Development News

St. Paul-based Everwood Development plans to bring workforce housing to a longtime office and classroom building at 7th and Hennepin Avenue in downtown Minneapolis, a move it believes will help re-energize the area.

Forty-five studio and two-bedroom apartments will go into the eight-story building, while the International Education Center for international adults, the current tenant, will stay on the first three floors. 

Over the last several years the old-fashioned building has been 70 percent vacant, according to Elizabeth Flannery, a project partner at Everwood.  

Workforce housing "would actually help that whole area," she says. "We think we need more of it in downtown Minneapolis. We think it's important to increase residential density," with housing opportunities at all levels.

In some ways, the redevelopment will pay homage to its early days.

The $9.5 million City Place Lofts takes its name from the engraved words "City Place," which can be seen above the original entrance of the 1921 building, Flannery says.

The building, which formerly housed the Lincoln National Bank and has long been used for office space and classrooms, was referred to in a book dating back to the early twentieth century as the "Gateway to the Land of Plenty, " according to company information.

Everwood will pursue historic status for the building, she says, adding that the company hopes to leverage state and federal historic tax credits.

Part of the plan is to bring back its original entrance on Hennepin for the lofts. "It adds to the historical integrity of a property," she says.  

"It's a beautiful building," she says, adding that it ripe for conversion, with many built-in amenities including nine-foot ceilings and a terrazzo floor that has been hidden under layers of tile and carpet.

Its 550-square-foot to 800-square-foot studio and two-bedroom apartments, which will be offered at 30 to 40 percent of average rent, will cater to those who work downtown and want to live in the area, she says. "It'll be a high-quality product," she says. "We want it to be a place where people want to live."  

Flannery says the company hopes to start construction after it closes on the building early this summer.

Source: Elizabeth Flannery, Everwood Development project partner  
Writer: Anna Pratt

As part of a broader effort to encourage healthy eating and local food growing, the city of Minneapolis is crafting an Urban Agriculture Policy Plan, which it's asking for public feedback on via a couple of community meetings this month.  

The plan deals with land use, zoning codes, access to land, and design as it pertains to urban agriculture, according to city information.

It's an extension of Homegrown Minneapolis, another initiative that the city started in 2008 to "improve the growth, sales, distribution, and consumption of healthy, locally grown foods within the city," the program's webpage reads.

The plan outlines various recommendations for zoning changes that would allow for commercial food growing and full-fledged urban farming, explains city planner Amanda Arnold.  

For instance, it calls for urban farms in industrial areas and in certain commercial districts; allowing market gardens to be located on rooftops and the ground, and setting maximum lot areas so that market gardens fit into neighborhoods.   

Other recommendations emphasize urban agriculture in long-range planning and in conjunction with new development, as part of the landscaping.  

In general, she says, "The idea is to make it more feasible for growing in the city."

A number of other cities around the country, she says, are undergoing similar initiatives to address the growing trend toward urban agriculture. Seattle recently revised some aspects of its zoning code to allow for more local growing and Chicago is in the middle of doing the same thing. Meanwhile, urban farming has caught on in Milwaukee, Detroit, and Cleveland, according to Arnold.  

"Efforts around the country vary a lot," she says, adding that although the concept has been around for a long time, "I think the formalization and promotion of urban agriculture is a recent movement."   

The plan will go before the City Council in February.


Source: Amanda Arnold, Principal Planner, City of Minneapolis, Department of Community Planning and Economic Development
Writer: Anna Pratt

HOME Line, a Minneapolis-based nonprofit tenant advocacy organization that has a hotline offering free legal advice to renters, recently set out to collect more information about the results of its work.

Fortunately, the organization had kept tabs on things going back to 1992.

HOME Line housing attorney Samuel Spaid worked with a University of Minnesota statistician, Craig Rolling, to analyze data from a sampling of only about 10 percent of callers, who most frequently described difficulties related to home repairs, evictions, security deposits, foreclosures, and breaking leases. The hotline gets about 11,000 calls a year. 

They learned the organization had helped many more people save money and avoid eviction than they had previously imagined. "We were massively under-reporting the impact of services," says Spaid. "It changed the way we look at what we're doing."   

They presented their findings at a housing forum last month from the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs at the University of Minnesota. 

