Design : Development News

After a $14 million project that nearly doubled its gallery space, a renewed Weisman Art Museum on the University of Minnesota’s Twin Cities campus has opened its doors.

Erin Lauderman, a spokesperson for the Frank Gehry-designed museum, says the Weisman added another 8,100 square feet, which it did without “any more ground to build on.”

In a Finance and Commerce story, Brett Dunlap, a project manager with JE Dunn of Kansas City, Mo., the project's general contractor, says that it "required the galleries to be built atop and cantilevered over huge concrete columns."

A fifth gallery space, which has been dubbed the Target Studio for Creative Collaboration, “had to push the walking bridge out,” according to Lauderman.

There’s also a new canopy and bridge skirt. More of the signature metal of the façade was used on one side of the building, while another part of the exterior is mainly brick. “It completed the building inside and out,” she says. “Now you walk in a loop inside.”  

Another challenge was to fit the work in with the plans for the Central Corridor Light Rail Transit line, which will span the Washington Avenue Bridge. “It’s a limiting site but it’s a fantastic location,” Lauderman says.

All in all, the museum has the same feel as it did before, although the recently installed skylights create an openness that literally sheds new light on the works. “That makes every space look different,” she says.  

The Weisman now has more room to showcase its 20,000-piece permanent collection, which includes ceramics, American art, and works on paper. The fifth gallery area is geared to interdisciplinary collaboration.

“Now [the museum] is a better resource,” she says. “You can come back and see the same piece multiple times.”

Admission to the museum is still free and, says Lauderman, “it doesn’t take long to get through. We have a nice, thoughtful collection." 

Source: Erin Lauderman, Weisman Art Museum
Writer: Anna Pratt

The idea for the Museum in the Streets: Lake Street project came to Joyce Wisdom, who heads the Lake Street Council, when she was on a trip to Connecticut a couple of years ago.

Taking a self-guided tour down certain streets in one town, she learned all kinds of interesting tidbits about the area’s history, according to Cara Letofsky, who is a project volunteer.

A number of plaques placed here and there along the street told of the town's development through words and pictures.

Wisdom contacted the Museum in the Streets company about the possibility of bringing the same kind of displays to Lake Street in Minneapolis.

It's something that piqued the interest of many other community members, and the council got to work on the project, Letofsky says.

So far, the council has raised about one-third of the $150,000 needed for the project, which will include 20 plaques along Lake Street.

Meanwhile, a dozen volunteers are in the process of researching sites to be highlighted on the tour. “We’re looking for sites that have a good story and are good for illustrations or photos,” she says.  

In the process, Letofsky is learning about such bygone places as the 1905 Wonderland Amusement Park, Minneapolis Harvester Works--a well-known farm equipment company--and the Nicollet Ballpark, where the Minneapolis Millers played from 1896 to 1955.

“We came across a photo of four members of the baseball team in new cars that were bought from a dealer on Lake Street,” she says.  

Other venerable places, such as Ingebretsen’s Scandinavian gift shop and the 1928-built Midtown Exchange building, are still around.

To help passersby make the connections, a brochure will outline the walking tours. “The series of panels that makes up each tour will invite people to discover Lake Street’s unique story at their own pace, over the course of an afternoon or on return visits.”  

Letofsky says that the group is interested in the project as a way to “build the vitality of Lake Street and its business community,” adding, “It’s an economic development tool.”  

The council plans to mount the displays next spring.

Source: Cara Letofsky, spokesperson for Museum in the Streets: Lake Street
Writer: Anna Pratt

This week, local residents will have several opportunities to weigh in on the redesign of Webber Park in North Minneapolis.

Landform, a Minneapolis-based landscape architecture firm, is leading the master-planning process with the Minneapolis park board.

As a part of an early information-gathering process, it'll host a public meeting, studio time, and open house between Sept. 29 and Oct. 1, along with an online survey.

The 22-acre Webber Park is a wooded facility that has a pond, swimming pool, wading pool, playing field, tennis and basketball courts, and a playground and recreation center, according to park board information.

