help it more dynamically engage the community.

The local Flat Rock Geographics helped it build the digital map, which was released in November following a couple of years of development, according to Tait Danielson Castillo, who leads the neighborhood group. “It’s about efficiency and organizing,” he says.   

The map, which was made possible through a $20,000 grant from the McKnight Foundation, allows FNA to quickly connect with people within a specific geographic area, including everything from information about who’s interested in gardening topics to crime statistics.

Most of the databases that neighborhood groups use are searchable only by person. “What we never thought about was how to categorize people based on interest and place of residence,” says Danielson Castillo.

The GIS map helps the organization get to the bottom of questions such as, “How many people would like to garden within 1,000 feet? How many water sources are nearby? How many vacant lots are within 1,000 feet?”
 
Some of the information has been manually entered in with the help of portable GPS devices, while other data may come from the city or county.

Danielson Castillo explains that it’s not about data mining, but freeing up time to make meaningful face-to-face connections. “It’s about the follow-up after we get people connected to the neighborhood organizations,” he says. “The system is only as powerful as the relationships that we build.”

Already, the system has had an impact. For example, when the city realigned the sewer system on Thomas Avenue, FNA used the map to connect with non-native English speakers, which helped avoid a potentially disastrous situation.   

Within a 24-hour period, Danielson Castillo was able to contact the street’s residents directly, sending translators where needed.

“The best system is still the phone or direct verbal contact. That’s still what we’re shooting for,” he says, adding that although social media are useful “We’re digressing in some ways, returning back to our roots and using technology at its best.”

The project’s next phase will involve maps that the public can use to learn more about current events, developments, public art projects, or the area’s history.

“We’re 90 percent sure that nobody else has used [the technology] this way,” he says. “No one else we know is using this on the community level.”   


Source: Tait Danielson Castillo, director, Frogtown Neighborhood Association
Writer: Anna Pratt

To gauge  interest in a couple of its redevelopment projects, Plymouth-based Dominium Development and Acquisition hosted a community meeting on Jan. 9 at the Mill City Museum in Minneapolis.

Dominium plans to convert two historic sites--the old Jacob Schmidt Brewery in St. Paul and Pillsbury ‘A’ Mill in Minneapolis--into artist live/work spaces. (See The Line’s stories here and here.)

With the help of PLACE, a nonprofit agency that specializes in this kind of housing, Dominium has created an online survey to get additional input.

The survey asks people to weigh in on everything from possible rent prices to amenities, to help shape the common spaces and individual units in both developments.

Owen Metz, a senior development associate at Dominium, says that the company wants to “assess the market, to see what interest there is from the arts community,” adding, “We want to find out what their motivations are for living there.”

Dominium is hoping to hear from 10,000 area artists. “We’ll use the feedback to guide and drive some of the decisions moving forward, as we design units and common spaces,” which will allow for flexibility in the design, he says.

He adds that the company is reaching out to artists working in many different media.  

Depending on the survey’s results, a photography studio, for example, could be incorporated into one or both of the housing projects.  

Whatever the reaction is, “We’ll take it to heart and try to accommodate it as much as we can,” he says.

Source: Owen Metz, senior development associate, Dominium Development
Writer: Anna Pratt

Last winter, when Matt Forrester worked in downtown Minneapolis, he often took the skyways to get around, but, at first it was challenging to find his way.

Forrester, who then worked at Thrivent Financial, frequently used the indoor walkways to get to the Minneapolis Convention Center. It took about five tries to master his route.

“It’s a terribly confusing system if you’re not there day-to-day, or if you’re not in your own office," he says.

That's where his cartography skills came in handy. Around the same time, he and his business partner, Kate Chanba, started a map-making company, Carticulate.

The existing skyway map, which the city has been using for a long time, is “really bad. There are a few things wrong,” for starters, and it’s difficult for those who are color-blind to read.

Forrester and Chanba put together an alternative skyway map to address those issues. When they published it online, it led to a huge spike on their website, he says.  

Subway maps like Harry Beck’s 1933 London Underground inspired them.

Their map shows multiple ways to get from point A to point B. Each building acts as a subway “stop” with seven different “lines,” which are color-coded.

They eliminated the background geography, such as cross streets, which helped simplify things. “Most people aren’t leaving the skyways,” he says.

Their goal is to get the map into the skyways, with some corresponding signage. “It definitely trumps any other map that’s out there,” he says, since other maps don’t clearly show connecting routes that go through multiple buildings. 

The challenge is that there’s no one entity governing the skyways.

Even though the pair moved their company to New York this month, they're staying the course. “We’d love to help out the area and benefit the city. We want to do what we can to make it better.”

Source: Matt Forrester, Carticulate
Writer: Anna Pratt

A new brewpub that takes its cues from old England,  George and the Dragon, is coming to Southwest Minneapolis. 

Fred Navarro, who co-owns the business with his wife, Stacy, says that the first hurdle was to get neighborhood approval. From there, the pair got to work on the financial side of things. “That’s been the long part of the process,” he says.

George and the Dragon will have about 1,850 square feet in a newly-constructed building that replaces  one that burned down a couple of years ago. It's a one-story structure with a brick facade and a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood feel, he says.

The retail shop Patina will join the pub in the building, along with a to-be-announced tenant.

George and the Dragon is starting from scratch, in terms of the build-out and equipment, he says.

Navarro and his wife worked closely with architect John Abbott to recreate the feel of a traditional English bar or “public house,” one that “feels like it’s been there a long time.”

“Ultimately a public house is a place for the community and for neighbors to gather,” he says. “That was kind of a driving factor for what we wanted the design to look like.” 

The Atwater-based company TimeWorn is creating a wood-paneled interior in the pub, using reclaimed wood. In the basement will be a kitchen, offices and storage, and cooler space.

Altogether, the project totals nearly $500,000, Navarro says. The couple hope to open the pub by April 1.

Source: Fred Navarro, co-owner, George and the Dragon
Writer: Anna Pratt

Kopplin’s Coffee settled into its new digs in St. Paul’s Merriam Park in late November.

In preparation for the move, Kopplin’s, which relocated from the nearby Highland Park neighborhood, remodeled the new space--a big project that totaled over $100,000, according to owner Andrew Kopplin.

The new place required a lot of painting, and now appears in shades of cream, brown, and green. Kopplin also built a “big sweeping bar” and installed new flooring. The result is casual, a blend of contemporary and traditional styles, he says.  

The coffee shop tripled in size, according to Kopplin. More space means that “We can serve customers in a better way,” he says. “Having more seating makes it easier to have people stay, sit down, and slow down,” which, he adds, is harder to pull off in a crowded space.  

The additional square footage also allows for more storage space. In the future, he hopes that it’ll provide the legroom to experiment with new drink recipes. “It frees us to do more,” he says. 

The remodeled coffee shop has already been featured in Travel + Leisure magazine as one of the country’s coolest coffeehouses.

Kopplin says that it helps to have complementary businesses nearby, such as Izzy’s Ice Cream and Sweets Bakeshop. They’re contributing to the local/sustainable "slow food" movement, which Kopplin’s advocates, he says.   

Previously, the coffee shop was somewhat isolated from other businesses. Its new address is in an area “where people are already out doing things,” he says. “The businesses around have made a huge difference. It makes it more of a destination neighborhood.”


Source: Andrew Kopplin, owner, Kopplin’s Coffee
Writer: Anna Pratt