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Submitted photo
A brainstorming session from last year’s charrette.
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Development update :: AIA MN kicks off weekend of pro bono design
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By Gregory J. Scott
It could be a scene out of some Bravo reality television show.
Beginning at about 8 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 13, teams of student and professional designers will have less than 24 hours to turn nonprofit proposals into graphic realities.
The one-day scramble is part of the 23rd annual Search for Shelter Charrette, a weekend of pro-bono design organized by the American Institute of Architects Minnesota’s Housing Advocacy Committee. Nonprofits that lack the funds to hire a professional design firm submit wish-list building proposals — anything from a simple redesign of a lobby space to an inside-out renovation of an entire apartment complex. Then volunteer architects, landscape architects and interior designers collaborate to produce visual tools — working drawings, promotional brochures, presentation storyboards — that might help the nonprofits secure funding.
Projects this year include a new lobby for People Serving People and a redesigned façade for Aeon’s Buri Manor apartments. For People Serving People, the charrette is a new discovery — an event the nonprofit wishes it would have found out about sooner.
“We’ve been wanting to remodel our lobby for a while, so when we saw that this opportunity came up, we just couldn’t pass it up,” said Amy Jenkins, director of development for People Serving People. “The hope is that we will have a starting point that we can use to formulate a proposal to secure funding. It’s extremely helpful to have a vision for your project when you go to a funder.”
All in all, each nonprofit receives about 20 hours of free design services. Students get valuable portfolio items and professional mentoring. And working designers get to reach back to their college days of budget-free, hand-rendered design.
“It’s a pretty unique concept. It reminds the professionals of an old reality, and opens the eyes of the students to a new reality of what their professional life might be like,” said Andrew Centanni, co-chair of the Housing Advocacy Committee. “It also shows that the scope of our work isn’t just a finished project; it begins with napkin drawings.”
The event begins Friday night at the University of Minnesota’s College of Design. Teams discover their assignments via presentations by participating non-profits, then report back Saturday morning at 8 a.m. for initial site visits. The brainstorming and grunt work continue all day Saturday, often ending long after the sun has gone down.
“I’ve seen people stay until 2, 3 in the morning and be back at the school at 8 a.m. the following day,” Centanni said.
Finished designs are presented to the nonprofits on Sunday morning.
And while Search for Shelter ideas are meant to be only starting points for nonprofits, some do go on to become real world projects. Tim Bicknell, a project designer at AECOM Ellerbe Beckett and former charrette participant, is about to see one of his ideas come into fruition. During the 2008 charrette, Bicknell worked with a team to redesign the entrance of a building on 12th St. N. occupied by YouthLink, a community hub for homeless youth. The design of a more accessible entrance with new skylights delighted the director, and Bicknell decided to stay involved with the project on a pro bono basis.
The design helped YouthLink win a grant, and construction of the new entrance is slated to begin this March.
Another of Bicknell’s Search for Shelter designs, an environmental renovation of the Lyndale Neighborhood Association building from last year’s charrette, may also be realized in the near future.
Bicknell will touch on these successes at the charrette’s opening reception, where he’ll be a featured speaker.
“I just want [participants] to see that this can be more than a weekend,” he said. “It can turn into something real.”
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New development company buys Elliot Park building
New development company PDJ, LLC has announced its first purchase, a 13,000-square-foot commercial building located at 609 10th St. S. The company closed on the building Jan. 6. Doug Hoskin, one of PDJ’s principals, said he was pleased to secure a building on such a critical block of Elliot Park and that he has begun seeking out tenants. He hopes to attract a coffee shop or wine bar, but said the 6,500 square feet of space on the first floor would be large enough to accommodate offices, as well. Hoskins’ partners in the PDJ, LLC are Tony Janoweic and Chuck Biller.
In 2005 and 2006, the building had been slated to become a 300-unit condo tower. When development plans stalled, the sales center for Skyscape moved in, along with a coffee shop. The building has been vacant since May of 2009.
Reach Gregory J. Scott at gscott@mnpubs.com.