Through a mathematical formula that accounted for calls similar to the sample population, they discovered that through the years HOME Line has been instrumental in landing $5.4 million in security deposit money and $10 million in rent abatements while preventing 8,700 evictions. The old figures hardly came close; the organization previously reported $500,000 saved in security deposits and $740,000 in rent abatements and 2,851 prevented evictions.

For renters in buildings that were being foreclosed on--a growing problem--the number-crunching indicates that tenants who stayed put after the 6-month redemption period collectively saved $4.19 million from 2006 to 2010.  

Many renters don't know that they can linger in a building undergoing foreclosure, often for up to nine months, Spaid explains. During that time, renters usually pay little or no rent. "The fact that they were able to recoup some losses was surprising," he says.    

Eighty percent of tenants who followed through on HOME Line's suggestions got repairs made. In fact, half of the people who merely sent landlords a form letter got some money back. Those who didn't take their advice got no money back.   

Overall, renters have saved $15.4 million by following through on HOME Line's advice, compared to the $1.2 million it put out there before. 

The information puts the organization in a good position for giving advice going forward. "We're able to tell what likely outcomes are and say, 'this is what someone should do and why,'" he says.


Source: Samuel Spaid, Housing Attorney at HOME Line
Writer: Anna Pratt

Urban Homeworks, a faith-based organization in North Minneapolis that rehabs and builds scattered, small, multi-unit and single-family housing, will turn Lovell Square into affordable housing once again.

The vacant Lovell Square complex includes nine buildings, some of which are 100 years old--others date back to the 1960s and 1990s--at 11th and Irving avenues north in the city's Near North neighborhood, according to Ben Post, an associate director at Urban Homeworks.

As a part of the $1.78 million project, Urban Homeworks plans to rehab six of the nine buildings, including 18 units that range from 1 to 3 bedrooms. "Even though it's a challenge, we thought it'd be cheaper than losing them and starting over," he says, adding that the other three buildings will be demolished.   

In the 1990s the buildings were substantially rehabbed, he says. Since then, however, they've fallen into disrepair as problems with mold, asbestos, lead paint, and other things have gotten out of hand. "It's a sad story," he says. "[The buildings] all went through a big investment and renovation but they deteriorated due to a lack of maintenance."

City officials approached the organization a year ago about redeveloping the properties. "They were beginning the foreclosure process and were trying to figure out solutions [for the buildings]," he says.

After checking out the development, he says, Urban Homeworks agreed to take it on. "We've been able to bring back a lot of rough buildings from foreclosure," including vacant, boarded-up, and condemned buildings, "so we were less intimidated than others."
 
Funding for the project comes from the city's federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program, Minnesota Public Housing Authority and Hennepin County, according to Post.    

Urban Homeworks will soon close on the property, he says, and the group aims to start construction in April. 

Source: Ben Post, associate director, Urban Homeworks
Writer: Anna Pratt

To figure out the best transit solution for the Robert Street Corridor, the Dakota County Railroad Authority will undergo something called an "alternatives analysis."

The Robert Street corridor runs from downtown St. Paul to Rosemount, with Interstate 35E bounding it on the west and the Mississippi River forming its eastern edge.  

A $1.18 million grant from the federal Department of Transportation, which was announced last month, will jumpstart the analysis, according to Dakota County transit specialist Sam O'Connell.  

The "alternatives analysis" will help define those "areas that really demonstrate the transportation need and focus on solutions," she says.  

Through the 12-to-18-month-long analysis, the county will identify the "locally preferred alternative" for a route and transit type. Some of the options they'll look at are light rail, commuter rail, bus rapid transit, streetcars, and more, while Robert Street is only one possible route.

An early feasibility study that the county did underscored the need for more transit services, with longer hours and higher frequency, especially with state projections for increased population and employment, she explains.

Today, about 129,000 vehicles cross the Mississippi River at the Lafayette and Robert Street Bridges on a daily basis, which is important to know because "bridges are natural chokepoint," she says.   

But different areas throughout the corridor have varying levels of density, impacts to land use and communities, ridership and more. "You have to do a technical analysis of what will and won't serve the corridor," she says. "It allows you to focus on the best solutions," which the public will have the chance to provide feedback on along the way.  

Source: Sam O'Connell, Dakota County transit specialist
Writer: Anna Pratt

As its name suggests, the Flux Apartments complex targets a group of upwardly mobile young professionals whose lives are, well, in a state of flux.

