New Hope For The North End
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posted by Bob at Monday, July 23, 2007
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In building plans, a new hope for the North End
City and developers' goal is neighborhood revival and a showpiece for Invest St. Paul
BY JASON HOPPIN
Pioneer Press
Article Last Updated: 07/22/2007 11:06:40 PM CDT
The two vacant Rice Street lots look like symbols of economic failure in a stretch of the North End where empty businesses and "For Sale" signs are common.
But they are also, in the eyes of many, symbols of hope.
St. Paul's flagging neighborhoods are the subject of much rhetoric coming out of City Hall these days, with city officials vowing millions of dollars in investments and new programs as part of the Invest St. Paul initiative.
Those investments finally are coming. If all goes according to plan, the North End lots will become the Winnipeg, twin three-story apartment buildings with 6,000 square feet of new commercial space that many hope spark a turnaround in a working-class neighborhood whose reputation has declined.
The $12 million, 56-unit project straddles Winnipeg Avenue and represents the biggest North End development in years. It will replace a handful of empty businesses and single-family homes with a high-density project that could bring more life to the street.
"That area has been blighted for decades, and there's been a great desire to do something there for a long time," said Andrew Pitcher, director of real estate development for Sparc, a nonprofit community-development company. "Rice Street as a corridor is very crucial to the image of the neighborhood and how it is seen by the rest of the metro."
When Mayor Chris Coleman announced Invest St. Paul last year, he wanted to focus on four neighborhoods: the North End, the Lower East Side,
Dayton's Bluff and Frogtown.
Within each of those areas, local officials expect a showpiece development to highlight neighborhood revitalization. In the North End, that's the Winnipeg.
This stretch of lower Rice Street - where some brick buildings date to the late 1800s - is exactly what modern urban planners are looking for. Two- and three-story structures are pressed up to the sidewalk, with housing above small commercial spaces.
Yet the area looks rundown, and some hope a new project echoing the past will inspire shopkeepers to apply fresh paint or sandblast a century of grime off their brick buildings until they glow a rich red hue again.
The deal has been in the works since 2004, and Sparc is partnering with Legacy Management and Development Co. to make it happen. The complex financing structure mixes grants, tax credits and bonds, and the city still has to approve a $2.7 million subsidy.
While the subsidy is large, it is not likely to meet resistance.
"We think (the Winnipeg) will be a major statement about what's going on in the neighborhood," said City Council Member Lee Helgen, who represents the North End.
This is no high-end condo development, but rather something that fits in with a working-class area. The apartments will be available to people who make 60 percent or less of the area's median income, and six units will be subsidized apartments for the homeless.
The North End is a neighborhood in transition. According to Wilder Foundation research, the white population is declining, while the number of blacks, Hispanics and Asians is rising.
In public schools, three-quarters of students are children of color, and nearly half do not speak English at home. Wages lag behind the rest of the city, and the percentage of people living below the poverty level is higher.
Invest St. Paul Director Stacey Millett said that, through the initiative, the city wants to make sure new programs support new investments such as the Winnipeg - whether for public health, education or job training.
"It's looking at what you can do for the people, beyond just the place," Millett said.
Longtime North Ender Jeff Martens heads the District 6 Planning Council's land use committee and longs for the days when residents could buy everything they needed on Rice Street without driving out to a suburban mall. His group cautiously supports the project.
"There's an awful lot of vacant housing now, and you're putting up more?" Martens said. "I guess it's just one of those deals where you roll the dice and see how it works. ... It can't hurt."
Efforts to bolster Rice Street have been going on for some time. It recently was rezoned to give it more of a neighborhood feel, and in the past few years, taxpayer dollars have flowed into the area.
The new Rice Street Library opened in 2002. Sidewalks have been redone. Hanging flowerpots line the street.
New, historical-looking street lamps have been installed - though they came over the objections of some business owners who weren't wild about paying a special assessment for fancy new lights.
Local sales tax revenues have been used to fix up several building facades, most recently the Air-O-Dyne building at 855-857 Rice St. - another Sparc project.
Ace Auto Parts and Salvage, a neighborhood fixture at 754 Rice St., was rebuilt after a fire into a classic-looking building with $400,000 in city grants and loans.
And Sparc also is working on branding the neighborhood, designing a Rice Street logo that will be used on banners up and down the corridor. The logo hasn't been unveiled yet.
"The area looks a lot nicer now," said longtime business owner Tony Huerta, of H & H & Tony's Upholstery, located next to the Winnipeg site.
