Creative Leadership : Development News

HUGE Improv, an improvisational actors troupe that originated at the Brave New Workshop's comedy theater in 2005, has taken its company to the next level with a new permanent home in Minneapolis's Uptown area.

Until the group opened its doors in December 2010 at 30th and Lyndale Avenue South, it had to compete for time and attention at various venues throughout the week, according to Butch Roy, who leads HUGE Improv.  

After working to build up the weekly "Improv-a-go-go" program at the Brave New Workshop, showcasing various troupes, and an improv festival that's now in its fifth year, the group decided to go for a place of its own. "You can only grow so big before you have to risk it and make the big change," he says, adding, "There was a lot of enthusiasm for long-form improv and then came the decision to make the leap."  

Now, HUGE Improv is able to share its stage with many other performers, often hosting multiple shows daily.

But the nonprofit group, which is entirely volunteer-driven, is still fundraising for improvements to its all-black-painted theater, which, in traditional style, has just a slightly elevated stage and 100 seats on one level, according to Roy. Previously a retail space, the 4,000 square feet also includes a backstage area and a lobby, while the bar is still in progress (along with the accompanying beer and wine license), he says.

Altogether, the completed aspects of the build-out totaled $26,000, according to Roy. Earlier on, the group was quoted $67,000 for the work, but HUGE Improv was able to make up the difference with lots of donations and volunteer time, on everything from paint to drapes, he says.

The locally based Shelter Architecture even contributed design services, which was a big help. However, HUGE Improv still needs financial support to offset its construction costs, he says.  

Like many other businesses and organizations, HUGE Improv went through a rough period during the recession, where it incurred a lot of debt. Instead of getting bogged down by that, though, "We try to stay focused on the sense of play that makes it fun," he says, adding, "We want to be ourselves with the audience."  

Source: Butch Roy, president, HUGE Improv
Writer: Anna Pratt

TLS/KVA, a design team that's based partly in Boston and Berkeley, Calif., has begun an information-gathering phase to bring its RiverFirst concept to fruition.

In February, the team won the Mississippi Riverfront Design Competition (MRDC) with the proposal, which involves "inter-related design initiatives focused on health, mobility, and green economy," and which, functioning on many different levels, aims to help raise awareness about how consumers impact the river system, according to a prepared statement about the proposal.

The competition asked for proposals that would reorient the area to the river, with a main idea being that parks can be a powerful engine for sustainable recreational, cultural, and economic development--something that is especially needed along the river, an area that historically has been underused, according to project materials.        

For its efforts, TLS/KVA has secured a commission, though the scope, location, and features are still up in the air, according to project information.

To figure out what specific aspects of its ambitious RiverFirst proposal will be doable, the team is researching other existing riverfront-related plans, while also getting feedback from various experts and community members and nailing down possible funding sources, according to project manager Mary deLaittre.  

On April 6, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board approved $267,000 in contracts for this phase of the project, which has a new heading: Mississippi Riverfront Design Initiative.

Ultimately over the next six months, TLS/KVA will work to define an implementation plan for both a long-term framework and a more immediate project--so this is a transitional phase into development, she explains. 

In late April, TLS/KVA had its first steering, advisory, and technical committee meetings with the park board. It'll continue to meet in the coming months, and then unveil a firmer plan to committee members in September, she says.

The committees, which will be open to the public, offer "critical connections and opportunities for community engagement," says deLaittre.

With a project of this scale, "it's important to collaborate across institutions and the public and private sector," she says, adding, "We want to avoid a piecemeal approach."

What sets apart this community engagement process from others, she says, is that "we're trying to substantively engage people and turn to them for what they're best at."


Source: Mary deLaittre, project manager for the Mississippi Riverfront Design Initiative 
Writer: Anna Pratt

At the recent Bruner Loeb Forum in Minneapolis, a mix of speakers stressed numerous community development initiatives that take art into account in ways that are both concrete and philosophical.

The Bruner Loeb Forum, which originated at the Harvard Design School, is a biannual gathering that brings to the fore "innovative strategies from across the nation that leverage local engagement in art and design to build more equitable, more economically sustainable, and more connected neighborhoods and cities," according to program materials.

The two-day event in Minneapolis was titled, "Putting Creativity to Work: Stronger Communities through Locally Rooted Art and Design." As it unfolded at various local venues, it brought together a crowd of that included local and national designers, scholars, planners, artists, nonprofit representatives, government officials, and others, program materials state.

