Downtown/Lowertown : Development News

The Buttered Tin, a new bakery/restaurant, is slated to open in St. Paul’s Lowertown neighborhood later this month.

The place has a $10,000 Kickstarter fundraising campaign underway, for which it needs $2,000 to reach its goal by next week. 

Jennifer Lueck, who co-owns the place with her business partner, Alicia Hinze, says the money will help get the bakery up and running. She hopes the campaign gets community members to take ownership of the bakery/restaurant right away, too. 

The pair focused on this neighborhood because “We knew it was a need. There’s nothing like it in that area,” Lueck says. Lowertown “seems like it’s right on the verge of exploding with light rail and the new stadium coming. It feels like a good time to get in and establish ourselves,” early, she says.  

The space previously housed a sub shop but had been vacant for a number of years. It had a good floor plan already, with space for 45 seats inside plus outdoor dining for 20 patrons. “We didn’t have to do a major renovation or construction,” Lueck says.

Instead, they mainly reimagined the look of the space, and created an open kitchen, so people can see the food as it's prepared. "We think it’s important that people feel connected to their food,” she says.

The partners want the café to be a comfortable neighborhood gathering place. “We feel we’re contributing to the neighborhood,” Lueck says. To create that feel, the space has ceiling tiles, dark wood, “a cool floor that’s really durable,” and reclaimed marble from the historic Foshay Tower in downtown Minneapolis, which makes for a unique countertop. “Aesthetically, it’s traditional or classic. That’s what our aim is for the interior."

It’s been fun to see the elements she and Hinze picked out a year ago falling into place, says Lueck. “We’re so excited. It turned out beautifully,” she says.

Source: Jennifer Lueck, co-owner, The Buttered Tin
Writer: Anna Pratt  

Flow Art Space, which hosts juried group shows and the occasional solo exhibit on a monthly basis, recently moved into the Northern Warehouse in St. Paul’s Lowertown neighborhood.  

Gallery owner Melissa Metzler decided to relocate the gallery, which features local and national artists, from the Keg House Arts building in Northeast Minneapolis, where it opened in 2011, due to noise issues. When she was scoping out new locations, she sought a place that was easy to find and that had a strong arts community. Lowertown was a good match and the historic Northern Warehouse is “ideal for a gallery,” she says.  

The building also houses the Black Dog Coffee Shop and Wine Bar.

Already, the 1,200-square-foot space was well equipped for a gallery. The main thing Metzler did was to add more track lighting, she says. Big wood beams, hardwood floors and tall ceilings, along with plenty of wall space, characterize the space. “It has natural materials and has a nice feel to it,” she says.

Also, the building is home to many artists and creative businesses. “I’m benefiting from being in this critical mass. There’s a lot of creative energy and creative people. I like going into that environment everyday.”

In her view, there’s plenty of room for more galleries in the area and beyond. “There needs to be more galleries and places to show artwork,” she says. “Having more galleries together in one area is better for everybody,” she says. “It gives people more options.”  

On top of that, “Lowertown is in a real revitalization time right now,” she says. “There’s so much happening with the Depot reopening and light rail--and the artists continue to be there.”

Source: Melissa Metzler, owner, Flow Art Space
Writer: Anna Pratt

Northern Spark, an all-night art festival that’s in its third year, recently announced that in 2013, it’ll take over St. Paul’s Lowertown neighborhood.

The free festival, which is planned for the evening of June 8, continuing into the wee morning hours, offers a wide variety of performances, visual art, projected images, interactive media, and participatory events, according to Northern Spark materials.     

Last year, the festival took place in Minneapolis only, though in 2011 it hosted activities in both cities, including Lowertown. The location has jumped around based on scheduling needs and other factors, according to a post from Knight Arts.
 
Steve Dietz, who is the president and artistic director of Northern Lights.mn, which organizes the festival, says Lowertown is an ideal location because it “has a significant history as a vital center for artists and arts organizations.”  

Recently, the area has seen the reopening of the historic Union Depot, the development of an experimental project space for the Minnesota Museum of American Art and a new venue for the Bedlam Theatre. The coming Central Corridor Light Rail Transit and a new St. Paul Saints stadium will add to the momentum, he says.

The festival has a “unique opportunity to engage with an amazing history, remarkable architecture, creative ferment,” he says.

“We’d like Northern Spark to be an integral part of the exciting future of the area” and to show the neighborhood in a new light, he says.