"Anything they build is better than the way it was," Huerta said. "I'm 100 percent with what they're doing."
Construction could begin by the end of the summer, with completion expected in 2008.
Jason Hoppin can be reached at jhoppin@pioneerpress.com or 651-292-1892.
I want to mention I read an article at the blog linked above titled "It's the community stupid" by Erik Hare an entrenched city bureaucrat in city planning.
I can't seem to find the article now. Anyway, Erik was rambling about the new construction on the river below Irvine Park. Apparently the new units were not renting so the investor lowered the rents. The prices were made affordable to lower income families. This really concerned Erik. He felt his neighborhood would go to hell if poor folks moved into the area. This is the mentality of our city planners.
I am not sure but I think Erik's story was removed. I find it in a googles search but the page doesn't come up as expected. Maybe one of you will have better luck looking for it and you can link it here for us.
I think this is the story you are referring to;
It's the Community, Stupid
The value of community in real estate is usually obvious at the high end. Some communities command a premium over others, and always will. But with new development, there often isn’t anything to relate to except in the abstract. That’s why the notion of community it is often overlooked, except in the abstract – at the peril of the ultimate success.
Rarely do we get a chance to see the opposite end of the value of community, which is what happens when there is absolutely nothing related to at all. The development at the Upper Landing of Saint Paul shows that without any kind of community, success is bound to be elusive.
The Riverview apartments at 400 Spring Street are the best possibly example. Finished in 2005, the 434 rental units have just about every amenity you can name – a great view of the Mississippi, access to downtown, indoor parking, a gym, and an “executive business center”. What could possibly be wrong with this?
Well, plenty. They are isolated, on an island cut apart from the rest of the street grid. While many people also don’t like the design and colors of these units, what is most remarkable about them is how far they are from anything else, separated by a 50 foot tall bluff over most of their length.
How much could that matter in these days of cars and other ways of connecting? We can’t say for sure what the rental rate is, but the rumor was that this summer, one year after opening, it was only one third full. What we do know is that they were offering 3 months of free rent for anyone who signed a lease. All of that after lowering the rent several times with apparently nowhere near enough takers.
This was anticipated, of course. The planners who thought this was a great development were constantly told by the residents that isolation would be a problem. But no one was willing to listen. And now, we have an excellent counter-example of what happens when there is no community at all.
I happen to be following this very closely, as I am always concerned that this will become a “problem property” someday. I can’t see how they will be able to keep up the investments they made to create a community out of whole cloth, rather than plug into what was already around them. When that falls apart, we can only assume it won’t be pretty.
Already, I think this stands as a great object lesson that REALTORS already know, but planners and developers don’t always seem to appreciate when approaching the tall order of large developments. It’s the community, stupid.
The link;
http://www.stpaulrealestateblog.com
/st_paul_real_estate/the_mississipp
i_river/index.html
Then go to "Its the Community Stupid"
Is this the token project the city can point to and say, "see we care about low income people", look at what we are doing here?
Code enforcement is still very busy running low income people from their homes.
Don't be concerned though, it isn't the people causing problems in the neighborhood, it's the buildings, a "nuisance property"! When will these buildings change their ways?
In order for me to gain any trust or faith in the current city leadership they will have to build a minimum of 5000 units of affordable housing for all the damage they have done.
The "New Hope" started when they finally demolished that dump on Jessamine.
11:03, if Jessamine was a dump what do you call Thune's house?
Bob compared photos of Dave's house to the Jessamine property and I am sorry to say I would have had Dave's house torn down before that newly remodeled Jessamine home.
11:03 A. M. sounds like Lee Helgen is posting under anonymous. As they say, simple sentences for a simple mind.
Chilling like a villian in St. Paul
Nope not Lee Helgen, don't even like the arrogant putz. But I do think that Jessamine looks better today than a few months ago. By the way, did anyone hear about Helgen almost getting into a fight last week with a lobbyist?
2:21, didn't hear about that! What was the name of the lobbyist and what were they disagreeing about?
Yeah right.....Jessamine sure looks to better to us in the neighborhood too. NOT! When the house was there the yard was taken care of, the house looked good, and there were not as many problems as the city would have you believe.
Go there now and look at what you see. The grass is a foot high all year long, the sidewalks were never shoveled last winter, there's trash being dumped there and 11:03 thinks this is a "new hope?" New hope for who you fool. You obviously don't live here.