The $38 million apartment complex that Greco Real Estate Development is building at the intersection of Fremont Avenue South and the Midtown Greenway will connect with people who may have been attracted to Minneapolis for a job offer, and who may not know where they'll end up in five years, explains Brent Rogers, a vice-president of development at the company.

The 216-unit complex is the city's largest housing project since Greco's 242-unit Blue apartments, which opened in 2008 in the Lyn-Lake area, according to Rogers.

Blue, he says, is 96 percent occupied, demonstrating a demand for this kind of housing. In the past, "there hasn't been a whole lot of new upscale housing in Uptown," he says.   

Flux will have studio alcoves and two-bedroom penthouses that will be mixed throughout six- and four-story interconnected buildings. 

It'll offer plenty of amenities, including an outdoor pool, courtyard, grilling area, private dog park, fitness center, cafe and bar, so that "when they're not at work [tenants] can enjoy life and have fun," without the worries of home-ownership if they later decide to move on, he says.  

The location offers easy access to the bike and walking paths along the Greenway, and to light rail. 

Another interesting aspect of the project, he says, is that in addition to financing from NorthMarq Capital and PNC Realty Investors, the AFL-CIO Building Investment Trust is pitching in--meaning that "union retirement pension funds are putting union workers to work."

Even though it's still a challenging time for development in general, Rogers says, the project speaks to the "belief that the rental market continues to be strong and gets better over the next few years."

The Flux Apartments will open in January 2012.

Source: Brent Rogers, vice president of development at Greco Real Estate Development
Writer: Anna Pratt

Interns in architectural firms don't often have the artistic freedom to develop new designs on their own.The annual St. Paul Prize Competition, open to unlicensed architectural professionals, gives them just that, says Eric Lagerquist, a spokesperson from the St. Paul chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). The local group runs the contest.

The challenge this year was to come up with a park amphitheater to seat 150 people. It needed to facilitate live entertainment and educational presentations, making space for backstage and reception areas and more, Lagerquist says. 

Inspiration came from the Lebanon Hills Regional Park in Eagan, which doesn't have an amphitheater--though the contest is purely theoretical and isn't connected to any real-world development plans, Lagerquist explains.

The winning design, which was announced in mid-December, was by Kar-Keat Chong and Daniel Yudchitz, who work at the Minneapolis architecture firm HGA. Chong and Yudchitz, who received $850 for their idea, positioned the amphitheater so patrons have a clear lake view at all times.

Often, action onstage will block out the scenery. In this case, people could "engage the natural environment the whole time while sitting in the amphitheater." 

Their understated design, which included a boardwalk leading to the lake, scored points with the jury because it "didn't detract from the setting," Lagerquist says. 

Alex Kang and Ji Hun Cho from PDI World Group, which is also in Minneapolis, were the runners-up, getting $50 for a "very grandiose solution," with beautiful graphics.

Jury members evaluated the seven entries on various criteria, including to what extent they dealt with sustainability and how well they fit the context.   

The contest was open to people working individually or in pairs who have architecture backgrounds but are unlicensed. Contestants have about a month to render their ideas after the contest begins. Previous contests have focused on plans for a light rail stop, a bike shed, and a fuel station for alternative fuels, Lagerquist says.  
 
Source: Eric Lagerquist, spokesperson from St. Paul AIA 
Writer: Anna Pratt

The vacant Victoria Theater in St. Paul's Frogtown neighborhood is a monument to silent film, Prohibition, American folk music, and turn-of-the-century architecture.Some advocates hope that in the future, more people will know about its link to all these things.

Recently the city's Heritage Preservation Commission determined that there's a compelling case for granting the theater historic designation, and the City Council is likely to address the issue next month, according to city staffer Christine Boulware. 

The two-story theater, which dates back to 1915, is one of the few remaining examples of the early work of architect Franklin Ellerbe, Boulware explains via email. In the early 1900s, Ellerbe founded a firm that eventually became nationally prominent Ellerbe Becket.

The Victoria has a Beaux Arts-style brick and terra cotta fa�ade. Inside, the original screen and projection booth, along with decorative pillasters, portions of the balcony and second floor, and hand-painted landscapes are also intact.

