IMAGES: Taking A Tour Of An Incredible "Stephanie Gruver House" At 4250 Fremont Ave. N.

Photos By John Hoff

These are images from 4250 Fremont Avenue, a house which has been extensively remodeled by Stephanie Gruver with the Greater Metropolitan Housing Corporation. (GMHC, or "Gimmick")

Gruver's renovation efforts were recently the subject of a Star Tribune story, which catapulted Gruver's work to a greater degree of public consciousness and, possibly, political debate.

Normally I'd link to a media story after mentioning it, but--as I've griped about incessantly on this blog--I won't use Star Tribune links because they're scheduled to go dead. (The fact that newspaper's owners, Avista Capital Partners, is THE DEVIL is actually besides the point, but I thought I'd mention it)

Back to the house at 4250 Fremont Ave. N.

I'll tell you more about this house in my next post, but for now, from top to bottom, here's what you're seeing...

1.) Top photo: the main room of the house is breathtaking. I actually found myself sucking in breath and forgetting to let it out.

2.) 3.) Second two photos: Wow, check out all these little freebies placed in the kitchen to give the house charm. Whoever buys this place is going to make out like a BANDIT!

4.) 5.) Next two photos: Details from the upstairs bathroom, including his and hers (or hers/hers and his/his) bathroom sinks, and some cute tile in the bathroom. I haven't included the basement bathroom. I was amazed such attention was lavished on a BASEMENT bathroom, but the result was great.

6.) A cedar closet! You know, some slumlords would rip out the shelves, put a humidifier in there and call it a "sauna." (I'm kidding, but readers get my point about those disreputable North Minneapolis slumlords like, oh gee, Mahmood Khan)

7.) Look at all that copper! Good thing this North Minneapolis home has an alarm system.

8.) Some painted hand prints were left in the basement, some kind of remnant of the folks who once lived there, apparently. It was cool to leave that. Good call.

9.) I couldn't help but notice the use of low-energy, long-lasting bulbs. I use these myself and I've been phasing out energy-hog incandescent light bulbs.

10.) The only lame thing in the whole house: an EMPTY wine bottle in the kitchen. Here's a suggestion: use a bottle of sparkling cider. It looks just like a booze bottle, it's less lame, and nobody will steal it just like they won't steal the REAL PASTA in the pasta jars.

Wow, what a house!

In my next post, I'll discuss why it actually makes sense to layer such expensive renovations on this GMHC house as part of neighborhood revitalization. There's a method to this particular madness, and it became obvious when I looked at the house and its location in the neighborhood.