creative economy : Development News

A novel called, “Moon Palace,” by Paul Auster, made quite an impression on Angela Schwesnedl as a young reader.  

So much so that when she and her husband, Jamie, recently decided to open a bookshop within walking distance of their South Minneapolis house, they christened it Moon Palace Books. “It’s the book that turned me into a reader,” she says.  

The 840-square-foot new and used bookshop opened on Oct. 25 in a former storage space on 33rd and Minnehaha, alongside Trylon Microcinema and Peace Coffee Shop.       

It’s titles like “Moon Palace” that the couple have hand-selected for the store--items that “My husband and I are excited about reading,” she says.  

The bookstore has special sections devoted to local authors, cookbooks, gardening, urban homesteading, film, fiction, graphic novels, poetry, children’s books, and more. It also sells ereaders and ebooks.   

To get the space bookstore-ready, the couple replaced the garage door with a glass door, painted the interior lavender, and lined the walls with wooden bookshelves. “Everyone says it smells like real wood and books,” she says.

The storefront is highly visible on the street, too, with bold bands of color wrapping around the building's exterior.

The neighborhood has been supportive of the shop, which she says fills a void. “There’s not a lot of bookstores in the neighborhood but there are a lot readers here,” she says. “I think we’ll be a good fit.”

Already, the bookstore has been getting foot traffic from the neighboring businesses, and vice versa.

Although things are still coming together in the bookshop, “If you like to dig around find stuff, it’s a great place,” she says, adding, “I think we’re just a fun and interesting place to shop for books.”


Source: Angela Schwesnedl
Writer: Anna Pratt

Aria, a special event space in downtown Minneapolis’s Warehouse District, has opened its doors to a creative sound installation called “Playing the Building,” from rocker David Byrne.

“Playing the Building,” which runs through Dec. 4 at Aria, has also exhibited in New York City, Stockholm, and London.

The show's title literally references how “The infrastructure, the physical plant of the building, is converted into a giant musical instrument,” according to the project website.

To make that happen, various pieces of equipment have been fixed to metal beams, pillars, and pipes to create sound. “The devices do not produce sound themselves, but they cause the building elements to vibrate, resonate and oscillate,” the website reads. 

This is the first artistic program open to the public to take place at Aria, which took over the old Theatre de la Jeune Lune space nearly a year ago, according to Michelle Klein, a spokesperson for the venue.  

“That’s part of the vision for the building,” she says. “The idea is to make it not just a private event center, but a public event destination.”

Considering that the vintage building was once the site of award-winning theatrical productions, “It would be a shame to close the doors and only open it to those who’ve booked the space,” she says.

More broadly, the idea of scheduling community-oriented arts programming in the space speaks to the vision of First and First, the site's development company, headed by Peter Remes.

The idea is about “being much more engaged in a robust way with the neighborhood,” she says. “We want to be a good neighbor, going far beyond sweeping the sidewalks.”  
 

Source: Michelle Klein, spokesperson, Aria
Writer: Anna Pratt

As a part of a larger beautification project in the neighborhood, Cooper’s Foods on St. Clair Avenue and West Seventh Street in St. Paul recently added a large mural to its façade.

The mural celebrates the grocery business, picturing a mix of brightly colored fruits and vegetables, according to store manager Steve Daly.

This portion of the building was a blank canvas beforehand, Daly explains. The mural, which was unveiled in late October, runs about six feet wide and 18 feet high, he says.

Nance Derby Davidson of Acme Scenic Arts designed the mural, which was installed in three separate pieces, according to the Community Reporter.

At the same time, the building’s exterior got a fresh coat of paint, along with new planters and hanging plants. “We’re trying to clean up and beautify the area,” which he says was “getting downgraded in looks.”

The project was made possible in part by a grant from Greening the Avenue (GTA), which focuses on aesthetic and environmental improvements in the city’s second ward, according to the Community Reporter.

GTA initiated the idea of doing a makeover on this corner, to which Cooper’s said yes, Daly says.