Later the theater was renamed the Victoria Caf� and became a dance hall that put on lively cabaret-style shows. During Prohibition, the nightclub was the target of various controversial federal actions, including a raid. In 1927 the club's house orchestra recorded a jazzy piece called "Moonshiner's Dance" for Gennett Records, which was later included in Harry Smith's famed 1952 Anthology of American Folk Music on Folkways Records, one of the catalysts of the folk-music revival of the 1950s and 60s.. 

The theater is adjacent to the historic Raths, Mills and Bell, Inc. building which housed one of the city's earliest industrial-film production companies.

The city, which has six locally designated historic districts and more than 60 individually designated sites, previously tried to get the theater on the National Register of Historic Places, but it lacked some of the documentation necessary to prove its significance.

Now the preservation commission and some community advocates want the city to recognize the theater as historic. "The theater is part of a shared memory of the Frogtown community and an important link between generations," Boulware explains.

Additionally, some city officials and community members believe it could "be an anchor for redevelopment and revitalization of the Victoria [light rail] Station area and have a positive effect on the surrounding neighborhood."

Source: Christine Boulware, historic preservation planner for the city of St. Paul
Writer: Anna Pratt

The Soap Factory is one of the largest galleries nationwide that focuses on emerging talent, according to its executive director Ben Heywood.

But the historic wood and brick building which houses the edgy gallery, a one-time soap factory, is on the decline. 

The 48,000 square foot warehouse in Southeast Minneapolis, which dates back to the 1890s, has no heat or air conditioning, and on top of that, no insulation. As a result, "It's not a stable structure," Heywood says.   

To stop the effects of aging, the Soap Factory, which has made many other building improvements since it moved into the space in 1995, is preparing for a more ambitious rehab. Getting an efficient heating system in place, Heywood explains, is key. "We want to own this building into perpetuity."   

And finding green solutions to these issues, he says, is of strong interest. The gallery is looking into a passive air conditioning system, which would siphon cool air from the basement into the rest of the building during the warmer months, plus the possibility of a green roof, geothermal heating, and solar energy options.

Although going down any of those paths would require a big upfront investment, "the lifetime costs tend to be less," says Heywood.    

Ultimately, the rehab would preserve the look of the building,he says, adding, "The rawness is what works for our art projects."  

This year the gallery received a $46,800 grant from the State of Minnesota's Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund that the Minnesota Historical Society administered, to help get going with a structural review and heating survey, which are underway from MacDonald & Mack Architects and Dunham Associates.   

When those pieces come out next year, they'll inform a larger design plan for the building. Afterward, the gallery will take on a full-fledged capital campaign for the estimated $3.5 million project, Heywood says.

For now, "We're starting to assemble what we need to make strong pitches" to public and private groups, he says.
 
Source: Ben Heywood, executive director, Soap Factory
Writer: Anna Pratt

When some Prospect Park residents approached University of Minnesota city planner Greg Donofrio nearly a year ago about researching the rationales for conservation districts, he was game. Preservation topics are a special focus for Donofrio, who got some exposure to conservation districts during a stint in Philadelphia. 

Donofrio and his research assistants pulled together case studies into a report, which, it turns out, is one of the few pieces of literature on the concept, which first arose in the 1970s. Like historic districts, conservation districts are a planning tool for preserving certain aspects of a neighborhood, but they're often more flexible, explains Donofrio.

Across the U.S., the language and implementation of ordinances in these areas are extremely nuanced, he says.  

The findings were the subject of his mid-November talk, which the university's Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA) hosted.   

While there's no hard and fast definition for conservation districts, he says, it's safe to say that many strive to maintain the overall character of a neighborhood as opposed to ruling on a building's paint colors or window types. By comparison, when it comes to historic districts, "local preservation commissions have a very strong authority and broad latitude to regulate appearance."  

Many residents of South Minneapolis's Prospect Park have voiced a desire to protect the area's old-fashioned buildings, but they found the highly restrictive rules of a historic district to be too off-putting. Some conservation districts' rules are just as detailed as those for historic districts, but in most cases "they tend to be broad standards," he says.

In Chapel Hill, N.C., and Iowa City, Iowa, which have huge populations of students and many absentee landlords, people embarked on conservation districts because they wanted homeowners to look after their houses more, according to research assistant Jessie McClurg. In Dallas, Texas, many quaint old homes were being demolished, destroying the small town feel, she says.     

One of the most interesting examples was in Cambridge, Mass., where "strong public participation is a component," Donofrio adds, explaining that community-driven boards provide leadership in a number of conservation districts.  

