Creative Leadership : Development News

The Weisman Art Museum (WAM) in Minneapolis, which recently reopened with a new addition, wrapped up a design competition last month that re-imagines the plaza outside its front entrance.

A nine-member jury chose as its winner a proposal jointly from VJAA (Jennifer Yoos and Vincent James), HouMinn Practice (Marc Swackhammer and Blair Satterfield), and artist Diane Willow, according to WAM information.

The plaza, which overlooks the Mississippi River, stands on the eastern edge of the Washington Avenue Bridge, which links the east and west banks of the University of Minnesota campus.

Over 2,000 people cross the plaza daily, and with the completion of recent construction projects, including the Weisman expansion, that number is probably going to go up, according to museum information.

WAM spokesperson Erin Lauderman explains that the design competition was a way to “re-envision our front yard,” which, she adds, is important because “We’re the figureheads for people coming onto the campus as they cross the river.”

The idea is to make the busy plaza more of a gathering space where people will want to linger. “Right now it dumps you on the campus,” she says.

To address that, WAM's Target Studio for Creative Collaboration required that submissions come from interdisciplinary teams with experience designing public spaces.

She says that the winning team’s design helps redirect the flow of traffic to make it safer, keeping pedestrians and bicyclists separate.

It also makes way for an interactive public space with digital walls where passersby “can stop and interact, sort of like a call and response.”

For example, images of people walking across the bridge could appear on the digital walls.

The next phase involves public meetings. “It needs to be vetted for what’s realistic and what the community wants it to be,” Lauderman says.


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

For a decade, a memorial to honor Latino veterans in St. Paul has been in the works, and last month, it finally became a reality.

American Veterans Memorial--Plaza de Honor recently had its ground-breaking on Harriet Island Regional Park’s Great Lawn near the river walk.

The $265,000 memorial will feature a gathering area with several flagpoles around it.

“The design and construction of the memorial will tie into the recently completed renovations of the island,” a prepared statement about the memorial reads.

Brad Meyer, a spokesperson for St. Paul parks, says it helps that Harriet Island already has a smaller- scale flagpole memorial. “A new, larger memorial could use existing materials and space,” while also improving upon the original, he says.

The park was also an ideal setting for the memorial because of its high visibility, he says. Besides the thousands of visitors who come to events on the island, it receives plenty of “passive use” year-round.  

And nearby is the home of the American Veterans--Mexican American Post #5, which he says was instrumental in bringing the memorial to fruition.

With the help of the veterans' group, “We were able to secure the funds necessary to complete the project,” he says via email.

The city, along with the American Veterans--Mexican American Post #5 and U.S. Bank, contributed funds to the project, which secured both grants and private donations, according to city information.  

“A lot of thought has gone into this project, and we are very pleased with the final design and are looking forward to celebrating the grand opening” next spring, Meyer says.


Source: Brad Meyer, spokesperson, St. Paul Parks
Writer: Anna Pratt

The Basilica of Saint Mary in Minneapolis won $110,000 to restore part of its 1915 building through the Partners in Preservation (PIP) competition that wrapped up last week.

Twenty-four other local landmarks competed for grant money through the contest from American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

It involved nearly 28,000 people, who weighed in on an online poll over a three-week period, according to contest information.

PIP, which started in 2006, has given out $5.5 million to 56 historic preservation projects nationwide. Another $10 million will be doled out through the program over the next handful of years, according to contest information.

At the basilica--the oldest in the country, which French architect Emmanuel Masqueray designed--the grant will help spruce up everything from decorative ceilings to paint and gold leaf throughout.  

Chris Morris, a spokesperson from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, says that the basilica hopes the upgrade will lead the way for additional building improvements. “It’s nice that we can act as a catalyst, giving confidence to tackle big projects in the future," she says. 

More broadly, she says, the contest successfully raised awareness about many area preservation projects and “the impact it can have on sites that are meaningful to people in their neighborhoods.”

Additionally, through creative open-house events, people “tried to involve the community and do good work.”

The Hennepin Center for the Arts, which has been renamed the Cowles Center for Dance & Performing Arts, for example, had some community members knit scarves for a performance art piece. (The scarves also related to “yarn bombing” actions around town.) Afterward, the scarves were donated to people in need. “It was a fabulous act of generosity,” Morris says.   

