Amazing Transformation At 722 23rd Ave. N.

Photo and blog post by John Hoff

There seems to be some kind of powerful revitalization magnet buried deep beneath the soil on my block, and it is foolishness to resist its force. Mysteriously good things keep happening on my block (the 2200 block of Bryant Ave. N.) and on surrounding blocks, slowly-but-surely pulling the neighborhood upward from a decades-long downward spiral.

The house at 722 23rd Ave. N. is surely Exhibit A...

My first encounter with this house was in April of 2008, when I was making a report on squatter activity there and had a close encounter of the smelly kind which literally almost made me vomit. Actually, I certainly WOULD have barfed, but I didn't have anything in my stomach at the time.

The house stood empty for a long time but then, in the last several months, there were hopeful signs of progress. It appeared somebody was pouring more money into the house than one would expect if the house was being transformed into a rental.

As of today, the house appears amazingly transformed. I'm not sure if somebody is planning to "flip" this house or if all that work was done by somebody who plans to occupy the house themselves as an owner. Though I'm still cautious in my assessment of the future, at this point I can't help but say: BRAVO! You have performed a miracle with this house and, as a neighbor, I am grateful.

Keeping A Close Eye On 722 23rd Ave. N.

Photo and blog post by John Hoff

It has been a few months since I've written about 722 23rd Ave. N., a house near my own residence which has gone from being abandoned and used by squatters to extensive renovation activity, click here for a sample blog post.

If the pace of the repairs are any indication, the new owners are being careful and doing a good job. And so I remain hopeful. I'm very lucky that I don't have to deal with the kind of issues Hillside Chronicles blog experiences with a house right across the street at 1551 Hillside Ave. N, click here for a blog post about THAT.

I tell you, if North Minneapolis had at least one blogger in every four-block area, reporting in a highly public way on the good and bad situations in close proximity to their own houses, we'd get to something approaching urban utopia within, oh, I figure about five years. And so I will continue to watch, to report, to keep tabs on this house and hope the new owners don't fill it up with criminal no-accounts in the manner of slumlords like Bashir Moghul and Mahmood Khan.

(Do Not Click "Read More")

Hopeful Progress At 722 23rd Ave. N.

Photo and blog post by John Hoff

As I previously wrote, I am keeping a wary eye on 722 23rd Ave. N., a house that long sat vacant and now suddenly has all kinds of renovation activity taking place. Since the house is near my own home, I pay close attention to what's going on there, especially given what awful shape the place was in before.

Recently, the rotten railroad ties which were holding back the embankment were all ripped away and replaced with blocks...very new and nice ornamental blocks, too. I couldn't help but wonder if...

...the surprisingly high-quality blocks were a hopeful sign that this house might turn into something positive, instead of yet another slummy rental filled with slummy people. I'm still wary, but I'm getting a little bit more hopeful. How I hope this house is in the hands of some flipper, rather than a slumlord along the lines of Bashir Moghul.

Oh, that reminds me. Bashir Moghul news. I better write another blog post.

Suddenly, Activity At "The House That (Almost) Made Me Barf"

Photos and blog post by John Hoff

The big white house at 722 23rd Ave. N. has been vacant for several years, not counting squatters. This house achieved an extraordinarily minor degree of blog notoriety as the "House That (Almost) Made Me Barf," though I didn't actually list its address at the time I wrote that blog post.

A few days ago, workers showed up at the house...

...and I thought, "Oh, how exciting. Desperate looking, almost certainly low-paid workers with a grossly overloaded Chevy pick-up, cleaning out the interior. Could this be an early indication of who owns the house, and who is going to move into that house and how many times neighbors will need to call 911, 311 and their city council person? Yes, probably. Well, may as well get started early."

I called up the city and it turns out the owner has a permit to remodel. Sigh. Well, on the bright side...this house will probably get some better nickname in the very near future. I just hope it's a nice nickname, not something like "The House Of The Naked Screaming Crackhead." There is an opportunity to observe, to report, and to influence. I hope to get some nice neighbors.

But I'm going to do everything I can to make SURE I get some nice neighbors.