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Disposable cities: urban foreclosures, vacant houses and the demolition derby

Posted on March 11th, 2009 – 2:21 PM
By James Shiffer

Meet the latest problem properties in Minneapolis that the city has ordered demolished:
2426plymouth.jpg 2426 Plymouth Avenue (built in 1921, four dwellings)
2321fremont.jpg2321 Fremont Avenue North (built in 1987, nine unit apartment building)

On Friday, the City Council voted to proceed with the demolition of these two structures, who belong to the notorious “Chapter 249″ roster of properties with long-running code violations and associated troubles for tenants, neighbors and the city. Wiping problem properties off the cityscape has been a priority for Minneapolis and St. Paul for years. Now the pace is likely to pick up, thanks to an infusion of money from Congress called the Neighborhood Stabilization Program. The mortgage crisis has left neighborhoods of empty and rotting homes across the United States, but it’s perhaps most noticeable in cities. Cleveland, Ohio, is struggling to deal with 10,000 to 15,000 vacant homes, Alex Kotlowitz notes in his Sunday New York Times Magazine piece, and half of Cleveland’s allotment from the NSP will go to demolition. The story notes that Minneapolis, along with Detroit, Cincinnati and Youngstown, will use a third of its money for demolition. Metro Minnesota governments got $27 million from the program, among them $8.4 million for Minneapolis and $6.3 million for St. Paul, my colleague Chris Havens reported last month.

Whistleblower intends to document this historic change in the city landscape, block by block. The city of Minneapolis now helpfully includes photos and documents of each property when it asks the council for permission to proceed. St. Paul doesn’t currently include those photos on its online agendas, but we’ll be visiting those properties too. Each one won’t be likely to get the same scrutiny that I gave to the now-vanished 2717 Penn Avenue North back in 2007, but I promise it will be more comprehensive.

The Plymouth Avenue property, home over the years to such businesses as Homewood Pharmacy, Willis Department Store, Dorothy’s Beauty Salon and Uncle Bills Market, has been condemned since May 2007. On the Fremont Avenue property, new windows were installed but “the interior of the building is trashed. There is mold on apartment walls and in the basement. Plumbing and heating pipes have been stolen. Walls are destroyed,” the city reported.

For more information on 2426 Plymouth Avenue, read this summary of its history and look at more photos. More information about 2321 Fremont Avenue North is available in text and photos.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 11th, 2009 at 2:21 pm and is filed under Disposable cities, Government spends your money, Neighborhood nuisances, Property problems. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

13 Responses to “Disposable cities: urban foreclosures, vacant houses and the demolition derby”

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  1. Mongo Says:
    March 11th, 2009 at 3:17 pm

    Stop the facist oppression of illegal aliens, gang bangers and wellfare queens. If you tear sown their houses…where will they hide?

  2. Michele Says:
    March 11th, 2009 at 3:35 pm

    Personally I’m glad to see these properties torn down, I wish they would tear them down sooner rater than later.

  3. Kirk Says:
    March 11th, 2009 at 3:59 pm

    You also ought to discuss the issue of homes of people who have had fires and whose houses the city wants to tear down…a friend of mine had a fire, and is still in the process (5 months later) of settling with her insurance company on whether to rebuild or tear down the building. In the meantime, the city, not really caring, has sent a letter that they have to pull permits, or they will tear it down. And, in addition, the city plans to levy a $6,000 fee on her for the “extra securuty” that an uninhabitable building represents.

    This is stupidity, and an attempt to punish everyday folks who have trouble enough with particular circumstances. Stop the madness.

  4. James Shiffer Says:
    March 11th, 2009 at 4:12 pm

    Kirk, what do you think the city should do? They obviously consider the building a hazard. Should they just wait?

  5. Justin Tyme Says:
    March 11th, 2009 at 4:59 pm

    I could give you a list of 20 properties in my neighborhood that are ripe fo the wrecking ball.

  6. Thomas Storie Says:
    March 11th, 2009 at 5:13 pm

    This is not very good. I understand the cities problems. This building would make a wonderful
    violin making shop. I know the location well.

  7. Bill Johnson Says:
    March 11th, 2009 at 5:15 pm

    Pretty hasty nocking buildings down because they turn into crack houses by people. Who is making money from the demolitions?

    I DOUBT THESE BUILDING NEED KNOCKING DOWN. HOW MANY ARE SUB-PRIME?

  8. paul haberle Says:
    March 11th, 2009 at 5:26 pm

    can i have the bricks on that first building? what a
    waste of great building materials. those bricks are
    worth a few grand. I’ll bet the jackass green city
    pricks don’t even give a piss.

  9. Dean Says:
    March 11th, 2009 at 5:35 pm

    I have been a Real Estate Agent and Licensed Building Contractor. I can tell you without question there are thousands of properties that need to be demolished. Many of these properties were not well constructed in the first place. Many are unsafe and will be “renovated” by unscrupulous flippers.

    There are “problem” properties, but many are problems because the rents are so low that only the lowest of the lowlifes can afford to live in them.

    I do lament the desruction of 1010 Morgan Avenue North. The building was not the problem.

  10. Smarterthanu Says:
    March 11th, 2009 at 8:06 pm

    It’s too bad about the Plymouth Ave building, but the other one is a prime example of “affordable housing”, aka ready made slums. These buildings are doomed from the get-go, they attact nothing but vermin.

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