Also, Emerge Career and Technology Center had a barbeque that got people excited about its redevelopment project in North Minneapolis. “It’s a great way to make strong connections with people in their own community,” says Morris.  

Next, an advisory committee will meet in November to determine how the remaining $900,000 grant will be divvied up among the other 24 competing projects.  

 
Source: Chris Morris, representative of the National Trust for Historic Preservation
Writer: Anna Pratt

As the latest development in a larger project to go green at the Saint Paul RiverCentre, this week an 82-kilowatt photovoltaic solar installation was shown off on its parking ramp.

The 348 solar photovoltaic panels will produce 100,000 kilowatts of energy--or enough to run about nine homes each year, according to city information.  

Anne Hunt, who works for the city, says that when it comes to energy efficiency, “I’m not sure people think of a parking ramp," adding, "This is definitely the greenest ramp in the metro area."

It complements the $2.5 million solar thermal array that went onto the RiverCentre’s rooftop earlier this year, which is considered to be the largest of its kind in the Midwest, according to city information. (See the story from The Line here.)

The two installations, which use different solar technologies, will help the RiverCentre to dramatically reduce its carbon footprint by 2012, she explains.  

Looking all over the country, “I can’t find another public building that has two different solar technologies,” she says.

Other related energy-efficiency work has recently been underway at the parking ramp as well.

For example, high-pressure sodium lights were swapped out for energy-efficient fluorescent lamps, while a couple of electric-car charging stations have also been added, she says.  

Already, the building gets power from District Energy St. Paul, which “operates the largest, most successful, biomass-fueled hot water district heating system in North America,” its website states.

As one more layer to the project, the RiverCentre complex is part of the special Energy Innovation Corridor that highlights various energy projects along the in-progress Central Corridor Light Rail line.

Funding for the $750,000 worth of energy-efficiency measures at the ramp comes partly from the federal stimulus package.  

These initiatives save money while also producing clean energy, Hunt says.


Source: Anne Hunt, spokesperson, City of St. Paul
Writer: Anna Pratt

To design a public art sculpture for the West 7th Community Center Park in St. Paul, local artist Estela De Paola de Lerma collaborated with Girl Scout Troop 52512.

The sculpture celebrates the transformation of the park, which was perceived as unsafe just a couple of years ago. Today, the park includes a jungle gym, swings, and other play areas, according to the Pioneer Press.  

In a first workshop with the children, the artist went over “the basics of three-dimensional art, public art guidelines, and the purposes of public art,” she explains.  

Afterward, the children came up with some ideas that they used to create cardboard models. A final model incorporated everyone’s voices.   

From there, de Lerma crafted a life-sized model out of foam core, adding a base to comply with the city’s requirements.

The resulting sculpture, titled “Our World,” came together through donations, including powder-coating from the city, that covered thousands of dollars of expenses.

The process took about a year. “The girls couldn’t weld, but they did the design. The ideas are theirs,” she says of the eight-foot-tall metal sculpture.

In the piece, Girl Scouts are shown hand-in-hand embracing a yellow globe.

Each row of figures is painted to correspond with a different level of the Girl Scouts.

Their message reflects the fact that they care about the world, according to de Lerma, who has a daughter in Girl Scouts. The figures come in all shapes and sizes. “Everyone is included, that’s why it’s ‘Our World’,” she says.

The girls’ names and troop also appear on the piece.

“My generation wouldn’t believe that a child could be a sculptor,” she says.

De Lerma says she was interested in the project because it proves that public art involving children can “be more than a mural. It’s a nice way of connecting the community with the place and the art” and with self-expression.


Source: Estela De Paola de Lerma
Writer: Anna Pratt

Venture North Bike Walk and Coffee, which had its grand opening on Oct. 8, is the first bike shop of any sort to make its home in North Minneapolis.

Its added emphases on walking and coffee make it a unique hub, with everything from bike paraphernalia to classes on healthy living, according to city information.

Additionally, Venture North's first day of business coincided with the unveiling of new bike lanes on the nearby Emerson and Fremont avenues.

The city is a partner in the shop; it provided startup money for the place through a federal grant, while, further down the line, as much as $350,000 could help sustain the shop, according to MPR.

The city also selected Redeemer Center for Life, a nonprofit community developer that’s based on the North Side, to manage the shop.

