Photo by Jeff Skrenes, blog post by John Hoff
Hawthorne resident Mike Klick--who sits on the Hawthorne Housing Committee with me--keeps close track of what's happening in his quadrant of the neighborhood. The house at 2416 4th St. N. has been an area of concern, and this house was mentioned in a previous blog post, click here.
Now comes word from....
...a policy aide in the Third Ward of a new twist with the property. Here's the email Cheyenne Erickson sent to Mike Klick:
PPU informed me that the property was recently purchased by a new owner and that the demo orders were sent while the property was in foreclosure to the bank (the bank was attempting to sell it during this time). A new restoration agreement was signed with the new owner and is due in August 2010. If the owner fails to complete the agreement, it may result in financial penalties or demolition of the structure.
Please let me know if you have any more questions.
Cheyenne Erickson
Policy Aide - Third Ward
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Why does my gut say, "Oh, great, I bet it's another speculator or slumlord?" Because, believe me, if it was a home owner, we'd know about it and somebody would probably bring them a pie.
I hope things turn out well, not badly, but I'm sure we can depend on Mike Klick to know what's happening and bring word to the Housing Committee.
To quote Obi-Wan Kenobi, "Your instincts serve you well."
ReplyDeleteI just checked, and it appears this property is owned by Wenrich Property Development. Wenrich has its address listed as 2701 Bryant Ave N, and Blake F Williams is the homesteader.
I'm told that Wenrich is owned by a Wendy Sullivan, who has a poor track record of property management in Minneapolis as far as what I hear from people who live around her properties. In fact, I already know of one other property on my street that's owned by Wenrich and boarded/vacant: 2709 3rd St N.
Well Johnny, how about looking into another questionable sale...318/16 22nd Ave. North Minneapolis....they are living in the property and well as I can tell there is no rental license. Nor was there one from the last tenant.
ReplyDeleteLooks to me like that place should be burned. A vacant lot wouldn't attract rodents and derelicts like an empty old house does.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the disposition of this property, I have mixed feelings. I've seen it up close and it doesn't look as bad as that photo. It is in rough shape, no doubt. In the hands of a preservationist or a dedicated owner-occupant, it could be nicely restored.
ReplyDeleteWenrich, however, is neither. In all likelihood, this property, if it passes the restoration agreement, will remain ugly and poorly managed.
So do we burn the village in order to save it? I generally consider a vacant PROPERTY to be better than a problem property. But once it becomes a vacant LOT, there's no going back from that until someone else wants to build.
Demolition may very well be the appropriate course here. And if Wenrich is even 1% shy of the restoration agreement, I've no problem with demolition. As I said about Khan and 2222 4th St N, the terms of the restoration agreement were abundantly clear from the beginning.
There are a number of properties similar to this one in Hawthorne that risk being purchased by investors. I for one worry a great deal about the future of these properties.
ReplyDeleteAre we destined to see an increase in crime and problem properties in the area? I guess we just have to wait and find out.
An increase in crime? How could it be any worse? Have you been to NoMi?
ReplyDeleteYes, Gary, it could get worse. And, Yes, I have been there because I live there, as most people do who post to this blog. I've lived in NoMi for 16 years (in Cleveland) and been very happy. Thank you for your concern.
ReplyDeleteGary. @11:14
ReplyDeleteI live just a few blocks from this property.
The amount of crime in our immediate area is down signficantly, as it has gone down significantly throughout the entire the city.
I regularly "patrol this area" and have been very happy with the reduction of drug dealers and no goods hanging around.
Maybe your perception is different than mine.
Speaking of crime..
ReplyDeleteI happened to attend the Hawthorne Crime & Safety meeting last evening where our Sector Lt. presented the latest map of crime stats in our neighborhood. In this part of Hawthorne where this property is located we had a grand total of:
(Drum-roll)
ONE incident
I believe it was a car theft or something down on Broadway, but that's it - ONE incident. To the west and north of our sector there was a total of something like 25 incidents throughout the entire Hawthorne neighborhood. That's a huge drop compared to past years and we have every right to believe the downward trend will continue.
To Anonymous at 10:01 a.m.
ReplyDeleteI've been trying to put out the word that if "investors" come to North Minneapolis and try to act like slumlords, we will put their FIGURATIVE HEAD ON A METAPHORICAL POLE, and you don't need to look far on this blog to find the evidence of THAT.
John,
ReplyDeleteWhy would you want to keep investors out of NoMi? Poor people need to live somewhere. If you keep harassing people who own property there and, god forbid, try to make some money off of it, NoMi will continue to live up to its reputation.
You've already made it clear what you think of my neighborhood so, well, who cares what you think? I will indeed continue to let loose on slumlords who call themselves "investors" and I will enjoy myself in the process.
ReplyDeleteI'll weigh in regarding investors. I've said from day one as housing director in Hawthorne that we're not going to get out of this housing crisis in NoMi WITHOUT good investors.
ReplyDeleteLandlords, house flippers who do GOOD repairs, and speculators who also follow the law and recognize the value of our community are essential to almost any housing market. Where we draw the line is that we've had plenty of horrible speculators and slumlords. And if that's what someone is going to be when they come into or buy property in my neighborhood, then they can stay the hell away. We're better off without 'em.
Gary, if you don't understand that, I have no inclination to explain it further.
Gary.
ReplyDeleteI guess you have no clue about what is really going on here. If you have ever come to a Housing Committee Meeting to hear what we had to say about redeveloping NoMi you would maybe understand.
I really doubt you could ever grasp the concept as complex as redeveloping an urban neighborhood.
I for one are glad idiots like you live in the suburbs. Stay there. Please.
I smell a Troll.
ReplyDeleteThat's a good explanation Hawk. Thanks. I agree with you.
ReplyDeleteADDENDUM: The photo initially used was not of 2416 4th St N. An aide to CM Hofstede pointed this out to me. I have corrected this and used the right picture.
ReplyDeleteAlso, John stated to me that he pulled this photo from a previous blog post about 2416. That one was titled, "Can these houses be saved?" It contained an accurate photograph at the top of the post, but later the erroneous photo was used. The erroneous photo has been deleted from that post.
Dang, look at those AWESOME, ENERGY-EFFICIENT REPLACEMENT WINDOWS!
ReplyDeleteI wonder if someone got city assistance for putting those in...
I would be VERY interested in finding out for sure, Connie. After all, one of the requirements of the restoration agreement is to replace the windows. So if the previous owner got any kind of assistance to put in crappy windows that the current owner must replace...well that's a problem.
ReplyDeleteWenrich Property Development and Wendy Sullivan. I googled online awhile back and she had a few properties that went into foreclosure. It could have been a dozen or more
ReplyDeleteI just worry that this will drag on and on...Just like 2222 4th ST N has done.
ReplyDeleteWe are still waiting for that dump to come down, years after the original director's order went out.
Mr. Kahn sure knows how to waste city resources.
I wish he would just go away.
William Shatner put it best...
ReplyDeleteKHAAAAAAAAN!!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRnSnfiUI54
Dude, you are forgetting what a sci-fi geek I am. I used that Khan youtube link in one of my very first posts about the guy.
ReplyDeletegoogle "2416 4th St N Stipulated Agreement and Conditions"
ReplyDelete