Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Submitted For Your Consideration: "Crap Hole" At 1900 and 1904 Lowry Ave. N.


Photos contributed by an anonymous reader, blog post by John Hoff



After my public gloating session about Freidman's Shoe Store finally fixing their windows in response to public pressure, I asked readers to help me select the next target for constructive public shaming.

Though I have not yet chosen which eyesore I will target until doomsday if necessary, there is a lot of value in a highly-public discussion about who is the most deserving. Posted above are photos of what one anonymous JNS blog reader describes as the "crap hole" at 1900 and 1904 West Broadway.

Here's what my anonymous contributor tells me:
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"I bet there is a terrible rotten mess inside that junk hole. It looks like it's right across the street from the gas station. (JNS says: he means the station with the messed up awning not fixed more than a year after the tornado, while the gas station is obviously pulling in money every day) Maybe a double whammie should be done to this junk hole and to the gas station at the same time. The side view shows an entrance to the corner part of the building. I think there may be someone still living in part of the building." (JNS says: Correction: it is "almost"a year, not "more than a year)
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While I was busy today, shopping for a hot pink camel hair shawl, one of my regular readers and contributors gave me information about the lot in question, as follows:
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I went into the Hennepin County tax records and found that there is no listing for 1900 and 1904 Lowry Avenue North. So, I checked further and found out that the entire lot is listed under the address of 3203 Logan Avenue North. I don't know why the building has 1900 and 1904 posted on the front of the building facing Lowry Avenue. However, which is the front? The part of the building facing Lowry or the part of the building facing Logan?

According to the tax records, it is all one building with the address of 3203 Logan Avenue North. The owner is Donna Rudebush at 3203 Logan Avenue North. The property is listed as "residential, homestead." That building is not listed as a business building.
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And so 1900 and 1904 Lowry Ave. N. which is REALLY 3203 Logan Avenune North takes an early lead in this little contest, but can it sustain the momentum? Stay tuned!

(Do Not Click "Read More")

12 comments:

Nomi passenger said...

NoMi Passenger chiming in here... just a slight correction, we are slightly UNDER the year mark for tornado. Not over a year. But I'm sure time flies in Afghanistan. While it seems to stand still here in NoMi, where money making businesses like inconvenience stores don't need to fix their tornado damage.

Johnny Northside! said...

Most days I have no idea what day of the week it is, actually. I will go back and correct the text to reflect is it "almost a year" not "more than a year."

Anonymous said...

That building has been a crap hole for 10 years or more!

Anonymous said...

i vote for the ugly ass choc brown building.

it's still ugly as crap.

Anonymous said...

How about that Hong Kong store front?

Johnny Northside! said...

You mean the Vietnamese Hong Kong store that's actually run by Chinese? Where I wrote about the stinky durian fruit?

I don't know, they actually put on a coat of paint a couple years ago. There are candidates so much more ugly.

NoMi Passenger said...

I think I'm gonna cast my vote for the L & L food market on Lowry/Lyndale. That place is looking like crap lately, and honestly it's the windows!!! More windows!! But it's a glass block window! So Butt Blocks?? Oh man, here we go.

I'll try to get a picture for you soon.

The only reason I don't vote for the craphole garbage disposal building, or the leaning gas station, is like I said, they are tornado problems, they are likely already being pushed through the system, so blogging about them would not be the reason for progress.

Johnny Northside! said...

The "back story" of this property is being told in some comments on Facebook. Since I want to preserve that back story in this "Google searchable" forum, I am replicating the comments here. Minor edits for clarity.
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Roberta Johnson Englund No - 3203 Logan and began life as a single family home. There was a significant number of both illegal and legal additions additions until it ended up spanning two lots one of them fronting Lowry.

It has not been a stable building for years and FNA has been working (in what feels like forever) to have the property remediated. The owner - a widow who with her husband once owned a building on Penn at 36th. That building was sold a few years ago and is now a successful, well managed and problem free reentry location.


Roberta Johnson Englund Continued - two weeks ago there were pages of citations/orders written against the property. The damage you see today is not the result of significant damage related to the storm - the tornado was just the last straw for an otherwise unstable structure.
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Donald Hunker The owner claimed indigence and has tied up remediation. Habitat for Humanity was involved. The cost to return to the original house is too high and the alleged indigence has proven to be unfounded.

Johnny Northside! said...

Roberta Johnson Englund Continued once again -

The current owner claims that she does not have the resources necessary to repair the property - Habitat for Humanity attempted to work on the project since the storm and could not bring their proposed solutions to conclusion. The building has been used as a second hand store and even last summer there were un permitted sidewalk sales on the corner- FNA is advocating for demolition - the owner wants the building repaired to permit the original footprint of the house restored -

This has been and continues to be a trip through a swamp and in the meantime the building continues to fall in on itself - the orders will come due and if compliance does not occur - condemnation will! Anyone interested in joining our circle of hope is welcome!

Angela said...

I live on Morgan and drive past this everyday! I would love to be involved in getting the city to tear this building down. Any information would be great, or if I can help anyway- I am willing!

Anonymous said...

Johnny Northside Friedmans was not fixed from your stupid comments. So shut up about Friedmans you know nothing!

Anonymous said...

So put the old ones back in then and explain to us why you waited until John put a wild hair up your ass to do anything,kapisch?