“The goal of the initiative is to improve access for affordable physical activity opportunities among north Minneapolis residents,” a prepared statement from the city reads.

Venture North will also be hosting biking, walking and running clubs, along with a jobs program for youth.

The local Dogwood Coffee Co. helped put in place the coffee and espresso bar, according to city information.

Although the shop will cater to people of all ages and athletic abilities, the store’s manager, Jacob Flinsch-Garrison says in a prepared statement that “we will be especially oriented toward serving the needs of those who are getting into bicycling or walking for the first time, or who have not done so for a while."

“Venture North is committed to making each of our store’s visitors feel welcome. Our motto is ‘gratitude, not attitude,’” he says.

Source: City of Minneapolis
Writer: Anna Pratt

To make way for the recently opened Amsterdam Bar and Hall in downtown St. Paul, the space underwent $100,000 worth of remodeling.

Within seven weeks, the space, which had sat empty for a year after Pop! restaurant closed, was converted into a bar and entertainment venue.

Jarret Oulman, a co-owner of the place, says, “It involved a lot of dismantling, ripping things apart,” which was challenging because “it was built solidly. It was a lot of work.”    

Workers tore down walls, pulled out the carpet, built tabletops, and installed booths and lighting fixtures, he says.

Today, the 8,000-square-foot space has two stages and a private dining room, while a moveable wall helps close off part of the place to create a more intimate bar.

It's helpful for those nights that don’t feature big musical acts, he explains. ”We hung a wall that makes it feel tighter and more comfortable in the bar space.”

Otherwise, the room “feels like a gym by itself,” he says.

As its name suggests, the bar and hall draws inspiration from Amsterdam.

Oulman characterizes the aesthetic as Dutch bohemian, with vintage Dutch graphic art, dark-stained wood, and tapestries. “The look and the culture go hand-in-hand,” he says.   

He explains that Amsterdam’s culture was something he and his co-owners wanted to replicate because it’s “interesting, sophisticated, and inclusive.”

So far, the place has been well received, he says, adding that the neighboring record store, Eclipse Records, and the design and print studio Big Table Studio, which are also new to the block, are complementary.

“It has a significant effect on the block and downtown St. Paul,” he says, adding, “It makes the creative environment that much stronger."


Source: Jarret Oulman, co-owner, Amsterdam Bar and Hall
Writer: Anna Pratt

An old mansion on Cathedral Hill in St. Paul, which had gone through foreclosure, will soon be converted into a Montessori school and a bed and breakfast.

Whitney Blessing, along with her husband, Andy, who is a contractor, are fixing up the place, which once belonged to Frank P. Shepard.

The Shepards were a prominent family who had four homes within a block of one another, she explains.

Through the years, the 14,000-square-foot mansion had gone through many changes, most recently serving as a boarding house for an international school, according to Whitney.

This month, the Blessings will open the Cathedral Hill Montessori School in the home’s 1950s addition.

It’s just the first part of the Blessings’ concept for turning around the place, which is also their sixth home renovation.  

The couple and their two children will move into the 1884 portion of the house. But the 1881 original structure will become a four-guest bed and breakfast. Separately, large dining and living rooms will become community meeting spaces.

Altogether, they'll probably end up spending $500,000 on the renovation, she says.

“I think this house will never be the original Queen Anne Victorian that it was before the 1940s, when it turned institutional,” she says.

That being said, “We wanted to put something here that would be available to anyone in the neighborhood who should need those services.”

The 1880s areas of the home and the carriage house are considered to be contributing structures to the surrounding historic district. "We want to maintain the historic character," Blessing says.

Much of the work that they’re doing, from restoring the original hardwood floors to uncovering fireplaces, is cosmetic. Utilities also need to be upgraded, while previous mop closets will be turned into bathrooms for the bed and breakfast’s guest rooms.

The neighborhood has been supportive of the project, she says. “[The house] is part of the history and we want that to stay intact and maintain the integrity and open it up for the community to see and be a part of and enjoy.”  

Source: Whitney Blessing, homeowner, Frank P. Shepard mansion
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 Longfellow Community Council (LCC) is taking a creative approach to improving blighted areas of East Lake Street in Minneapolis.

Although much of a $25,645 city grant that the group recently received will go toward studying business opportunities on East Lake Street, about $7,000 will help fill vacant storefront windows along the corridor with artwork, according to LCC staffer Spencer Agnew.  