Daly hopes that the grocery store’s attention to detail on the corner will encourage others to follow suit. “We’re real happy with the progress,” he says. “We’re trying to make the area more presentable.”

A post on the St. Paul Real Estate Blog gives the grocery store’s project a positive review: “It all looks wonderful,” the blog post reads, underscoring the store’s importance through the years. “It is very much a neighborhood store and sometimes a place to catch up on the local gossip,” the post reads.

Source: Steve Daly, store manager, Cooper’s Foods
Writer: Anna Pratt

In the future, St. Paul could once again have a streetcar system.

Right now, the city is weighing its options, with the help of a San Francisco consulting firm, Nelson\Nygaard, which is conducting a feasibility study on the topic, according to Nancy Homans, a policy advisor to Mayor Chris Coleman.

The study, which will probably take a year to complete, entails “doing preliminary work around possible routes and identifying criteria by which we’ll evaluate both the geometrics of the street and transit ridership issues," she says.

Funding for the $250,000 study comes from the city, Ramsey County, the Central Corridor Funders Collaborative, the McKnight Foundation and the Saint Paul Foundation, according to Finance and Commerce.

Over the next year, the city, with the help of the consulting firm, will also be asking for feedback from the public on its findings.

The city’s streetcars went away about 40 years ago. “It was once a well-developed system,” she says.

The reason streetcars are coming up these days is because “They are a good transit type of vehicle. People appreciate the fixed route,” she says, adding that the economic development impact has also been demonstrated.

“They support the business node and link into the larger regional system,” she says.

In this case, the city hopes that streetcars will build on the coming Central Corridor light rail transit line.

This is something that cities around the country are looking at. “The conversation has been, ‘how we do improve transit in the city,’” she says, adding, “I think this is a logical next step.”  

For St. Paul, getting there means working closely with Minneapolis, which already did its own feasibility study, and other regional partners to figure out financing. “We want to work together on common issues,” she says.

Source: Nancy Homans, policy advisor to mayor Chris Coleman, city of St. Paul
Writer: Anna Pratt





 

Soo Visual Arts Center (SooVac) in Minneapolis’s Uptown neighborhood is trying out a pop-up gift shop as a way to emphasize shopping locally.  

The gallery’s shop will “pop up” at 3506 Nicollet Avenue South, which formerly housed Yeti Records, on Thursdays through Sundays from Nov. 17 to Dec. 24. (See The Line story here, about Yeti Records going mobile.) The shop’s inventory features a wide assortment of gifts, from paintings to knitwear, which are the handiwork of more than 55 artists, according to the gallery’s executive director, Carolyn Payne.

The gallery has had holiday sales in the past, but the pop-up shop allows for its annual juried show, “Untitled 9,” to go on at the same time. “It’s going to be fun,” she says, adding that it’s an opportunity to “celebrate some of the wonderful Minnesota artists we’ve had the privilege to work with over the years.”

The pop-up shop builds on the gallery’s artist-designed interactive carnival, Sideshow Soo, which was a part of the Pat’s Tap block party in August. “We had a blast getting to know the neighborhood,” Payne says.

Having another storefront space is also a good way to bring more exposure to the gallery. “The spot is great because it is a highly visible storefront space similar to SooVAC in a busy and vibrant neighborhood,” she says.

Soon, the shop will have a window display from Joan Vorderbruggen, who runs the Artists in Storefronts project in Whittier, which places artwork in vacant storefront spaces. Also, an outdoor sculpture from Sean Cairns, a student at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, will be added to the lot.

In the future, SooVac plans to take advantage of the space for other experimental exhibits, to supplement the gallery’s regular shows, Payne adds.  

Source: Carolyn Payne, executive director, Soo Visual Arts Center,
Writer: Anna Pratt

Defiant Tattoo, which relocated earlier in the year to 3014 Lyndale Ave. S. in Minneapolis, just opened up the coffee shop side of its business last month.

Emily Rampp, the office manager and a co-owner of the shop, says the tattoo parlor/cafe, which also has a fire pit and a patio, is the only one of its kind in the Midwest.