Juxtaposition Arts hosted the event in partnership with the University of Minnesota's Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA) and landscape architecture department, Nexus Community Partners, 4RM+ULA architecture, and Conway+Schulte Architects.

At the conference, speakers touched on everything from Houston's Project Row Houses to the ability of artists to turn around declining neighborhoods. Attendees toured the North and South Minneapolis neighborhoods, where Juxtaposition Arts and Native American Community Development Institute are working to improve the areas.

DeAnna Cummings, who heads Juxtaposition Arts with her husband, Roger, hopes people will get serious about addressing racial disparities. "They have to be addressed if we'll ever manifest our potential as a community," she says. "We all have to work together to change it."

She cites a couple of examples of the kind of creative problem-solving that came out of the exercise. In examining West Broadway Avenue North, from the Mississippi River to Penn Avenue North--as  part of a creative mapping activity--conference participants concluded that the plethora of youth-oriented programs is too poorly advertised, while artistic streetscape enhancements need to be more visible.

She says that the event's speakers discussed the importance of pulling together diverse groups of people to solve problems and build on opportunities. Instead of getting the best and brightest people, who tend to be like-minded, "more effective is a team that thinks differently, that envisions challenges through different lenses," she says.  

Cummings says she was impressed with the level of energy of conference-goers. While she and others are still "unpacking" the takeaways, follow-up events are in the works, including a Juxtaposition mural to go on Broadway and Emerson. Students will work with professional artist mentors "to bring what happened at the conference out onto the street."   

Source: DeAnna Cummings, Juxtaposition Arts
Writer: Anna Pratt

Eric Brew, a St. Paul resident, has long thought about creating an arts hub where writers, painters, thespians, and others could hang out and feed off of each other. 

The timing seemed right, so he recently set in motion an online kickstarter fund, to which anyone can contribute, to make it a reality. 

He's eying a 4,000-square-foot space in Northeast Minneapolis, the previous home of City Salvage, which moved next door, for a combination coffee shop, bookstore, and creative outlet he's calling Brew's Coffee & Books.

To make it a go, Brew needs to raise $32,000 in start-up expenses, including the first month's rent and deposit, business licenses, permits, coffee bar, bookshelves, and plumbing.

So far, the project has received $1,575 in startup funds, according to its website. The deadline for raising the money is May 4.  

Brew, who was inspired by the famous Shakespeare and Company Bookshop in Paris, wants to provide a similar feel, with a book-filled partition and plenty of nooks and crannies. "It's the complete opposite of what's there now," he says. "It has an empty floor plan." 

The vacant space has hardwood floors, exposed brick walls, and a stage. Brew is looking to incorporate writing studios and a lending library, along with books for sale on consignment and dramatic performances.

He envisions a place where people can teach or attend classes, perform, and participate in discussion groups and more. "The biggest thing is having an open space available to all kinds of artists, not specifically writers or actors, but everyone."

Brew's will emphasize sustainable practices: "We promise to be as green as we can be in two environmentally taxing industries, coffee and publishing," its website states.  

For starters, the caf� will serve specialty coffees that come from a local roaster who supports "direct trade" coffee beans that come straight from farmers through an area importer, while sustainable practices will be constantly refined, according to its website. Food will also come from local sources. 

The cafe will try to use as many secondhand items as possible, Brew says. To get the concept beyond the idea stage, he's working with a couple of collaborators while also networking with artists. He hopes to open the cafe in June.   

Source: Eric Brew, originator of Brew's Coffee & Books
Writer: Anna Pratt

Marty Schirber, a remodeling contractor who lives in Northeast Minneapolis, came up with the idea of turning the nearby Hollywood Theater into a haven for jewelers after talking with several artists who told him they were looking at collocating their studios to save money.

The Hollywood Theater, which opened for movie screenings in 1935, has been vacant since it closed its doors in 1987, according to city information.

After the city bought the building in 1993, it pursued several redevelopment proposals but none came to fruition, according to city information. The city's asking price for the property is $275,000.   

Schirber, who serves on the neighborhood group's Hollywood Theater Task Force, says that the theater auditorium could become studio space, while the balcony could accommodate jewelry-making classes. The lobby could be converted into an art deco-styled jewelry store, in keeping with the theater's history, he says.

He pictures a place that's similar to the Mississippi Craft Center, which serves the Craftsmen's Guild of Mississippi and accommodates numerous artists who work in different mediums. (He happened to be visiting the Center when The Line called him.) "This place is a destination," he says. "A lot of the artists have quit their regular jobs. They have enough traffic to go full-time here."    