The model struck a chord with some Prospect Park residents from the neighborhood group Prospect Park East River Road Improvement Association, who "want to help shape the scope and format of the program," he says.      


Source: Greg Donofrio, assistant professor and director of the Heritage Preservation and Conservation Program at the University of Minnesota's School of Architecture, Jessie McClurg, architecture graduate research assistant

Writer: Anna Pratt

A 2.6-acre parcel in the heart of the storied Crocus Hill area in St. Paul has long been underused, says developer Ellen Brown, who has a plan to turn it around.     

Brown, who has often been a consultant to the city and the St. Paul Foundation on development issues, is partnering with Dick Zehring, the owner of MSP Commercial in St. Paul, on a proposal for an upscale condo complex for 180 S. Grotto St.

She and Zehring have entered into a purchase agreement with the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, which they're scheduled to close on in the spring.

On the site, the Wilder Foundation previously operated the Bush Memorial Children's Center, a residential treatment program for troubled youth. Following recent budget cuts, the Wilder Foundation closed the home and listed the property for sale, she says.     

Brown and Zehring's redevelopment proposal includes 39 condos, each a single story, to be spread throughout multiple buildings within a three-story complex.  

The condos will closely match the neighborhood's Victorian-era homes in style and scale, with features such as gables, clapboard siding, front porches, and more, she says.    

The place will have underground parking and a courtyard, while a caretaker will be hired to help with the property's upkeep.  

Brown believes the project, for which the price tag hasn't been determined, will appeal to empty nesters who already live in the neighborhood and want to downsize, but don't want to stray too far off. "That's the population we think that will find it attractive," she says.  

Brown says the proposal will help diversify the area's housing, which is largely made up of single-family dwellings. Additionally, after over a century of being off tax rolls, "this would get it back as a tax-paying property."  

The next step is a city rezoning process to allow for the planned number of units, she explains, adding that if all goes as planned, construction will likely be underway in the fall of 2011.

 
Source: Ellen Brown, consultant and developer
Writer: Anna Pratt

A new $4.5 million transit station, which opened on Dec. 6, makes connections between freeway and locally-running buses faster.

In Minnesota, it's the beginning of freeway "bus rapid transit" (BRT), which aims to get people wherever they're going as quickly as possible. 

The split-level 46th Street Transit Station, which spans the 46th Street bridge across Interstate 35W in Southwest Minneapolis, enables buses to pick up and drop off passengers without ever getting off the freeway, explains Metro Transit spokesperson Bob Gibbons.

Riders can efficiently make connections between the upper and lower levels of the station, which rises out of the median of Interstate 35W.

From the station, which has LCD monitors with real-time information about bus arrival times, people can hop on express buses bound for downtown Minneapolis, the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities campus, Best Buy corporate headquarters in Richfield, and Normandale Community College in Bloomington. During peak times, express buses run every 15 minutes.

From the freeway, buses benefit from the MnPass toll lanes, which "give us a consistent, fast trip," he says, explaining that the lane's traffic is kept moving at 50 miles per hour.  

Gibbons says that the 13 routes that converge here "have been adjusted to take advantage of the new station."

These changes were made following a lengthy public hearing process over the past couple years. The Metropolitan Council approved the route realignments in August. The project came together through a combination of federal, state, and regional funds.    

He says the setup is a precursor to an expanded bus rapid transit system set to be fully operational in 2012. The idea behind BRT is to have local buses running frequently enough for people to catch freeway buses that'll go both directions every 15 minutes all day.    

"When you have that frequency, you don't need a pocket schedule," he says. "You don't have to be a slave to the bus schedule and organize your life around it."  

   
Source: Bob Gibbons, spokesperson from Metro Transit
Writer: Anna Pratt

The local Nimbus Theatre, which turned 10 this year, will soon settle into a permanent home.

A couple weeks ago, the theater, which strives to produce thought-provoking, artistically challenging contemporary work, signed a lease for a 4,100 square foot space at 15th and Central Avenue Northeast in Minneapolis.

Nearby are antiques and stained-glass shops, an empty space once belonging to the old Teeners Theatrical supply and the Diamonds Coffee Shoppe.  

The volunteer-run theater is planning a 75-seat black-box-style auditorium with a lobby and backstage area in the raw, industrial-looking space. All told, the project will cost $100,000, according to Josh Cragun, a cofounder and co-artistic director at Nimbus, who explains that the development will unfold in a couple phases.

