Minneapolis house previously slated for black history museum to become apartments

A historic Minneapolis home that was slated to house the Minnesota African American Museum will instead be converted into apartments.

The mansion was spruced up for the museum, but the venture failed largely because work began before a complicated web of funding was secured. The property, which sits just south of Interstate 94 on 3rd Avenue S., ultimately was bought by the companies that performed the unpaid work.

Now it's slated to become the Coe Mansion Apartments, a nod to its original 19th-century owner, Amos B. Coe, a real estate developer.

The city's Heritage Preservation Commission approved the switch to apartments at its meeting Tuesday night. The plan would convert the house into eight units, with another in the adjoining carriage house.

The house has had many lives over the years, including as a hospital, an orphanage, an apartment building and a bed-and-breakfast. It was nearly demolished in the 1980s before it was rehabbed.

Museum supporters said last year they were searching for a permanent home for its collection, possibly at Minneapolis Community Technical College.

One of them, Harry Davis Jr., said Monday he had nothing new to report. He directed questions to museum founder Roxanne Givens, who did not return a call seeking comment.

The Queen Anne-style house is one of the last of its kind in the city, particularly one without major alterations, according to a city staff report. The property has been vacant for the past seven years.

The developer is Roman Gadaskin, who has pursued renovations at several other historical properties around Minneapolis in recent years, including two University-area houses.

Karen Gjerstad, the Coe Mansion Apartments architect said, "He chose this property because he loves old houses and he loves making apartments."