Photo courtesy of The Healy House.

3021 Park Ave is bank-owned, and until recently it was scheduled for demolition (see the city’s assessment (pdf)). Clearly what’s better for the neighborhood than a vacant building or an empty lot is a buyer who is willing to fix it up. Even better than that would be a buyer willing to restore in its original style. Even better than that would be a buyer who is willing to invest in the neighborhood.

Ranty has been all over it. She first brought attention to it over at The Healy House and pointed out that since the house is not listed on the MLS, it’s never been marketed to the public. Minneapolis City Councilmember Elizabeth Glidden has weighed in on the situation (see Ranty’s comments). Turns out the property is being turned over to Urban Homeworks for rehab.

It sounds like the Urban Homeworks plan is a done deal, but it might be possible for someone to make an offer on the house if they pony up for all the assessments, taxes, inspections, etc. (a total of about $24,000) and secure a loan for the rehab. In the meantime, here’s a sneak peek at the interior.

The mission of Urban Homeworks is to “perpetuate the hope of Jesus Christ through innovative community development that produces dignified housing for low-income families, a strategic network of good neighbors, and redemptive development of real estate.” In fact, they’re already working on some properties in the vicinity of 3021 Park.

The Mpls Mirror commented on the practice of demolishing problem properties as it applies to 3021 Park and also to 3445 Elliot.

As I drove down 34th and Elliot and looked at the boarded house, I also looked at the rest of the houses on the street. It looks like minus the puke green one next to it, most of the houses were built the same way. I mean no insult to anyone living on that block, but frankly, I saw some homes that look worse than the one they want to tear down.

So it came as no surprise that there are people in Minneapolis that believe simply because they don’t like the way a house looks, that it should be torn down…

How can one or two, or three people make a decision to have a home torn down just because it is embarrassing to visitors? You need more signatures than that to get a permit to shut down your block for National Night Out.

Here’s my suggestion, the City can spend some money on the youths they deem At-Risk. What a wonderful way to provide jobs, and teach a teen a trade or a skill, rehab a problem property or neglected house at the same time. Running off that energy, (no medication needed), and putting money in the teen’s pocket by getting paid. They won’t have to deal drugs or rob people to buy those cool clothes, hot cars and bling bling. More importantly, they would be helping to refurbish the community they live in, and see what can be done and feel proud of their accomplishments.

To my knowledge, there are a handful of programs that do this sort of thing. A friend of mine used to be an instructor. They’re mostly structured as summer internships.

While 3021 Park may have a plan, the question remains: What do you do with problem properties? The Mpls Mirror article rightly points out that there’s more to it than ridding your block of an eyesore, or satisfying the whims of a few annoyed neighbors. Sometimes, given the state of a house, it is easier, cheaper and perhaps more environmentally friendly to just knock it down and start over. But, there’s also the question of what’s going to go up in its place and who is taking responsibility for it. The house does not exist in a vacuum. It’s part of the urban landscape. Its residents are part of the neighborhood. Somebody has to care.

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