This week, the company is kicking off a capital campaign. Already it's received a $10,000 grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council for lighting equipment while the build-out will begin pending approval of a city zoning change to allow for the theater use.  

Until now, Nimbus has relied on rental performance space at the Minneapolis Theater Garage in Uptown, with a separate office in Northeast.

But with steady growth through the years, it made economic sense for the theater to find a place of its own, says Cragun, adding that it's becoming a more permanent, rather than a production-oriented company.

When it started looking for a place a couple years ago, the company wanted to find a space that reflected its values, wherein "we could shape it and make it our own," says Cragun, adding, "It'll give us a sense of identity."

Additionally, Nimbus will have the flexibility to produce a variety of shows that are experimental or have limited runs, along with workshops, readings, and more. Outside companies will be able to rent the venue while in the future Nimbus may hire a staffer or two, Cragun says.

Nimbus's first shows in the space will be "The Balcony" by Jean Genet in February 2011 followed by "The Year of Magical Thinking" by Joan Didion in the spring.   
 

Source: Josh Cragun, Nimbus Theatre 
Writer: Anna Pratt

Numerous solar-powered pay machines that resemble ATM's are cropping up in and around downtown Minneapolis.

Throughout several phases, the city is installing a slick 'smart' parking meter system much like those in bigger cities such as Chicago or Los Angeles, according to city information. They're replacing the old meters, which are getting too old to use.  

The multi-space parking meters, which link to the city's wireless network, can accept credit cards, not just coins.   

So far, 46 pay stations that relate to about 430 spaces have gone into the North Loop area. A couple have also been placed near the Minneapolis Convention Center. Another 400 will follow in 2011 and 2012.

Ultimately, they'll cover about 4,500 of 6,800 metered spaces throughout the city, according to city traffic engineer Tim Drew. 

People will pay for numbered spots at any nearby multi-space meter, which will usually be located mid-block. The arrangement will come in especially handy when someone needs to add money from a distance or if a machine breaks down, he says.

The new machines track meter time, which can also be checked from any pay station. Parking time limits will be the same as before. "It tells you when you need to be back," he says, adding that with step-by-step prompts, the machines are self-explanatory. 

Further, the new pay stations will reject money during restricted times. For instance, in the tow-away zones, "It tells you it's rush hour," he says, adding that it won't take payment. As a result, he says, "It's much harder to get towed."  
The new meters also streamline the city's collection process. First, money from the meters will be retrieved monthly instead of weekly. The machines will report wirelessly when vaults are full, which is likely to be less often because of the credit card option.

Overall the $6.6 million project will be paid within three years by the revenue it generates, Drew says.
 

Source: Tim Drew, Minneapolis Public Works
Writer: Anna Pratt

Construction of the leading solar thermal energy project in the Midwest, the scale of which is comparable to two-thirds the size of a football field, recently began at the downtown Saint Paul RiverCentre.

On the convention center's 30,000-square-foot rooftop will soon be 144 commercial-grade solar thermal panels, which run 8 feet by 20 feet individually, according to project materials.   

The $2.1 million rooftop array will kick out 1 megawatt of energy and decrease carbon-dioxide emissions by 900,000 pounds yearly, materials state.    

District Energy St. Paul, which operates a biomass-fueled hot water district heating system and a combined heat and power plant and supplies the convention center's energy, will run it.

Solar thermal energy derives from heating water, explains District Energy project manager Nina Axelson. "It's a very efficient and effective way to use energy," which, she adds, outperforms solar electric power. 

Additionally, the RiverCentre's system stands out for its "fuel flexibility," Axelson says.

Extra energy will be shared with the rest of the District Energy system, which includes 80 percent of city buildings, through a grid of heating pipes. Even though similar scenarios are common in Europe, she says, "We never found any other systems like this in the U.S."

As a heating company that has a goal to eventually become 100 percent renewable, Axelson says, "It's a critical part of what we're trying to do here."

The system will be up and running sometime in January thanks to a $1 million stimulus grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), which District Energy matched. It's the first project that will reach completion as part of a broader DOE initiative called "Solar America Cities," which includes 26 cities--Minneapolis among them--that are tackling various solar energy technologies.    
 

Source: Nina Axelson, project manager, St. Paul District Energy  
Writer: Anna Pratt