Jewelers could split the costs of the pricey equipment and workbenches they use by sharing studio space at the Hollywood. "It could be a guild for jewelers and a conduit for people to find artists," he says.   

Schirber has  found that the concept "resonates soundly with artists and jewelers," adding, "It's just what they need."

He estimates that conversion will cost less than a million dollars, though he's still researching the idea, including checking into possible funding sources, and a business plan for the project is still in the works.


Source: Marty Schirber, Hollywood Theater Task Force    
Writer: Anna Pratt

Seward Redesign, a neighborhood nonprofit developer, is taking steps to make "phase two" of its proposed Seward Commons a reality at the industrial four-acre site that was formerly home to the Bystrom Brothers machine shop, between Minnehaha and Cedar avenues south on 22nd Street in Minneapolis.

Seward Commons, which has long been in planning stages, is a sustainable transit-oriented housing development, according to project information. The development process has been divided into a couple of phases that separately deal with housing for the "persistent mentally ill" and seniors.   

"Phase two" specifically relates to 60 units of senior housing in the complex, which Seward Redesign associate director Katya Piling says is in high demand from the area's aging population. "People love the neighborhood and want to stay here," she says.

To make it happen, Seward Redesign is considering the possibility of teaming up with CommonBond Communities, another local nonprofit developer that already has a presence in the neighborhood at the Seward Towers. The possibility will be presented at a Seward Neighborhood Group committee meeting on April 12.  

The details of such a collaboration need to be worked out to meet the requirements of a Housing and Urban Development funding application, for which the deadline is coming up, she says.

For the 40 units of supportive housing, plus administrative offices, dining, and health and wellness facilities that are a part of "phase one," the group's partner is Touchstone Mental Health.

Seward Redesign acquired the land, which has nine buildings on the premises, in June 2009. Since the beginning, the community has been looped into the master-planning effort, which goes back even before then.  

Ultimately, Seward Redesign wants to transform the off-the-beaten-path industrial area into a lively link to the Hiawatha Light Rail Transit (LRT) line. Already the group has taken pains to open up access to pedestrians along a trail near the line, which means people don't have to cross busy, four-lane Cedar Avenue to get to the Franklin Street LRT Station.

In the future, Seward Redesign hopes to create a well-lit path that "provides a more direct, flat way to reach the station," Piling says.  

The group has put a lot of thought into environmental issues. On the site, Seward Redesign plans to implement cutting-edge stormwater-management practices. Already, the existing parking lot has become an urban farm, which could be expanded to the development's rooftop. "We want to integrate agriculture into the development in the long-term," she says.   


Source: Katya Pilling, Associate Director, Seward Redesign     
Writer: Anna Pratt

When the TLS/KVA team of landscape architects and designers strolled a 5.5-mile stretch of the Mississippi River starting at the Stone Arch Bridge in Minneapolis and heading north, they climbed over fences to get a better view of the landscape. It almost got them arrested for trespassing. 

TLS/KVA is a partnership between the Berkeley-based Tom Leader Studio and Kennedy & Violich Architecture from Boston.

Sheila Kennedy, one of the team members leading the charge, says too much of the river is off the beaten track. "We felt the river edge is where people should be," adding, "It's so difficult to get there now."   

TLS/KVA, which has a partnership with nine local firms, was announced as the winner of the Mississippi Riverfront Design Competition on Feb. 10. The contest, jointly held by the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, Minneapolis Parks Foundation, Walker Art Center and University of Minnesota College of Design, solicited proposals from four finalist teams from across the globe.

TLS/KVA stood out for its proposal, titled RiverFIRST, which focuses on water, health, mobility and green economy.

The goals were to re-establish the parks as an economic engine for development and make the river�one of the three great rivers of the world�a connector, not a divider, and reorient the city around that focus, according to contest project manager Mary DeLaittre.    

Whether it's about rediscovering the Northside Wetlands or establishing floating "habitat islands" that happen to be formed from recycled water bottles, "RiverFIRST design initiatives function at multiple scales to link larger natural, social, civic, and economic ecologies and raise citizen awareness about the impacts of consumer choices on the Upper Mississippi River," a prepared statement reads.  

TLS/KVA will be awarded a riverfront parks commission, the details of which will be determined over the course of a four-month transitional phase.

 
Source: Sheila Kennedy, KVA, Mary DeLaittre, Mississippi Riverfront Design Competition  
Writer: Anna Pratt

Coming up with inspiring visions for reconnecting the city of Minneapolis to the Mississippi River--one of three great rivers in the world--is no easy task, but that's just what the contestants in the Mississippi Riverfront Design Competition set out to do.

