3800 Fremont fell to the wrecking ball this morning – in an amazing show of efficiency, demolition contractors removed the building and scooped it into waiting trucks on Fremont and Dowling. This building has sat vacant for almost two years. It served many purposes in its time and when it was most recently occupied it was a problem property delivering no services to the community .
This building is an example of the changes in Webber-Camden. When it was built in 1916 the small businesses it housed served residents who lived above and walked to the corner store. In today’s world, the size of the building and available parking does not meet the basic requirements to be an effective commercial location.
Webber-Camden Neighborhood Organization (WCNO) partnered with the City of Minneapolis to purchase the property using NRP dollars from their Commercial and Economic Development stratagies. The building, land, and demolition cost less than $90,000. The land will be held for redevelopment according to the Minneapolis Plan which identifies Dowling Avenue North as a residential corridor which is important considering the access to I94 and a five minute drive downtown. Webber-Camden has also aquired the corner of 38th and Girard which it will put into a new land bank to await planning and vitalization decisions that benefit the neighborhood and the corridor when redevelopment of both sites is appropriate. Webber-Camden, like other Nomi neighborhoods, is just beginning to see the future and with these acquisitions residents will be able to direct the rebuilding of the neighborhood for sustainablilty.
Dowling at Fremont and Hennepin County’s new library (that will front the Victory Parkway at Humboldt and 45th including the old Kowalski site) are important signs of progress in the reinvention of the neighborhood.
View the Slideshow below!