Ultimately, the festival is about building community. It gets thousands of people “wandering purposely aimlessly at odd hours participating in a shared experience,” he says. “It is a way to not just imagine but participate in creating the place where we’d like to live.”

Recently, the organization put out a call for 10 projects, which can be in any medium. The deadline is March 4.

“The types of experiences range from spectacular to intimate to surprising to thought-provoking,” he says, adding that the most memorable works are interactive in some way.  

Although Northern Spark won’t disclose the lineup until March 12, more than 75 projects from 45 organizations will also be showcased at the festival, according to Dietz.


Source: Steve Dietz, president and artistic director, Northern Lights.Mn
Writer: Anna Pratt

A large mural composed of 600,000 multicolored Lite-Brite pegs will light up St. Paul’s Union Depot on Saturday.  

The 12-foot-by-24-foot mural, designed by local artist Ta-coumba T. Aiken, will set the Guinness World Record for the “Largest Picture Made of Lite-Brite,” according to Laura Mylan, project manager for the Forever Saint Paul Challenge. It’s the number of pegs that go into a mural, not its physical dimensions, which determine the size, she explains.

The record Lite-Brite mural at this time has 513,000 pegs, so the St. Paul mural will “easily defeat the record and set a new one,” she says.

The project jumpstarts the Forever Saint Paul Challenge, a contest sponsored by The Saint Paul Foundation and Minnesota Idea Open, to draw out original ideas for improving St. Paul.   

On Saturday, the festivities begin at 3 p.m. with live music, oversized board games, food and more, while the lighting ceremony will happen at 7 p.m.

“We’re doing this to inspire big, bold creative ideas for the future,” Mylan says, adding, “We want ideas from everyone, from all walks of life, from across the state. What better way to do that than to create a big, bright public art installation that is truly of the community?”

In keeping with that, the abstract mural has the words “Forever Saint Paul” embedded in it.

Already, hundreds of volunteers have turned out to lend a hand on the mural. “It inspires people. It makes them smile,” she says, adding that most volunteers have found out about the project through social media and word of mouth.

The idea is to engage people in a creative process from the get-go, she says.

Since Jan. 12, people have helped hand-sort the pegs by color and started filling in the giant frame. “We’ve been so thrilled by the volunteer involvement. It’s been amazing.”

It made sense to hire the internationally known Aiken to design the mural because “He happens to work with points of color,” she says. He’s also accustomed to doing large-scale public artworks to which “He brings a great, welcoming presence,” she says.

St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, Carleen Rhodes, the president and CEO of Minnesota Philanthropy Partners, and a Guinness World Record judge will all be on hand at the event.

The mural will be displayed at the depot through the end of the month.

“It has created a great community spirit and people are having so much fun with it,” she says.

Source: Laura Mylan, project manager, Forever Saint Paul Challenge
Writer: Anna Pratt

For years, Shane Kingsland had wanted to open a shop devoted to his passion, heavy metal.

In the past, he managed a heavy metal record store in Madison, Wis. “Well, a few bumps in the road (and years later), my wife and I finally got around to doing it now" in St. Paul, he says via email.

Into the Void Records, a 650-square-foot shop that specializes in heavy metal records, opened last month in a historic building in downtown St. Paul.

It’s the sister store to the first Into the Void Records shop in Dublin, Ireland, which debuted in 2010.

Kingsland has close ties to the Dublin outfit, which is a collective of Irish record labels. Kingsland, who has dual citizenship in the U.S. and Ireland, imports the releases for distribution in the U.S. He claims that Into the Void is one of the first transatlantic metal store chains.    

The shop carries “Minnesota’s deepest selection of True Metal,” according to online shop information. This includes Heavy, Power, Death, and Black metal genres and some “outer-fringe genres” like Ambient, Darkwave, and Neo-Folk.  

It’s a good fit for the location, he says.  

The store is in the same historic building as Capitol Guitars, an instrument store that he describes as metal-friendly. Into the Void is also within blocks of Station 4, a venue that “hosts most of the major metal tours that come through the area,” he says.  

Revamping the space was mainly a matter of bringing in custom-built racks for LPs, CDs, T-shirts, and more, along with a counter and display case. As for the aesthetic, “I tried to go for a combination of inner-city music store and heavy metal 'man cave' with posters covering a majority of the walls,” he says. “I don't know of any other shop similar in the Cities.”    