After researching it, Rampp found only one other similar place in the country, in upstate New York. "It's a rare thing," she says, adding, "That's why it took so long to open."

Although the tattoo studios moved into the space this past spring, the coffee shop was “more of a process,” given the time needed to line up the proper paperwork, she says.

Defiant Tattoo also remodeled the space, which cost $60,000. The 2,700-square-foot space had been vacant for a couple of years. Most recently, it housed a fitness studio. The shop has an open floor plan and 15-foot ceilings. “It’s very spacious,” Rampp says. “People can sit down and drink coffee and watch people getting tattoos.”

The coffee shop is also unique in that it serves a new product called Jet Fuel, an espresso drink with  double the caffeine of regular espresso, along with other coffee and tea drinks, plus the popular Heggies frozen pizzas. Soon, it plans to add food from Red’s Savoy, she says.

The shop’s walls are full of art and the space has been furnished with Asian antiques. “It’s very earthy,” she says. “I think it’s one of the nicest-looking tattoo studios around.”   

The shop is also hosting various events on an ongoing basis, including open mic nights, bands, movies, a clothing exchange, and even a painting night.

Previously, the shop had been near the corner of Lyndale Avenue and Franklin. Before that, it was downtown.

The location is ideal, says Rampp. Referring to neighboring businesses, she says, “We try to help each other out. We all seem to support each other.”


Source: Emily Rampp, office manager and co-owner, Defiant Tattoo
Writer: Anna Pratt

The Minneapolis Convention Center, in partnership with the city, recently issued a “Creative City Challenge,” calling for proposals for a temporary creative placemaking installation on the center’s plaza.

The installation should provide a portal into the local landscape, in harmony with the "City by Nature" brand that Minneapolis adopted last year, according to Jeff Johnson, the convention center’s executive director.

Proposals can be for any type of temporary structure. That being said, structures are required to be site-specific, interactive, and eco-minded. “It’s hard to describe what could come out of this,” Johnson says. “People might come up with something we never even though of.”   

The competition, which is meant to become an annual event, is open to local architects, designers, urban planners, engineers, artists, and others. It has a December 3 deadline.

Later in December, the public will vote on proposals, which will be posted on the convention center’s website.   

From there, the top five project teams will go on to draft full proposals that will be evaluated by a jury.

The winning proposal will get $50,000 to create the structure, which will grace the plaza next summer, according to convention center information.  

Johnson says the contest was inspired by the fact that the convention center has a “great, beautiful green space in an urban setting yet we didn’t see people using it,” he says. “We knew we needed to do something to activate that space.”

It’s also a creative way to showcase local talent. “I think it’s exciting to see what happens, what people can dream up and how the community reacts,” he says.

This speaks to the idea that the convention center is “all about building relationships,” he adds. “It ties into why we’re here and what we want to do.”

Source: Jeff Johnson, executive director, Minneapolis Convention Center
Writer: Anna Pratt

After undergoing an extensive renovation, earlier this month a hotel near the University of Minnesota’s Twin Cities campus rebranded itself as The Commons Hotel.

Rockbridge Partners in Ohio took over the 304-room hotel that was once a Radisson, last March, according to the Star Tribune.

Although she didn’t have an exact figure, Christa Hudson, a spokesperson for the project, says millions of dollars went into converting the place into a boutique hotel.

To do so, Noble House Hotels & Resorts, the hotel’s management company, drew inspiration from the locale, she says.  

Noble House wanted to “translate more of the area and reflect Minneapolis,” she says.

The result is a kind of industrial schoolhouse look, or “geek chic,” that relates to the backdrop of the nearby University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Campus. “The whole aesthetic is about learning and discovering,” she says.  

Design aspects like an argyle pattern that runs throughout the building, leather-upholstered furniture, a library lounge, and a fire pit create a studious yet comfortable feel, she says.

Also, the hotel will be offering special events like "alchemist mixology" lessons, “Words with Friends”-themed happy hours, and promotional packages with area cultural institutions.

