Southwest Connector

The Calvary Lutheran Church congregation spills into the street to the upbeat music of Brass Solidarity on Sept.11, the last service Calvary will have there until renovation is complete to add deeply affordable housing units to 39th and Chicago. In the interim, Calvary will worship at Iglesia Luterana San Pablo/St. Paul’s Lutheran Church (2742 15th Ave.). (Photo by Jill Boogren)

Calvary church makes room for deeply affordable housing at 39th and Chicago

Sept. 11, 2022, marked the last day of service for a while at Calvary Lutheran Church (3901 Chicago Ave.). It looked a little different on this day, mostly celebratory, a little bittersweet, with … more

By JILL BOOGREN | 9/29/22

BRIEFS July 21, 2022

Mayor’s Community Safety Work GroupMayor Frey’s Community Safety Work Group has presented their recommendations for improving public safety to the city council. They include creating a … more

Briefs compiled by Cam Gordon. | 7/27/22

The two buildings at Wirth on the Woods in the Bryn Mawr neighborhood at 2800 Wayzata Bouldvard will be named The Theodore and The Eloise. A groundbreaking was held on July 14, 2022.

INTRODUCING Wirth on the Woods

Wirth on the Woods is a collaboration between Lupe Development and Swervo Development Corporation to deliver 99 units of affordable senior housing in a six-story building (The Theodore) and 100 units … more

7/27/22

Work at Bryn Mawr Meadows Park delayed

The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB), in coordination with the Bassett Creek Watershed Management Commission and the City of Minneapolis, recently advertised to receive bids from … more

7/27/22

Larry LaVercombe (left) meets with Ward 13 Council Member Linea Palmisano at the 50-foot, publicly owned right-of-way in Linden Hills.

Part 2: Can we improve parking in Linden Hills village?

In the last Connector, I wrote about the parking issues in Linden Hills, and while a big part of me wants to take a break from this topic and write about both “Dobbs V. Roe” and the Jan. … more

By Larry LaVercombe | 7/27/22

Two years after a fire destroyed Uncle Edgar's Mystery Book Store and Uncle Hugo's Science Fiction Book Store at 2864 Chicago Ave., owner Don Blyly is reopening. He has purchased the former Glass Endeavors building at 31st and Minnehaha Ave., and will open in June. (Photo by Terry Faust)

Uncle's bookstore finds new home in Longfellow

The civil unrest following George Floyd’s murder in 2020 delivered a double blow to Don Blyly, the longtime owner of the Chicago Avenue business with the double name: Uncle Edgar’s … more

By IRIC NATHANSON | 4/28/22

Melo founder and principal architect, Damaris Hollingsworth, is working to design a space at 3030 Nicollet that incorporates community input. People have stated they are concerned about the long-term impacts and how it will affect both nearby neighbors and those who live in the new building. “We kept hearing that people wanted a space that makes them feel welcome,” said Hollingsworth. (Photo by Terry Faust)

More than just another affordable housing building

An ambitious plan to redevelop a vacant block at Lake and Nicollet received a major boost from the city of Minneapolis earlier this year when the city allocated $3.3 million for an affordable housing … more

By Iric Nathanson | 3/6/22

Do you feel like your voice has been heard by the city in regards to the S. Hennepin Avenue street project?

2/3/22 | 1 comment

Taylor Smrikárova of Seward Redesign (at left) and 4RM+ULA Managing Partner James Garret, Jr. are part of team working to create wealth for communities of color, and make 2800 E. Lake St. a demonstration site. An intensive community input process will begin soon. (Photo by Terry Faust)

U.S. Bank donates 2800 E. Lake St. for redevelopment

U.S. Bank is donating its branch property at 2800 E. Lake Street to nonprofit community development corporation Seward Redesign. Seward Redesign will partner with 4RM+ULA, an architectural design … more

11/30/21

B Line plan moves ahead

B Line bus rapid transit service is to start in 2024, providing a faster connection between St. Paul’s Union Depot and Uptown Minneapolis. The $65 million project’s final corridor and … more

By JANE McCLURE | 11/30/21

Mac Pegovac (foreground) is the project manager for Ryan Companies Parks and Public Spaces. Bob Fossum of CRWD is pictured behind her. (Photo by Margie O’Loughlin)

Reviving upper Hidden Falls Creek

This summer, workers are building a channel and bridge that will connect a recreated upper Hidden Falls Creek with the lower falls at East River Parkway and Magoffin Avenue.It’s part of the … more

By MARGIE O’LOUGHLIN | 7/28/21

For Joe Vital, the city's refusal to support the EPNI indoor urban farm at the Roof Depot site is an issue of environmental racism. "It's absolutely frustrating," he said. "I want to see the urban farm happen because every year at Little Earth we bury people. We have the highest rate of asthma and lead poisoning in the city. East Phillips has been the dumping ground for the city since the 1920s. One death should be enough to motivate anyone." (Photo by Tesha M. Christensen)

1,063 COMMENTS AGAINST, 2 FOR

The city received 1,063 comments from individuals and organizations opposed to expanding the public works facility into the Roof Depot site at Hiawatha and 24th, and only two in favor of it. Instead, … more

By TESHA M. CHRISTENSEN | 5/26/21

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IN ACTION

As more people see the need to not just talk about environmental justice and racism but to do something about it, support is growing for the East Phillips Urban Indoor Farm.During a virtual press … more

By TESHA M. CHRISTENSEN | 1/27/21

The Minnehaha Post Office building was demolished on Dec. 10, 2020 after it was destroyed by fire six months earlier in the civil uprising after George Floyd's death.

Post office update

Minnehaha station may be moved By TESHA M. CHRISTENSENThe Minnehaha Post Office may not be returning to 3033 27th Ave. S.The building was destroyed by fire along with the majority of the block … more

1/27/21