Roberta Englund, who heads the nearby Folwell and Webber-Camden neighborhood groups, describes the park as a comfortable and pretty urban area that’s “an important community attribute [that] hasn’t had the attention it deserves."

A big draw at the popular park is the annual Victory Labor Day Races and Community Picnic, according to Englund.

The well known “woodchopper statue” and Webber Park Library are also on the grounds, she says. 

But the park has a number of issues that need to be addressed, including a lack of parking.

Also, the swimming pool needs to be replaced. “We don’t have enough water features here. The priority is making it considerably more accessible,” she says.     

Other issues at the site center on reforestation, tornado damage, and inadequate lighting, she adds.

Whether the library should stay put, expand, or relocate, is also up in the air.

While ideas for the park are still in an early stage, the idea of enhancing the park's connection to the nearby Shingle Creek and Mississippi River in some way has come up, she says.

Englund hopes that people will take the time to voice their opinions about how the park should be configured. “It’s a major project that has a great deal to do with the visioning of parks and [their] role in recreation in North Minneapolis neighborhoods,” she says, adding, “It’ll be a careful look at how the land is used.”

Construction will begin next summer, while the park’s grand re-opening is planned for the summer of 2013, according to park board information.

Source: Roberta Englund, leader for Folwell and Webber-Camden neighborhood groups
Writer: Anna Pratt

At its Sept. 21 meeting, the Minneapolis park board initiated a 45-day public comment period on the RiverFIRST proposal to revitalize some key parts of the Upper Mississippi riverfront.

It's the next step toward making the plan a reality.

The proposal lays out various design concepts and an implementation plan for “problem-solving” parks, walking trails and other amenities for the river area, mainly between North and Northeast Minneapolis, according to information from the Minneapolis Riverfront Development Initiative (MRDI), which is leading the charge.

RiverFIRST is the product of a collaboration between MRDI project manager Mary deLaittre, the Tom Leader Studio in Berkeley, Calif., Kennedy & Violich Architecture (TLS/KVA) in Boston and New York financing consultants HR&A.

For months, the proposal has undergone an extensive editing and community engagement process, fleshing out an earlier version that won MRDI’s international design competition, according to project information.

In the proposal, five priority projects, all of which are doable over the next handful of years “exemplify ‘re-sourcing’ the river, while eliminating as many barriers as possible,” to help lay the foundation for future riverfront development, deLaittre says in a prepared statement.

For starters, a riverfront trail system that would go through Farview Park in North Minneapolis would join other existing city and regional parks and trails to form a “user-friendly network of commuter and recreational connections, most notably across the Interstate 94 trench cutting off Northsiders from the river,” a prepared statement reads.   

A number of floating BioHaven Islands on the river could help improve water quality while also providing habitat for plants and animals.   

The plan also calls for a new Scherer Park that would take advantage of park-owned property along the river in Northeast.

Separately, the Northside Wetlands Park “transforms significant acreage from the existing Port of Minneapolis.”  

Finally, an historic park that leads into the downtown area could be restored, according to MRDI information.

Going beyond the five-year projects, “The Draft RiverFIRST Proposal has the potential to create the largest expanse of new public and green space since the Minneapolis Parks system was first created over 100 years ago,” a prepared statement about the project reads.


Source: Information from the Minneapolis Riverfront Development Initiative
Writer: Anna Pratt

The Central Corridor light rail line is the inspiration for an extensive, three-year creative placemaking initiative called Irrigate.

The project, which is a partnership between Springboard for the Arts, TC LISC, and the city of St. Paul, recently received a $750,000 grant from a newly formed consortium of arts funders called ArtPlace.

ArtPlace, which brings together public and private groups, is investing $11.5 million in 34 creative placemaking projects all over the country, according to Irrigate information.

As promoters of the first project of this type, ArtPlace "aims to drive revitalization across the country by putting the arts at the center of economic development," a prepared statement reads.

For Irrigate, local artists will be trained in creative placemaking, according to Springboard executive director Laura Zabel.

From there, Irrigate will be "mobilizing and activating hundreds of artist-led projects in partnership with businesses and neighborhood groups," she says.