These include a “geek to chic makeover at the Aveda Institute headquarters, Science Buzz meeting at the Science Museum of Minnesota, personal story and book creation at Loft Literary Center and tour of the world’s largest Sherlock Holmes exhibit at the University of Minnesota,” a prepared statement reads.  

The idea is to encourage people to explore the area, Hudson says.

Additionally, the hotel’s restaurant, the Beacon Public House, which will open in November, will be a gastropub with a locally sourced drink and food menu. Besides serving hotel guests, it’ll be a draw for people who live in the area, she says.

All in all, “The idea is that it’s not just me staying at The Commons,” she says. “It’s me in Minneapolis.”

Source: Christa Hudson, spokesperson from the Zimmerman Agency for The Commons Hotel
Writer: Anna Pratt

Marie Philippi, a self-taught baker who co-owns the Taste of Love Bakery, had been working out of a commercial kitchen in New Hope for nearly a year when she decided to find a permanent home for the business.

The custom bakery plans to open in the next few weeks at 870 Dodd Rd. in West St. Paul, where it straddles several St. Paul neighborhoods.

Often, she passed by the corner building at the intersection of Annapolis, Dodd, and Chariton streets, which had long been a revolving door for various businesses.

Even before she was looking for retail space, Philippi, who lives nearby, wondered what could be done at that corner to turn it around. At one point, the building faced condemnation. “The corner is busy and it had potential,” she says. “I know there’s a lot of people out walking all the time.”

However, getting the space up to par was an ambitious undertaking.

For starters, the building’s façade needed a facelift, while inside, everything had to be gutted — a $25,000 project, she says.  

Previously, the building’s exterior had cracked stucco, while rotten wood and overgrown trees also caused problems.

Inside, floors had been in disrepair, walls were filled with graffiti and the windows were painted green, “So nobody could see in,” she says.  

New electrical systems and plumbing had to be installed. Furthermore, the bakers are joining two separate spaces in the building. “We’re cramming a lot into a small building,” which is 2,400 square feet, including the basement, she says.  

To keep costs down, “We bought a lot of things used,” she says. “We’ve refurbished those things.”

Also, she was able to raise $8,000 for equipment through an Indiegogo online campaign.  

Ultimately, she sees the bakery as a destination for area families, which she says is a huge need in this part of town.  

As such, the bakery includes a play area for children, along with child-sized furniture and kid-friendly menu items in addition to the retail area and lounge. “I wanted a kid-friendly space and an area where you could come to relax or work,” she says.  

Source: Marie Philippi, co-owner, Taste of Love Bakery
Writer: Anna Pratt

The Broadway, named for its location at 945 Broadway in Northeast Minneapolis, had a groundbreaking celebration last week.

Local developer Peter Remes and his company, First & First, LLC, are behind the $4 million renovation of the former Twin City Paper building, according to the Star Tribune.

It’s a classic warehouse with large windows, hardwood and polished cement floors, brick walls, high ceilings, old-growth timber beams and more, according to the related Java Properties website.

So far, building tenants include 612Brew and Sevnthsin, a digital creative company, which will be joined by other to-be-determined firms and a café and fitness center, according to the Star Tribune.

The Broadway will also have special features such as a vertical glass gallery showcasing artwork, an outdoor greenspace with an amphitheater and water fountain that includes stones salvaged from the old Metropolitan Building, which once stood in downtown Minneapolis, the story states.

City Councilman Kevin Reich says the project “fits in well with the redevelopment efforts in the area around some older brick and timber manufacturing buildings.”

He’s glad to see this type of project on a prominent corner that serves as a gateway into the neighborhood. “The developer is doing a polished job,” with a generous courtyard and commons area, he says, adding, “It shows real insight from the developer to create a sense of place.”  

The mixed-use project brings together light industrial uses with creative ventures, a move that complements the Northeast Arts District, he says.

It’s part of an emerging brew district that includes the Dangerous Man Brewing Co., Indeed Brewing Company, 612Brew and Northgate Brewing. “It’s the idea that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts,” Reich says.  

The project is planned to wrap up in 2013.