“A lot of people are concerned with the revitalization of East Lake Street,” says Agnew. “This is geared towards that interest.”

Depending on how much participation from building owners the group can get, images will go on 6 to 15 windows on East Lake Street between 27th Avenue South and the Mississippi River.  

The League of Longfellow Artists (Lola) is providing the posters. 

Although the artwork will vary from storefront to storefront, it’ll have a cohesive quality so that people can recognize it as a part of one project.

There’ll also be a tour associated with the initiative. “The goal is to add aesthetic appeal to the vacant spots and publicize those opportunities in a positive way,” Agnew says. “It’s also a way to promote the local artwork that we have.”  

Although the timing for the display is still up in the air, it could happen as soon as next spring, according to Agnew.

Meanwhile, a research consultant will conduct a market study and corridor assessment for East Lake Street. “It’ll provide information about what viable businesses opportunities there are and what kinds of market sectors and challenges there are implementing that,” he explains.  

Source: Spencer Agnew, Longfellow Community Council
Writer: Anna Pratt

On Sept. 12, a new youth-sized synthetic-turf soccer field opened at Currie Park in Minneapolis's Cedar-Riverside neighborhood.

It replaced a nondescript grass and dirt field that buckled up in some places, according to Park Board commissioner Scott Vreeland.

The soccer field is a part of a larger, ongoing effort to improve the park’s facilities, including expanding the existing Brian Coyle Community Center. “Folks at Brian Coyle had been advocating for more resources,” he says.

To make the soccer field a go in the short term, Hennepin County provided a $295,000 grant from its youth sports program, which is funded by the Target Field ballpark tax, while the Park Board contributed $20,000, according to park board information.

Other collaborators included the Pillsbury United Communities, West Bank Community Coalition, and Cedar Riverside Youth Council.

More informally, the community’s elders helped figure out how to install the field to best serve the children. They also got the community behind it. “It’s a thing people wanted. It wasn’t particularly controversial. Everyone saw it as a win-win,” he says.  

In a diverse area where reaching a consensus can often be difficult, the soccer field is a visible community-building place where people “can go and meet people and kick the ball around,” he says. “It inspires me when I go by.”

He hopes the field gets used a lot. “It gives the opportunity for people to put aside their differences and get together in one space.”

Stewart Park has already gotten similar improvements while East Phillips Park is next.


Source: Scott Vreeland, commissioner, Minneapolis Park Board
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

In the coming weeks, local residents will help decide what metro-area historic landmarks should receive a portion of a $1 million preservation grant.

The contest is part of a program called Partners in Preservation from American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. On Sept. 20, the program will announce the 25 competing sites, according to contest information.

From there, people can start to weigh in on Facebook, where they’ll be able to vote once daily through Oct. 12.

Royce Yeater, who heads the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Midwest office, says that the contest moved to Facebook this year as a way to connect with younger audiences. Traditionally the Trust has had an older demographic, he says.

The whole idea is to “raise the visibility and engage the citizenry of the U.S. in taking care of the cultural heritage and built environment,” he says.

Over the past five years, the program has delivered $5.5 million to 56 national historic sites, according to contest information. In 2010, American Express agreed to provide $10 million for another five-year run of the program.

It's a natural partnership, as American Express has long championed heritage sites around the world, including the Statue of Liberty, which it helped to get refurbished in the 1980s, he says. The company has also maintained ties to the Trust and the World Monuments Fund for many years.

This year, the partners decided to bring the program to the Twin Cities because “The feeling is that it’s an area that has a significant appreciation of heritage and it has great cultural resources and architecture,” he says, adding, “It also needs this kind of moral support."

He says it helps to have national organizations reach out to local-level places.

Further, the contest has provided an economic stimulus everywhere it has gone, he says. In some cases, even when projects failed to win the grant money, the publicity helped preservation groups leverage additional financial support.

In Chicago, the Pui Tak Center, which received $110,000 to restore vintage tile work in 2007, was able to launch a major capital campaign. “The program helped get it beyond emergency repair to major restoration,” he says.  

Further, the program has a jobs benefit. “We have been making the case that historic preservation is labor-intensive,” he says. “It continues to generate good, highly-skilled jobs at the local level.”  

Source: Royce Yeater, director, National Trust for Historic Preservation's Midwest office
Writer: Anna Pratt