In general, the projects should address some issue or opportunity along the corridor, she says.

Zabel says that the idea is to "embed artists in economic and community development for the benefits they can provide to the community."

Conversely, the project "increases the community's [valuation] of its artists."

She's expecting a huge variety of projects in the areas of creative marketing and mapping.

They could help people find their way during construction or speak to a neighborhood's character. "We really see the Central Corridor and construction as an opportunity to engage artists in a really deep way," she says.

"We think it's an opportunity to demonstrate that artists are well-suited to help in moments of huge infrastructure [change]. They're creative and they think in new ways. They're intuitive, they're entrepreneurs, and they understand the challenges of small business owners."

Source: Laura Zabel, executive director, Springboard for the Arts
Writer: Anna Pratt

The four elements--earth, wind, fire and water--will soon be represented in a colorful street mural in Minneapolis’s Near North neighborhood.

It’s the second street mural to come to the city as a part of a program called Paint the Pavement, which "promotes community building and 'placemaking' through creating neighborhood art," according to its website.

Recently, a Corcoran neighborhood mural was unveiled to help calm traffic at the intersection of East 34th Street and 19th Avenue South.  

Since the volunteer-run Paint the Pavement started in St. Paul, about 15 street murals have been done through the program, according to Jun-Li Wang, a program volunteer.

“Not only does a mural give visual impact, it’s really the process that goes into making it that has the most value,” she says, adding, “Neighbors work together and meet one another in a way that they wouldn’t at a potluck."

Naturally, the cost depends on a mural’s size, but “a few gallons of paint can have a wonderful impact.”

And it makes the neighborhood more attractive, something that real estate agents have even noted in some home listings, she says.

Last summer, community members in Near North, inspired by similar Portland public art projects, started planning a mural for the intersection of 17th and Girard with a block club grant, according to Ariah Fine, a neighborhood activist.

Following the project's emphasis on youth, neighbors, creativity, color, and environment, people submitted illustrations through a design contest at a block party. A neighborhood youth’s portrayal of the four elements won, and a local artist helped adapt it for the street.  

The mural will start small and then gradually grow into four main swirling shapes, Fine explains.

The group chose this intersection because it’s close to the North High School football field, which gets lots of traffic. Also, neighbors close to the intersection were open to it, he says.

On Sept. 24, neighbors will come together to paint the mural. “It’ll be a community event, with more people than just from the block club,” he says. “I hope it’s the first of many opportunities to bring the community together.”


Source: Jun-Li Wang, Paint the Pavement; Ariah Fine, Near North neighborhood activist
Writer: Anna Pratt

Kelly Sharp, who owns an old-school barbershop called The Barber Sharp, recently redeveloped the Northeast Minneapolis building where the shop is located.

The building, which once housed a gallery and apartments, now has a handful of businesses. Tiger Rose Tattoos opened up on the second floor earlier this summer, while the spaces for Studio 3 massage therapy and the Tarnish & Gold art gallery are still undergoing renovation.

Sharp also plans to host various events in the building and create a community garden just beyond the parking lot.

The businesses collectively agreed to call the building The Foundry. Sharp explains that a foundry is a place where “precious metal is broken, melted down and molded to become whole again.”

It’s symbolic of what she hopes happens at The Foundry, and how it came together, she says.

She’d been running the barbershop for about a year at its original location a couple of blocks away--where it had been in business since the 1920s--when her rent increased. It was then that Sharp, who lives nearby, scouted out the building at 349 13th Ave. N.E.  

It seemed like an ideal location, but the whole building had to be leased at once.

Although she’s seen other real estate ventures fail in the economic downturn, she decided to go for it. “I said, ‘build it and they will come.’ I said to the universe, 'send me the people who are supposed to be here.’”   

Her vision was for a place that would “build a strong sense of community,” a kind of “third place” where neighbors can come and hang out, she says.

After she got to work on revamping the building, a process that included everything from repainting to opening up access to the courtyard, other business owners started to express interest.

She’s found that the main focus for those who want to be a part of the development is on “helping people get where they want to be in life”--not money.

She’s pleased that the community has embraced the shop.