Source: Kevin Reich, city council member, Minneapolis
Writer: Anna Pratt

On Oct. 11, MidModMen + friends, which previously had an online-only presence, opened at 2401 University Avenue West in St. Paul.

MidModMen offers vintage and modern home décor, including furniture, lighting, and decorative items, its Facebook page reads. The shop is open on weekends and for special events.  

Over the past year, the space had been used as a pop-up shop, as a part of a collaboration of the Starling Project and Saint Anthony Park Community Council.

The Starling Project brings together entrepreneurs, artists, and small organizations with building owners for “meanwhile uses” of vacant storefronts and spaces along University Avenue during Central Corridor light rail construction, its website reads.

Neal Kielar, who co-owns MidModMen with Jon Mehus, found the space with the Starling Project’s help. 

The 1,200-square-foot space seemed like the right fit, and it helps that it’s part of the neighborhood's in-progress Creative Enterprise Zone.

Several other similar stores, including Succotash, are nearby. “We’re part of this concentration of retailers that deal in vintage furniture, décor, art, ephemera and kitsch,” he says. “Synergy seems to be there.”  

The store plans to stay in the space through the end of the year, though it could stick around longer if all goes well, according to Kielar.

“We’re finding ourselves part of the revitalization of an important commercial corridor,” he says. “It feels like how Northeast [Minneapolis] felt 15 years ago.”

He was pleasantly surprised by the amount of foot traffic in the area. Already, the store has had strong sales. “We’re happy with the way it’s working out,” he says.  

The store is going for a friendly, personable vibe, where “You can hang out and talk and learn new things,” he says, adding, “Shopping doesn’t always have to be about purchasing.”  

“We have a certain aesthetic or design point of view and we love when people share an interest or passion in that,” he says.
 
Source: Neal Kielar, co-owner, MidModMen + Friends
Writer: Anna Pratt

St. Paul Parks and Recreation is looking for ideas for redeveloping a long-vacant warehouse building at the entrance of the Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary.

It’s asking for “requests for interest” or creative proposals from development teams, to be filed by Oct. 30, according to parks information.

In the future, the building could be an interpretive center for the sanctuary, with classrooms and possibly even a performance space, says Brad Meyer, a spokesperson for the parks.

“We’re going through this process to determine what kind of interest might be out there in redeveloping the current building,” he says.   

This is part of the process of due diligence “in assessing what market may exist for reuse, and what the next steps will be for the site,” he adds.

Part of what makes the vintage building attractive is the fact that it’s “structurally sound.” It includes features such as a first-floor “walkout” to the nature sanctuary, masonry walls, and concrete floors with supporting beams and columns, according to parks information.

The building also “offers excellent views of the Mississippi River corridor and downtown Saint Paul skyline,” while contaminated soils on the property have already been cleaned up, according to the same information.  

On the downside, however, the building, an empty “shell,” lacks heating and cooling systems and windows.  

Meyer says the building is a unique asset to the park system, with plenty of potential, thanks in part to its proximity to other big projects in the area, including the renovated Union Depot, the planned Lafayette Bridge crossing, and the future Lowertown ballpark.
 
Source: Brad Meyer, spokesperson, St. Paul Parks and Recreation
Writer: Anna Pratt

Just over a week ago, the Butter Bakery Café relocated blocks away from 36th and Grand Avenue in Southwest Minneapolis, to 37th and Nicollet Avenue.

The bakery is planning a grand opening for Oct. 23 in collaboration with the Nicollet Square building, for which it’s a partner, according to owner Dan Swenson-Klatt.

Butter is housed within the three-story Nicollet Square, which provides supportive housing for young people who are at risk for homelessness, along with a chiropractor and the nonprofit organization, Twin Cities RISE!, which deals with job training.

As a part of that partnership, the bakery has taken on a couple of apprentices who live in the building, and it plans to bring on two more young people in the near future, he says.

“I’ve always thought of this as more than a little coffee shop,” he says. “This gives me more of that feel, that it’s part of something bigger.”   

However, the bakery is still getting settled into the space. It’s a bit like moving into a new home, “where you live out of boxes for awhile,” he says.