The four finalist teams, which were chosen in November, are competing for a commission to redesign 220 acres of parkland along the Mississippi, starting near the Stone Arch Bridge and pushing the city's northern boundary.  

They presented their plans to an audience of over 400 people at the Walker Art Center last week, while another 200 viewers watched online. A winner will be announced Feb. 10.  

Mary deLaittre, the contest's project manager, who is also the founder and principal of Groundwork City Building, says each design was impressive.

For starters, the New York City-based Ken Smith Workshop's plan "clearly walked people along the river," she says, adding, "That was the strongest element. It gave a clear concept of the parks along the river." 

Boston's Stoss Landscape Urbanism had a clear understanding that "we need to reclaim and redefine the river quickly," while the firm also recognized the importance of marketing and branding the endeavor in unique ways.

Likewise, TLS/KVA out of Berkeley, Calif., "distinguished themselves with an innovative, comprehensive and integrated approach," that included a considerable amount of community engagement.

The group touched on topics such as health, mobility and green economy, educating people about consumer impacts on the river.

Last, Turenscape team members who come from Beijing, China, "really outdid themselves with a quality video that looks at the river over 50 years." 

Although each team was paid $30,000, deLaittre says, individually the teams put in another $250,000 in time, expertise and production--hard work that will have lasting value. 

Video footage of their presentations can be seen on the project website, where there's also a form for submitting feedback.

The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board and Minneapolis Parks Foundation cosponsored the contest along with creative partners, the Walker Art Center and University of Minnesota College of Design.
 

Source: Mary deLaittre, project manager, Mississippi Riverfront Design Competition and founder and principal for Groundwork City Building 
Writer: Anna Pratt

Living on the water--really on the water--has been a way of life for David Nelson and his wife Renae since they moved into a houseboat on St. Paul's Mississippi riverfront almost 23 years ago. Over that time, they've shared the floating life with a few river neighbors, but now they've got plans to share its charms and challenges with many more.

Nelson, a building contractor and developer, has embarked on a renewed marketing push for a project he calls River Cities: housing 300 or more people in condos on a barge-sized boat that's specially built to ply the nation's extensive inland waterways system.

Nelson has been working on the concept for more than five years (full time for three), and figures the market for an adventurous way of living, especially for retirees, may be ripe now. "People are sick of this perpetual staycation that we're in," he says.

Plans are for two 300-by-54-foot boats, each five stories in height, that could travel together or separately. With sufficient commitments for condos ranging in price from $299,000�$499,000, Nelson could have his first condo-bearing boats built in as little as 18 months.

A big part of River Cities' appeal is the kind of proximity to nature that the Nelsons have enjoyed in St. Paul. They've also found a sense of community on St. Paul's houseboat docks (nine boats when they moved in, a city maximum of 25 now) that they hope to replicate on a bigger scale with River Cities. "Boaters look out for each other," Nelson says.

Source: David Nelson, River Cities, Inc.
Writer: Chris Steller

The Minneapolis Riverfront Corporation, the state-chartered organization that's still in its early years of steering development along the city's Mississippi riverfront, has taken charge of an effort that's nearly 20 years old: restoring the East Channel Falls near downtown. Two local agencies have appropriated a total of $160,000 toward studying how feasible and workable the idea is.

The city started as a milling center at St. Anthony Falls, the only real waterfall along the entire length of the Mississippi River. But at the time of the city's founding in the mid-19th century, the main waterfall was divided into two parts: the main channel falls, between the west bank of the river on the downtown side and Hennepin Island; and the East Channel Falls, between Hennepin Island and the river's east bank.

Both sections of falls were once remarked upon for their natural beauty: water playing off huge chunks of broken limestone. But the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers tamed the main falls with a ramp-like apron covering. And the East Channel Falls disappeared, tapped first for direct-drive and then hydroelectric power.

In the early 1990s, David Wiggins began exploring the idea of restoring the east channel falls while working as a program manager for the Minnesota Historical Society. Now with the National Park Service's Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (MNRRA), Wiggins says a coalition of interested parties has formed to move the concept forward.

"I'm pretty optimistic," Wiggins says. "But it's not necessarily a slam dunk." Engineers are using $100,000 from the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization (MWMO) to study whether restoring the falls is feasible. Another $60,000 from the St. Anthony Falls Heritage Board is going toward master-planning and consultation with Dakota elders about the area's history before white settlement.

Source: David Wiggins, National Park Service
Writer: Chris Steller