He hopes the shop reflects the local community’s needs and wants: “We’ve had a very community-oriented game plan from the get-go, with a special interest in getting feedback from the local scene in an effort to really meet their music and metal needs,” he says. “Metal has many subdivisions and sub-genres, and not all of them flourish locally," he explains.

But he also wants to give people "the opportunity to be exposed to new and obscure artists” from around the world, he says.  


Source: Shane Kingsland, owner, Into the Void Records
Writer: Anna Pratt

St. Paul is marking the beginning of a new era for the historic Union Depot with an opening celebration on Dec. 8, which will be an all-day affair. 

After undergoing a $243 million renovation over the past couple of years, soon the 1920s landmark will again serve as a transit hub--this time for trains, buses, bicycle commuting and more.

The station last saw trains in 1971, according to information from the Ramsey County Regional Rail Authority.

Josh Collins, a spokesperson with the rail authority, says, "We really see this as an important celebration to mark the completion of the construction," adding, "It's a chance for the public to see their investment," and to show off a beautiful building.

Going forward, the depot will be "the living room of St. Paul," with meetings, galas and conventions happening there, he says.

People can also go to the depot to "use our wifi and get some work done," he says.

The day's celebration, which begins at 10 a.m., includes facility tours, theatrical performances, historical reenactments, music, dance, art, food and more.

The depot's history figures prominently into the event. For example, the nonprofit Bedlam Theatre will be staging performances that recreate historic moments. The theater troupe will portray soldiers returning from World War II, early immigrants arriving in the city, and more. "It'll be a fascinating artistic experience," he says. "I'm really excited about that." 

Old photos and artifacts that were uncovered during the renovation will also be on display.

The celebration also offers numerous interactive family-friendly activities, with train-themed photos, a Snoopy statue unveiling, appearances from Winter Carnival Royalty and a screening of the movie, "Elf," according to rail information. 

Metro Transit will kick off its bus service to and from the station with complimentary rides. The union depot's new website, uniondepot.org, will soon go live with free bus passes for the day.   

Furthermore, people "can learn about our growing transit system," he says. 

Next year, the Jefferson Regional Bus Lines and Amtrak Twin Cities will settle in at the depot, while the in-progress Central Corridor Light Rail Transit, which is being branded as the Green Line, will come through the station starting in 2014, according to rail information.

Also in the coming year, One-on-One Bicycle Studio in Minneapolis will open full-service bicycle center with storage space, a repair shop and lockers.

Source: Josh Collins, Ramsey County Regional Rail
Writer: Anna Pratt

St. Paul Parks and Recreation is looking for ideas for redeveloping a long-vacant warehouse building at the entrance of the Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary.

It’s asking for “requests for interest” or creative proposals from development teams, to be filed by Oct. 30, according to parks information.

In the future, the building could be an interpretive center for the sanctuary, with classrooms and possibly even a performance space, says Brad Meyer, a spokesperson for the parks.

“We’re going through this process to determine what kind of interest might be out there in redeveloping the current building,” he says.   

This is part of the process of due diligence “in assessing what market may exist for reuse, and what the next steps will be for the site,” he adds.

Part of what makes the vintage building attractive is the fact that it’s “structurally sound.” It includes features such as a first-floor “walkout” to the nature sanctuary, masonry walls, and concrete floors with supporting beams and columns, according to parks information.

The building also “offers excellent views of the Mississippi River corridor and downtown Saint Paul skyline,” while contaminated soils on the property have already been cleaned up, according to the same information.  

On the downside, however, the building, an empty “shell,” lacks heating and cooling systems and windows.  

Meyer says the building is a unique asset to the park system, with plenty of potential, thanks in part to its proximity to other big projects in the area, including the renovated Union Depot, the planned Lafayette Bridge crossing, and the future Lowertown ballpark.
 
Source: Brad Meyer, spokesperson, St. Paul Parks and Recreation
Writer: Anna Pratt

Last weekend, the Minnesota Museum of American Art temporarily opened up its in-progress “Project Space” as a part of the Saint Paul Art Crawl.

MMAA Executive Director Kristin Makholm says it was an opportunity to “start letting people know where we’re going to be, and to do some creative placemaking."

The museum’s grand opening is planned for Nov. 16, with a show of landscape paintings called “Painting the Place Between.”

Right now, the 3,700-square-foot space in the vintage Pioneer-Endicott building, which will also offer high-end housing, is still under construction, she says.