For example, several generations are coming together at the barbershop. Some of the men who’d patronized the barbershop for decades under its previous owner had never had their hair cut by a woman before, she says.  

“People can buy art or have a massage or sit in the courtyard,” she says.  

Source: Kelly Sharp, The Barber Sharp
Writer: Anna Pratt

Plans for bike-ability on the east side of Minneapolis are coming together in 'bits and pieces,' says Michael Rainville, a bike enthusiast who lives in the St. Anthony West neighborhood.

He helped organize the recent Eastside Bike Summit, which drew nearly 80 people to the Ritz Theater in Northeast Minneapolis.

Getting bike trails on this part of the city is tough because so many different levels of government have to sign off on things, he says.

But Rainville is hopeful about the area's future bike-friendliness.

The 5th Street/2nd Avenue Northeast bike boulevard is a highly anticipated project that Rainville estimates will be completed within the next couple of months. 

"It's been talked about for years," he says, adding that with several traffic circles and a stoplight, "it'll be a nice safe place for people to ride their bikes going south through the east side of town," all the way to Columbia Heights.

Also, a bike lane is slated for Main Street and Marshall Avenue Northeast, from 1st Avenue Northeast to Broadway, though the segment that would go to Lowry is on hold.

Also proposed are bike lanes for Central and 37th avenues Northeast to the Mississippi River and on 18th Avenue Northeast from Monroe Street Northeast to the Quarry Shopping Center.

To help bicyclists safely cross the busy East Hennepin and 1st avenues northeast, which are part of a city streetcar study, a meeting-goer suggested that a bike lane go on the bridges and continue down the street. "All it would take is a couple gallons of paint," Rainville says.    

It's a good example of "the purpose of these summits, to get new creative ideas and talk about them out loud," he adds.

Rainville hopes that another bike summit will happen this winter. "Passion is all spread out. It's coming from all over the east side," he says.


Source: Michael Rainville, Eastside Bike Summit organizer
Writer: Anna Pratt

The 12-year-old Mississippi Market Natural Foods Cooperative store on Selby Avenue in St. Paul is due for some upgrades, according to company general manager Gail Graham.

It's about the overall maintenance of the place while also keeping pace with customer demands. "All stores need to be freshened up and it's time for that to happen to this one," she says.

As one part of the $400,000 remodeling project, new energy-efficient refrigerators are on the way. "We're improving some coolers. That won't be visible to customers but it'll help us manage the flow of goods more efficiently," she says.  

Further, the checkout stands will be rearranged to "make better use of space," with an additional express lane. Other cosmetic improvements involve a fresh coat of paint, flooring upgrades and new lighting fixtures.

The coop is also introducing a new salad bar and deli. 

Right now, the market is in the process of getting equipment bids and it hopes to begin work on the place in the fall, she says. During that time, the store will stay open. 

Separately, in the future, the coop is hoping to add another dozen parking spots to its existing 66.

Last month the coop acquired a nearby house that had long been vacant. "Our intention is to get the property rezoned to allow for business use, demolish the house and expand our parking," the website reads.

Considering that the store sees 145 employees and nearly 1,000 customers daily, expanding its parking even that much is a big deal, she says.

Graham says the coop is trying to build community support for the idea.

Although she admits that the economy is rough, she says, "That doesn't stop us from continuing to move forward and improving the buildings so we can continue to provide the level of service that customers expect and deserve," she says. 


Source: Gail Graham, general manager, Mississippi Market Natural Foods Cooperative
Writer: Anna Pratt

The Bachelor Farmer restaurant is introducing the first rooftop urban farm to Minneapolis, while also fully renovating an historic warehouse space in the North Loop neighborhood.

The Nordic-themed restaurant, which recently hosted a series of "soft openings," is part of a larger effort from brothers Andrew and Eric Dayton to turn around the 1881 brick-and-timber warehouse, according to restaurant information.

In 2008, the Daytons acquired the property, which once housed McMillan Fur and Wool, Northwestern Grease Wool Co., and Marvel Rack.

The restaurant has an 85-seat main dining room and a 15-seat bar, while the second floor has some additional dining and private space. 

