800 West Broadway tax forfeit, now what?

By |

“We went for a home run, and we struck out.”That’s how Erik Hansen, the City of Minneapolis project coordinator for Broadway Plaza, described the latest chapter in what he calls the “high risk, high reward” story of redevelopment along West Broadway.On Sept. 15, Hennepin County seized the property at 800 West Broadway because of delinquent property taxes. Once the centerpiece of a proposed $70 million development that would have included a YWCA fitness center, retail shops, offices and off-street parking, it’s now among several contiguous properties to change hands because of unpaid debt.The developer on the project, Great Neighborhoods! Development Corporation (formerly American Indian Neighborhood Development Corporation), has a 30-year history of successful city partnerships, developing a shopping center and other business property in South Minneapolis. A Great Neighborhoods subsidiary had purchased all the property on both sides of Aldrich Avenue N between West Broadway and 21st Avenue N. The 800 building, which would have been the site of the fitness center, was owned by a corporation that was co-owned by the Great Neighborhoods subsidiary and the YWCA of Minneapolis. Continue Reading

OPINION | The protesters “occupy” for me and for you

By |

“First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they attack you, then you win.” Attributed to Mahatma GandhiWould that it were that simple.However, the folks who participate in the “Occupy” movement have experienced the first three. If indeed the next step is winning, we’re eager to see what winning will look like.The “First they ignore you,” part was achieved in New York, as the Occupy Wall Street movement was in place for weeks before any of the mainstream conservative media gave it any serious coverage.A certain amount of ridicule is implied by the initial lack of coverage, and once the coverage started, the more pointed ridicule was heard as the journalists who had so long ignored the protest now wanted to ensure “balance” in their presentations. One needn’t go far in the media archives and the blogsphere before finding dismissive comments and, despite the journalistically-indefensible lack of early coverage, biting criticism of the media for the amount of coverage the protests are finally receiving.Compared with the number and determination of protesters, nationwide and beyond, the “attacks” have been few. One, however, is too many. Continue Reading