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Carmichael Lynch drops Harley account
UPDATED August 30, 2010, 2:29pm
By Gregory J. Scott
When it comes to selling muscle bikes, three decades is enough. Downtown advertising agency Carmichael Lynch announced August 23 that it was resigning from its Harley-Davidson account, ending a relationship of 31 years with the iconic motorcycle brand. In a prepared statement, Doug Spong, president of Carmichael Lynch, said, "Our agency leadership came to the consensus that we've taken the Harley-Davidson brand as far as we can. It's in our best interest to part ways." Mark-Hans Richer, Harley’s CMO, said, "Our strategies have been moving away from a singular consumer target and a one-size-fits-all agency solution. Rather than accept this new reality, Carmichael Lynch chose a different path and we respect that." The
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Community notebook :: Florence Court apartments
By Gregory J. Scott
1 Comment
At Florence Court, new apartments up, courtyard staysThe mid-August groundbreaking came and went quietly for the FloCo Fusion Apartments, a chic rebranding of a ramshackle cluster of student housing near the University of Minnesota’s East Bank campus. Despite years of resistance from current residents, the new building is officially going up, fanfare or no. Florence Court, as the community used to be called, is one of the oldest apartment buildings in the Midwest, dating back to 1886. The L-shaped structure sits at the intersection of 10th Avenue SE and University Avenue, but is tucked back from the street, hidden until recently behind a BP gas station. The 33-unit complex surrounds a leafy courtyard, which its residents — a colorful
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Watching out for the homeless
By Sarah McKenzie
// Volunteer outreach worker Jerry Fleischaker honored with prestigious McKnight award //After Jerry Fleischaker’s wife died of Alzheimer’s disease, he came across a newspaper article about St. Stephen’s Human Services’ work reaching out to homeless people with mental health issues. The story inspired him to start volunteering for St. Stephen’s. Now the 79-year-old retired pharmaceutical sales representative volunteers full time for the Downtown-based organization. “My wife died of Alzheimer’s in 2002. I saw the care she needed,” Fleischaker told Monica Nilsson, director of street outreach and community education for St. Stephen’s. “I was haunted by the thought that people might be
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Downtown visioning session looks to 2025
By jake weyer
// Whether to add a park north of Central Library will be part of the discussion, meant to produce a 15-year plan for Downtown //It’s been nearly 15 years since Downtown business leaders got together with city staff and elected officials to hash out a long-term plan for the area. Back in 1996, those stakeholders came up with Downtown 2010, a vision that included such grandiose plans as a new ballpark for the Minnesota Twins, a light rail line along Hiawatha Avenue, a new Central Library, completion of the Target Center and the development of the Downtown Improvement District — all realities today. “We’re standing now, planless,” said Sam Grabarski, president of the Downtown Council. “And a lot of good
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A mountain out of a bronze molehill?
By Gregory J. Scott
// The Sid Hartman statue stirs debate about public memorials Downtown //
OK, no one disputes that the guy deserves a statue. Sid Hartman, the nonagenarian sportswriter who has spent the last 65 years reporting for the Star Tribune and WCCO, is probably getting bronzed. The Department of Public Works is ironing out technical details for installing a metallic Sid replica, complete with TV reporter microphone and newspaper tucked under the arm, right outside of Target Center and a block from the Twins stadium, at the corner of 6th Street and 1st Avenue. The Public Works assessment is the final stage in a roughly six-week approval process to get the statue out into the public. No one’s upset about that. As Nick Legeros, the artist who designed
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Biz buzz :: Construction costing Elliot Park businesses
By Gregory J. Scott
1 Comment
For Elliot Park businesses, street improvements come with a price
True to its motto, Band Box Diner can turn “grease into a feast.” But the Elliot Park gem can’t make much out of the road construction that’s transformed its streetscape into a scarred industrial zone.
The throw-back diner is one of the businesses standing to benefit from a sweeping, 15-block reconstruction of Chicago Avenue South — if only it can survive through to the project’s completion.
“It’s kind of like, if you have a half hour for lunch, and then you get lost for 45 minutes, what are you gonna do?” says Brad Ptacek, who has operated the diner for the last 13 years.
Ptacek’s breakfast
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