Previously, the museum, which rented space from the Ramsey County Government Center, relied mainly on traveling exhibits.

Although MMAA still plans to do traditional exhibits, “We’re expanding on what an exhibit is,” she says. “It’s about events and programming,” which encourages participation and incubation.

The museum’s “Project Space” will feature experimental works.

Part of the idea of opening up the “Project Space” during the art crawl was to get feedback on “how we can engage people in different ways,” she says.  

Curator Christina Chang is “coming up with intriguing ways to get feedback, to have people respond to things in the gallery,” she says.

Many people have said they want to see local artists showing at the MMAA, and they want to meet them, too. This seems to align with ‘eat local,’ ‘shop local’ trends. “People want to see more work that’s being created in the community,” she says. “It’s the power of local art.”

It’s a niche that MMAA hopes to respond to in creative ways. “We’re excited to start this new period of our resurgence back into the cultural life of St. Paul,” she says.


Source: Kristin Makholm, director, Minnesota Museum of American Art
Writer: Anna Pratt

Josh Collins, the public art administrator for the historic Union Depot in St. Paul, which is undergoing a $243 million renovation project, often fields the question, 'Why does such an iconic building need public art?' 

About $1.25 million of the depot's construction costs will go to that end, according to information from the Ramsey County Regional Authority (RCRRA).

For Collins, it comes down to making the building more accessible. “It’s a way we can engage travelers and customers and anyone who comes through," he says, adding, "It makes it special."  

Recently the Railroad Authority announced the results of a call for artists for four commissioned projects.

Projects may teach about the building’s history or be simply aesthetically-pleasing or interactive. “We hope it’ll blend with the existing architecture and make it a place that people have civic pride in,” he says.  

The Railroad Authority chose the artists from a pool of 156 applicants from across the country, including the internationally known to the emerging artist.

For starters, local artists Amy Baur and Brian Boldon of Plain Sight Art Studio in Minneapolis will fill the carriageway with a 170-foot mural made out of tile on glass. The mural will be comprised of multi-layered digital images that speak to the depot’s history, he explains.

Philadelphia artist Ray King will create an elegant suspended sculpture for the Great Hall Atrium while Tim Prentice of West Cornwall, Conn., will craft a suspended kinetic sculpture in the new Kellogg Entry, according to rail information.

King typically “uses lightweight metals to form individual elements that when linked together glide on gentle air currents,” he says. “It reflects light in unpredictable ways.”  

Steve Dietz, from the Twin Cities-based Northern Lights.mn will lead an interactive multimedia project that could involve using a cell phone or an app. “Hopefully it’ll give people a playful experience with the building," he says. 

All in all, the public art will be a draw on its own, he says.

Source: Josh Collins, Union Depot public art program administrator
Writer: Anna Pratt

This fall, the Bedlam Theatre will start a new chapter in St. Paul’s Lowertown neighborhood.

Bedlam is a nonprofit organization whose "mission is to create radical works of theater with an emphasis on collaboration and a unique blend of professional and community art," according to theater materials.

It’s planning to open a “theater nightclub” in the 6,000-square-foot ground-floor space that the Rumors and Innuendo nightspot left almost two years ago.

In some ways, the vintage five-story brick building is similar to the Bedlam’s old venue in Minneapolis’s Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, with high ceilings and bright colors, according to Bedlam’s executive artistic director, John Bueche.

Bedlam was displaced a couple of years ago when the building’s landlord offered the lease to a neighborhood mosque.

In the interim, Bedlam has been staging “mobile operations,” with various projects taking place at a South Minneapolis warehouse, something that it plans to continue, he says.

Separately, the theater will also keep looking for a Minneapolis home base, he adds.

Besides being a performance space, the Lowertown location will be a social hub, with a restaurant and bar, much like its old setup, he says.

It’s fitting that Bedlam move into Lowertown, which has “long been sort of famous and revered as an artist neighborhood.”  

In many ways, the theater ties in to the momentum there, he says.

At this point, changes to the space will be minimal. The theater does have "draft renovation" plans, which will be mounted on the walls inside the space, so that visitors can offer feedback.

Those renovations “could be as simple as a fixed stage arrangement or a flexible pattern, or it could have to do with how we interact with the outdoors,” or it could mean gutting the place.

“We’ve always been about making the audience feel a part of the action,” he says.