So far, the change has been good. He’s hearing from regulars that “It’s so big and so bright,” in comparison to the old space, but “It still looks like Butter.”  

Before, the bakery was too cramped, both in terms of seating and space for running the bakery and grill at the same time.

Now, people can opt for the more informal café area of the bakery or they can go for the dining space. “No one has to feel like they’re being pushed out,” he says.

The space, which started off as an empty shell, was designed specifically for Butter, with room for growth.

One custom touch that he hopes personalizes the space includes two murals that line the restroom walls.

The murals picture the countryside surrounding the creamery where the bakery gets its butter and the scene outside of Butter’s door. “It’s a way of connecting with the Butter community,” Swenson-Klatt says, adding, “We were always meant to be a neighborhood spot.”  

In the future, he hopes some sort of garden might spring up on the empty lot behind the building.

Source: Dan Swenson-Klatt, owner, Butter Bakery Café
Writer: Anna Pratt    

Last weekend, the Minnesota Museum of American Art temporarily opened up its in-progress “Project Space” as a part of the Saint Paul Art Crawl.

MMAA Executive Director Kristin Makholm says it was an opportunity to “start letting people know where we’re going to be, and to do some creative placemaking."

The museum’s grand opening is planned for Nov. 16, with a show of landscape paintings called “Painting the Place Between.”

Right now, the 3,700-square-foot space in the vintage Pioneer-Endicott building, which will also offer high-end housing, is still under construction, she says.

Previously, the museum, which rented space from the Ramsey County Government Center, relied mainly on traveling exhibits.

Although MMAA still plans to do traditional exhibits, “We’re expanding on what an exhibit is,” she says. “It’s about events and programming,” which encourages participation and incubation.

The museum’s “Project Space” will feature experimental works.

Part of the idea of opening up the “Project Space” during the art crawl was to get feedback on “how we can engage people in different ways,” she says.  

Curator Christina Chang is “coming up with intriguing ways to get feedback, to have people respond to things in the gallery,” she says.

Many people have said they want to see local artists showing at the MMAA, and they want to meet them, too. This seems to align with ‘eat local,’ ‘shop local’ trends. “People want to see more work that’s being created in the community,” she says. “It’s the power of local art.”

It’s a niche that MMAA hopes to respond to in creative ways. “We’re excited to start this new period of our resurgence back into the cultural life of St. Paul,” she says.


Source: Kristin Makholm, director, Minnesota Museum of American Art
Writer: Anna Pratt

Driftwood Community Arts, a unique blend of art gallery, studio, and learning center, had its grand opening in St. Anthony Park in St. Paul on Oct. 6.

In the recent past, the space housed the Sacred Paths Center.

Driftwood’s seven founders came together because they wanted to expand on their experience in a master’s program at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities campus, according to Carina Eugenio, a manager and founder of the place.

“It was a really great collaboration,” she says, adding, “We worked well together.”

Reflecting that back-and-forth, the studio is open, with no partitions. The idea is that “We can talk together when we need to, and feed off each other,” she says.  

Before the art center opened, the space was built to suit. As such, some walls were taken down to “fit the collaborative setting that we wanted,” she says. “There were many discrete spaces that we knew didn’t work for what we wanted to do.”  

Right now, the place is offering mainly one- or two-day workshops, but it’ll evolve based on the community’s interests. “We want to see what the community is interested in learning about and what we can learn from them as well,” Eugenio says, adding that many classes will be team-taught.  

“Art for everyone,” which was the theme of Driftwood’s opening, is a mission statement. “It’s not just a current goal of ours, but a continuous goal in terms of how the gallery and studio work together to create affordable and accessible art,” she says.  

This extends all the way down to how the group is presenting artwork, with no differentiation between pieces that are more or less expensive. “We want to have it all work together and be appreciated on the same level,” she says.  

While the group worked on the space, including the garden on the lot, “There was a lot of interest,” she says. “A lot of people were saying they’ve been waiting for something like this to come around.”

Source: Carina Eugenio, operational manager/partner, Driftwood Community Arts
Writer: Anna Pratt