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Construction begins on ‘affordable artist lofts’ in Minneapolis
Those involved say the Artspace Northrup King Building Lofts will give artists a new, affordable place to live.
MINNEAPOLIS — Construction has officially started on what will be “affordable artist lofts” in the Northeast Minneapolis Art District.
The Artspace NKB Lofts will be located on the Northrup King Campus. From ceramics to music, there already are 350 artists, creative small businesses and nonprofits based in studios within the campus’ Northrup King Building, which is considered the largest art complex statewide.
The campus started as a seed factory and includes at least 10 buildings today. It’s where Pete Vanni creates steampunk-style art.
“I feel supported here,” Vanni said. “If I need a hand, I can always find somebody. I mean, I do sculptures so I need muscles.”
Artspace Projects acquired the buildings five years ago. Providing a place for artists to work was the first phase of a larger vision for the 13-acre property. Now it’s time for the second phase: providing income-qualifying artists a place to live.
Those involved held a groundbreaking Thursday afternoon to celebrate what will be 84 units for those earning 30 to 80% of Area Median Income. They say rent will be affordable.
“This project provides a variety of housing options for artists, including one-, two- and three-bedroom units with rents available to all income levels,” said Zack Avery, principal planning analyst for Hennepin County Economic Development.
“It has historically been a very exclusive space and it’s through projects like this and investments like this that are making this a more accessible future for so many more people,” said council president Elliott Payne, who also represents Ward 1.
“This type of redevelopment is no small feat but its impact can be significant especially when demand for affordable housing is at an all-time high,” said Dan Miller, director of community finance for Capitol One National Association.
Part of the construction involves an innovative stormwater system to protect the environment and enhance green spaces.
“Insidious chemicals like phosphorus will be eliminated in that process,” said Kevin Reich, executive director of Mississippi Watershed Management Organization. “It’s a big win.”
They’re also adding a new bike path and bike racks, as well as a fix-it station. It’s a $62 million project Vanni says will be worth it.
“It will be more of a community I think than it is now because people will be living here,” the sculptor said. “It’ll just increase the possibility of connection and all that, and support the arts, which is good. So I’m all for that.”
The newly elected board unanimously accepted it during a special board meeting Thursday night.
BURNSVILLE, Minn — STEP Academy officials said the school is taking steps to pay off its debt after letting go teachers, administrators, and people who worked in operations to balance their budget.
“We’re very sad we had to reduce our budget based on our enrollment but that was a necessary step so that we could stay financially secure,” said Paul Scanlon, STEP Academy’s chief operations officer.
Scanlon corrected a statement made by the St. Paul charter school’s finance director on Monday who said the school has an operating budget deficit of $2.1 million.
“It’s projected by the end of the year that it will roughly – 2.1% of our overall budget. It’s not 2.1 thousand or 2.1 million,” Scanlon said.
He said that’s roughly $275,000, which is how much debt the charter school will have by the end of the academic year.
“Through careful financing, we’ve been able to pay off some of our debt and get that number lower and lower,” he said.
Scanlon said under the Minnesota Department of Education, a school must be at least -2.5% to be considered in statutory operational debt.
The newly elected board started on Monday. Scanlon said there was some confusion about their appointment, but he said the plan was to seat them at their annual meeting on Oct. 21. He said all of the new board members were elected to their positions.
“Candidates nominated or being nominated for the positions to expand the expertise and size our of board took several weeks of getting the nominations and having ballots prepared,” he said.
The board unanimously voted to accept Superintendent Mustafa Ibrahim’s resignation. He said his last day will be Nov. 4. In his letter, he said “my time leading STEP Academy has been the most rewarding period of my career.”
Scanlon said they will not be looking for an immediate replacement.
“At this time based on our finances, based on the strength that we’re seeing from our two principals on both sites, we feel like we can cover many of those components and then we would look to post for the 25-26 school year,” he said.
The board also approved an Ad Hoc committee’s report on the job description of the superintendent of educational services for when they do hire someone for that role.
The board unanimously voted to postpone filling two school board vacancies until they have appointed a chair, vice chair, secretary, and treasurer. They’ll discuss it again at their next meeting, and possibly decide how they want to fill those seats.
“We’re 50 ahead of where we were, 50 deaths,” Mike Hanson said. “50 families who have lost a loved one more than we were at this time last year.”
MINNEAPOLIS — It’s a frustrating trend for Mike Hanson, director of the Office of Traffic Safety within the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.
“Anytime I see an incident like the one that took place last night, I’m angry,” Hanson said. “It’s really hard to put into words, because this is exactly the type of thing that we work to prevent.”
Wednesday night, a 29-year-old man from St. Paul exited eastbound I-94 onto Lyndale Avenue in Minneapolis. The crash report says that man was traveling at a “high rate of speed.” That man hit several cars, killing a 26-year-old Minneapolis woman and injuring several others.
“That is the one thing that makes every bad decision worse, because speed brings energy, and energy is what results in injury and death,” Hanson said.
Data provided by DPS shows that there have been nearly 150 accidents in and near the area where this happened since January 2021. Some don’t involve alcohol, some do. Hanson said it’s their goal to make sure alcohol is never a factor.
“There is literally no excuse today for somebody to wind up in the back seat of a squad car, an ambulance or heaven forbid a hearse, because of an impaired driving decision,” he said.
Unfortunately, data shows that fatal accidents are up in Minnesota so far this year.
“We’re 50 ahead of where we were, 50 deaths,” Hanson said. “50 families who have lost a loved one more than we were at this time last year.”
Hanson said they work with different agencies across the state to help assist with education and prevention before anyone gets behind the wheel impaired.
“Our basic message is impaired is impaired. It doesn’t matter what it is that you’re impaired by, if you feel different, you will drive different,” he said. “And if you’re sitting behind the wheel and you have to ask yourself should I drive? It’s already too late.”
Police said the suspect in an alleged armed burglary is described similarly to someone who was reportedly looking into windows in the city earlier the same day.
BROOKLYN PARK, Minn. — Police in Brooklyn Park are urging residents to make sure their windows and doors are locked after an alleged armed burglary in the city on Thursday.
According to police, residents on the 1700 block of 73rd Ave N. were coming home around 7:30 p.m. when they discovered a man in their home. The man pointed a gun at them and then fled, officials said.
The suspect is described by law enforcement as Black, 5’9 or 5’10, a skinny build, with a beard. He was reportedly wearing a black hoodie and pants.
Police said a man with a similar description was reportedly looking into windows and trying door handles around the 7500 block of Newton Ave N and Meadowwood Drive earlier on Thursday. In that case, the suspect was wearing a black hoodie with white lettering, a black coat with red sleeves, and light-colored pants, officials said.
“In light of these incidents, Brooklyn Park Police are urging residents in the area to ensure that all windows and doors are securely locked,” an alert from police said, adding if anyone notices “suspicious activity” they should call 911.
Brooklyn Center Police had similar sightings as well, according to law enforcement.