But for now, the theater is focused on the basic steps to get the place up and running this fall, including lining up the proper businesses.

“There’ll be a lot of fun theater events and a fluid mix of products and process,” he says, adding, “It’ll be low pressure. You can come in for a drink and see what’s going on in the theater club.”

A $150,000 Cultural Star Grant from the city, which will be allocated over two years, along with other pending grants, will help the theater start up, MPR reports.  

Source: John Bueche, Bedlam Theatre
Writer: Anna Pratt  




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After several years of traveling exhibits, the Minnesota Museum of American Art will have a regular gallery in St. Paul this fall.  

The museum is moving into a ground-level space in the vintage Pioneer-Endicott building, which developer Rich Pakonen plans to turn into a high-end housing complex. (See The Line story here.)  

In 2009, the museum moved out of the space it rented at the Ramsey County Government Center. It hasn't had a home base since then.

The 3,700-square-foot space at the Pioneer will enable the museum to do local programming, according to its director, Kristin Makholm.  

“We haven’t had any kind of regular space in St. Paul to do any kind of on-the-ground programming for over two years, so this will allow us to intersect and create a vibrant space,” and to reconnect with local artists and community members. “It’ll be populated with events and conversations.”  

At the same time, “We don’t consider this the final museum,” she says.

But the MMAA will be investigating the building as a permanent home. “That’s one of the reasons we chose this space for the gallery. It’s a testing ground,” she says.  

The museum will continue to do shows in other locations in the short term, she says.

If the museum does decide to expand in Pioneer, it’ll bring in additional exhibits, classrooms, offices, and storage areas and fill up to 45,000 square feet, according to the Star Tribune.

Besides the visibility that the space will give the museum, the building will be close to the coming Central Corridor light rail line.

“It’s really going to help invigorate that part of St. Paul that traditionally lies between Lowertown and the Rice Park districts and connect the city,” she says.

Source: Kristin Makholm, director, Minnesota Museum of American Art
Writer: Anna Pratt

As the latest development in a larger project to go green at the Saint Paul RiverCentre, this week an 82-kilowatt photovoltaic solar installation was shown off on its parking ramp.

The 348 solar photovoltaic panels will produce 100,000 kilowatts of energy--or enough to run about nine homes each year, according to city information.  

Anne Hunt, who works for the city, says that when it comes to energy efficiency, “I’m not sure people think of a parking ramp," adding, "This is definitely the greenest ramp in the metro area."

It complements the $2.5 million solar thermal array that went onto the RiverCentre’s rooftop earlier this year, which is considered to be the largest of its kind in the Midwest, according to city information. (See the story from The Line here.)

The two installations, which use different solar technologies, will help the RiverCentre to dramatically reduce its carbon footprint by 2012, she explains.  

Looking all over the country, “I can’t find another public building that has two different solar technologies,” she says.

Other related energy-efficiency work has recently been underway at the parking ramp as well.

For example, high-pressure sodium lights were swapped out for energy-efficient fluorescent lamps, while a couple of electric-car charging stations have also been added, she says.  

Already, the building gets power from District Energy St. Paul, which “operates the largest, most successful, biomass-fueled hot water district heating system in North America,” its website states.

As one more layer to the project, the RiverCentre complex is part of the special Energy Innovation Corridor that highlights various energy projects along the in-progress Central Corridor Light Rail line.

Funding for the $750,000 worth of energy-efficiency measures at the ramp comes partly from the federal stimulus package.  

These initiatives save money while also producing clean energy, Hunt says.


Source: Anne Hunt, spokesperson, City of St. Paul
Writer: Anna Pratt

To make way for the recently opened Amsterdam Bar and Hall in downtown St. Paul, the space underwent $100,000 worth of remodeling.

Within seven weeks, the space, which had sat empty for a year after Pop! restaurant closed, was converted into a bar and entertainment venue.

Jarret Oulman, a co-owner of the place, says, “It involved a lot of dismantling, ripping things apart,” which was challenging because “it was built solidly. It was a lot of work.”    

Workers tore down walls, pulled out the carpet, built tabletops, and installed booths and lighting fixtures, he says.

Today, the 8,000-square-foot space has two stages and a private dining room, while a moveable wall helps close off part of the place to create a more intimate bar.

It's helpful for those nights that don’t feature big musical acts, he explains. ”We hung a wall that makes it feel tighter and more comfortable in the bar space.”