Throughout the renovation process, the Daytons, who are the sons of Governor Mark Dayton, were "careful to preserve as much of the original character of the building as possible," a prepared statement about the restaurant  reads. 

In keeping with the building's history, the restaurant dubbed one section the Marvel Bar. A men's clothing store is planned for next door, according to Heavy Table.  

Cydney Wuerffel, a spokesperson for the restaurant, says that it's still a work in progress. "While they've quietly opened the doors to The Bachelor Farmer, the team is still in the process of transforming the space," she states in an email.   

In a recent Minneapolis/St. Paul magazine story, Stephanie March describes the space, which has a fireplace, skylight, and lounge, as one that "celebrates the inherent beauty of the old aesthetics, while bringing in a new, cool vibe. The old floorboards will be preserved, but there might be a cutting-edge mural on the wall."

Source: Cydney Wuerffel, media contact for The Bachelor Farmer
Writer: Anna Pratt

At an August 4 community meeting at Farview Park Recreation Center in Minneapolis, people got a chance to learn more about the RiverFirst proposal for redeveloping a 5.5-mile stretch of the Mississippi River. It starts at the Stone Arch Bridge and goes north. 

The meeting focused on benefits for the city's North and Northeast areas, which are largely cut off from the river, along with the idea of "problem-solving" parks that would be destinations, according to a prepared statement about the event.

It's part of a broadly based community engagement effort to gather feedback about the RiverFirst proposal--under the umbrella of the Minneapolis Riverfront Development Initiative--for re-imagining this portion of the riverfront. The TLS/KVA team of landscape architects and designers won a design competition earlier this year to bring its proposal to fruition.

RiverFirst is a multifaceted plan for revitalizing the riverfront. It includes everything from riverfront trails to a "biohaven" that would use recycled materials to form a riparian habitat for endangered species and migratory birds, according to project information.
   
Right now the design team is working to refine its proposal, studying its feasibility and gathering public input, according to project manager Mary deLaittre. On Sept. 21, the team will present its recommendations and implementation plans to the city's park board.

HR&A Advisors from New York is working closely with the design team to come up with a strategic plan "that will shape the priority projects and financing approaches," she says.  

Six youth ambassadors are also working to help spread the word about the project and collect feedback at various community events.

One idea that has been well received, deLaittre says, is for a green land bridge over I-94 to link Farview Park to the river. It's a creative solution for reconnecting this part of the city with the river and other parks and trails.

DeLaittre underscores the need for community input, for which people can fill out an online survey. All along the way, comments and images from people are being featured on the website under the heading, "River Is."

"This is a big civic project and it's imperative that people weigh in," she says.

That being said, "The level of support has been tremendous," she says, adding, "People are very interested in making sure it happens."

The project has also attracted the attention of a delegation from Seattle who are  running a civic design competition. In coming to the Twin Cities, the delegation "wanted to emulate the innovative community engagement and coalition-building," she says. 


Source: Mary deLaittre, project manager for Mississippi Riverfront Development Initiative and founder and principal of Groundwork City Building
Writer: Anna Pratt

Earlier this month, a group of transportation and policy leaders from Pittsburgh, Penn., and Columbus, Ohio, came to Minneapolis to check out its growing bicycle network as a part of a Bikes Belong Foundation workshop.

Gary Sjoquist, government affairs director for Bikes Belong, a national organization that works to increase bicycling, says that it has led similar workshops in Boulder, Colo. and Portland, Ore., "places where there've been significant changes to increase bicycling." 

The group, which is planning another get-together in New York City in the fall, also hosts international tours in cities such as Amsterdam, Copenhagen, and Munster, Germany, where 40 percent of all trips are taken by bicycle.

When people attend the workshops, "they get to experience it, ride it, and philosophically understand what's going on," he says.

Often a city official will think that developing bicycling infrastructure is a low priority because participation won't be high enough. By coming to Minneapolis or another city, "they can see how bicycling has been integrated and implement what they've seen," he says.  