I wonder if Thune has any vacancies in that fancy building of his? Maybe we should send in a decoy to rent an apartment from him. Then we could get the whole picture, his renting criteria, the upkeep of the apartments and etc... If no apartments are available I suppose we could pitch a tent and use his outdoor facilities, or did he finally remove them after many years?
I like how some people will say whatever it takes without even thinking first to try to support the city. Open your eyes and look around Jessamine and North End area before you speak. You are about as ignorant and blind as they come. The North End area is the "NEW HOOD" aka "GHETTO" since they chased the desirable out of the frogtown area. So where do you think the next area they are going to relocate in? Maybe some of these nice new affordable places like; White Bear & Maryland, the new ones downtown ? Then they can call them problem properties and tear them down.
Correction that last post should of read;
" The North End area is the "NEW HOOD" aka "GHETTO" since they chased the undesirables out of the frogtown area.
11:03...
I am really sorry to hear how you felt about my former home on Jessamine. But you know what...? That was home to me throughout my childhood and most of my childrens lives. We honestly felt the home was just that "home". As I have stated numerous times I realize I made some mistakes but to say that our home was something it was not is wrong no matter how much I try to comprehend why such extreme measures were taken to rid me of my home.
I thought when I faced the criminal justice system I was facing the consequences and being held accountable for my actions, boy was I wrong the city had other plans to retaliate for my wrong doings, yes I feel it was retaliate. Why? Because that was the direct threat that was made to me. End of story.
So whoever feels that the North End area has improved so dramatically since my removal, the only response I can offer to you is I am sorry. I do however feel that you have some personal issues if you can honestly feel that happy and feel that the area is that much better now that the one particular home on Jessamine has been demolished.
Some of the statements I read here actually help me realize that I have much more even with out that house (friends), and then there are also some statements that show how selfish some people are to say such disrespectful comments without caring about the feelings of others. Not everyone can afford all the luxuries of life yet the city finds it ok to take and destroy what little they do have.
I am not speaking for myself because I am doing great, but I have read many stories of peoples personal private lives being intruded upon by city officials without just cause. I am required in my job position to do inspections on tenants apartments 4 times a year, I feel like I am a nosey busy body every single time I do an inspection, and yes I have to tell people to do some housekeeping. I feel terrible when I have to tell someone how they can or cannot live in the privacy of their home(apartment).
So the North End area is now crime free and beautiful because 14 E. Jessamine is now a vacant lot. I feel so much better knowing that thank you...
Nancy
They hoped the library they built at Dale & University would work out too. They still can't rent most of the apartments there. Then there's the townhouse projects the city stuck money into right down the street on Dale. They can't sell those either. It kind of seems like they can't sell anything they build with taxpayers money. Maybe that's why the Governor doesn't want to give them any money.
Well here is a pet project they can make work.
HOME DEPOT- the city probably promised the executives of Home Depot that Menard's will not be much competition. The city code inspectors will insure business for both stores.
Now there's another angle for the lawsuit. They're bringing in "Big Box" and feeding them with the bones of the landlords. Bastards
COUNCILMAN HELGEN,
I thank you for any efforts you put into this developement.
Sincerely,
Bob Johnson
Council Member Helgen is unfit for office.
The North End is a vital part of our city. I am tired of seeing the thugs chilling and we are doing NOTHING about it. This is OUR town and our liberal leaders are letting it go to the birds.
The matter about Mr. Helgen getting into a fight after the District 10 meeting can be found on www.cityhallscoop.com.
It seems Lee Helgen did not appreciate Mr. Dinkel pointing out the fact that
the developers of the proposed MGM Liquor Warehouse project at the District 10
meeting were also campaign contributors to Lee Helgen's campaign committee.
Sort of a conflict of interest wouldn't you say Lee Helgen?
Helgen is finished in St.Paul, just say goodbye to him!
I've had great experiences on the North End.
To move it forward, it takes a lot of positive ingredients and human values. Just the opposite of what Diva's experienced.
These politicians wanna talk their crap and tell their lies, and when someone exposes the truth they go nuts! I love it. Hats off to Dinkle!
I read in todays paper where a fight broke out on Rice St. about a block away from this building plans for this project New Hope. Two people were the victims of hit n run following the dispute. Rice St. needs more then this new building to change the behavior of those old buildings and the car that hurt these people. We wouldn't want to hold the thugs that caused the problem accountable for their actions.
Hey 9:58, Eriks real bitch is he lost his view of the river from Irvine Park where he lives.
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