Otherwise, the room “feels like a gym by itself,” he says.

As its name suggests, the bar and hall draws inspiration from Amsterdam.

Oulman characterizes the aesthetic as Dutch bohemian, with vintage Dutch graphic art, dark-stained wood, and tapestries. “The look and the culture go hand-in-hand,” he says.   

He explains that Amsterdam’s culture was something he and his co-owners wanted to replicate because it’s “interesting, sophisticated, and inclusive.”

So far, the place has been well received, he says, adding that the neighboring record store, Eclipse Records, and the design and print studio Big Table Studio, which are also new to the block, are complementary.

“It has a significant effect on the block and downtown St. Paul,” he says, adding, “It makes the creative environment that much stronger."


Source: Jarret Oulman, co-owner, Amsterdam Bar and Hall
Writer: Anna Pratt

The Ordway Center for Performing Arts in St. Paul is over halfway to its fundraising goal of $35 million for a new concert hall and related endowment fund.

Plans are underway to expand its McKnight Theatre, which is separate from the 1,900-seat Music Theater.

Under the plan, the McKnight will go from a 315-seat proscenium arch-style theater to a 1,100-seat arena stage configuration, according to Patricia Mitchell, its president and CEO.

Audiences will wrap all around the platform in the new "purpose-built" concert hall, she explains.

The face-to-face views "change the way people listen to music," while the acoustics will have "great natural sound," she says.

A related endowment fund will help underwrite the use of the new McKnight by each of the Ordway arts partners, including the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Opera, and Schubert Club, which share space at the Ordway.

As it is, the two stages are fully booked, she says. Last year, only 23 dates went unfilled, and those were Mondays, which are traditionally "dark" or off days. 

A larger concert hall will help ease scheduling headaches and allow for more specific programming with longer runs, she says. Some professional music groups that don't have a permanent home will "have a first-class venue available to them." 

It'll also accommodate more audiences, including greater numbers of schoolchildren. With another 125,000 people coming downtown every year, she adds, the place will be an economic boon for the city. "The impact on the restaurants and parking is huge," she says.

Although the theater design is still in progress, she's pleased with how it's shaping up.

The space will blend in with the nearby Rice Park, "one of the most beautiful urban squares anywhere," she says, adding, "It's important to maintain the character and feeling of that." 

Construction could start as early as next spring, depending on the project's financing coming together. 

"I think it's a wonderful solution to a longstanding problem," for the four arts partners, while it's also a "tremendous benefit to the community at large," she says.

Source: Patricia A. Mitchell, president and CEO, Ordway
Writer: Anna Pratt

In St. Paul, the $17 million redevelopment of the Renaissance Box building is part of an "underground renaissance" in the Wacouta Commons neighborhood, according to Matt Hodson, a spokesperson for Aeon, the local nonprofit developer behind the project.

Aeon is converting a former shoe factory at 10th and Sibley streets into 70 affordable apartments.

The seven-level Renaissance Box, an historically designated building that dates back to 1914, will have a mix of housing that's targeted at people with all different incomes, including efficiencies and one- and two-bedroom apartments; 14 efficiencies will be dedicated to those who've struggled with chronic homelessness, according to Hodson.

Among its amenities, Renaissance Box, which will have a warehouse loft-style feel, will offer tenants private storage, an exercise room, a community space with a kitchen, a green roof, a shared patio, and an art space—in collaboration with local arts incubator, Springboard for the Arts.

Sustainability will be a theme running throughout the building. Plans are in the works to achieve LEED certification, a national standard for green building, Hodson says.

Aeon has a goal to create new industry models "to take ideals of sustainability and bring them to affordable housing in a practical manner," he says.

To do so, Aeon is working on with the University of Minnesota's Center for Sustainable Building Research and Center for Energy and Environment (CEE). The Line covered another Aeon development that's part of this pilot program here.

Renaissance Box, which Aeon purchased out of foreclosure in 2006, will help round out the diversity of housing in the Wacouta Commons area.

A decade ago, vacant buildings and surface parking lots characterized the neighborhood. Today, "It has really become a thriving neighborhood with a variety of housing options with everything from high-end condos to affordable housing," he says. "That's what we're bringing and it helps create a vibrant residential community.   

Construction, which has been ongoing since August 2010, is expected to finish up by July 1, according to Hodson.
   
Source: Matt Hodson, Aeon, spokesperson 
Writer: Anna Pratt