Those who visited Minneapolis got to see that "what it's like when there are more vehicles on a bike trail than cars on a street nearby, like on certain parts of the greenway," he says.

By the Walker Art Center, where 15th Street intersects with Hennepin Avenue South near Loring Park, the bike lane goes from the street to the sidewalk. "Cyclists can do a left turn on a busy intersection to reach the bike trail," he says. "It's unique to move the bike lane to the sidewalk. I don't think there's any other treatment like it in the U.S."    

Only blocks away, near First Avenue, the bike lane is placed between the line of parked cars and the curb. "That's a lesson from Amsterdam, to move the bike lane to where there are fewer doors opening. It makes for smoother riding for the cyclist," he explains.

Additionally, Minneapolis's bicycle network will grow by 40 percent over the next couple of years, as a related $25 million federal grant continues to be spent. "That's another thing that really struck people who came," he says. "Minneapolis is pretty good in this area, but it will get a lot better once [more] is built." 


Source: Gary Sjoquist, government affairs director, Bikes Belong
Writer: Anna Pratt

The Lowry restaurant, which bills itself as a contemporary urban diner, is totally revamping the former Hollywood Video space in the Lowry Hill neighborhood.

For starters, remodelers removed about half of the building, bringing it down to a cozier 5,000 square feet and making way for parking and a patio, according to Stephanie Shimp, vice president of the Blue Plate Restaurant Company, which is behind the venture. "We pretty much gutted the inside," she says. 

But Blue Plate kept intact the original cement floors, with a patina, markings, and discolorations that "are very beautiful, interesting, and full of character," she says. 

As a part of the $1 million renovation of the 1920s-era building, The Lowry built out a new, lounge-like bar, a 150-seat dining area, and a kitchen.

A California Modern style characterizes the interior, with warm-colored wood and tufted-in dark brown leather booths with covered buttons and orange accents, she says. "It kind of feels like the inside of a boat," she says. "I can't think of another interior in the city that looks anything like it."

On the outside of the building the words burgers, whiskey, oysters, and eggs help provide a sense of what the restaurant is all about.

Among its unique offerings are 30 craft beers, along with wine in a keg. The Lowry will serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and will have a late-night menu. "I hope that we will become a real anchor in the neighborhood, the go-to spot for Lowry Hill, Kenwood, East Isles, and the Wedge areas," she says.

Additionally, she underscores the 100 new jobs the restaurant is bringing to the neighborhood. Many of its employees bike, bus or walk to work, she says.

The Lowry aims to open its doors by Aug. 9, according to Shimp.


Source: Stephanie Shimp, vice president, Blue Plate Restaurant Company
Writer: Anna Pratt

For those still dealing with the aftermath of the May 22 tornado that hit North Minneapolis, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) of Minneapolis and Minnesota have joined forces to provide some architectural assistance through a program called "Rebuilding it Right."

Beverly Hauschild-Baron, the executive vice president of AIA-MN, says that the affected area of the North Side has historic character that should be preserved. That being said, for those who are having to reconstruct part or all of their homes, "it might be difficult...to maintain the integrity of their homes, without some guidance," she says.

Architect teams, including 60 volunteers, are working with the neighborhood to study the structures, trying to figure out what types of drawings or sketches might be most helpful.They're also striving for greener technologies and smarter urban design in the rebuilding effort.

Teams are assigned various blocks to work on, "identifying structures that we might be able to have an impact on, or just simply providing quick design sketches to the homeowners," she says.

"We're trying to help with providing some interface between the homeowner and contractor so that the history and integrity of the neighborhood can be maintained."

This initial phase runs through Aug. 31. The group is partnering with the Northside Community Recovery Team, the city, USGBC-Minnesota, Architecture for Humanity-Minneapolis/ St. Paul, The Assembly of Architects, Rebuilding Together Twin Cities, Preservation Minneapolis, American Society of Landscape Architects Minnesota, and other local and state organizations.

"We recognize that this type of natural disaster is one in which people need to come together, to provide the skills they have and rebuild in the best way possible," she says.   

Source: Beverly Hauschild-Baron, executive vice president, AIA-MN
Writer: Anna Pratt