Artspace, a Twin Cities nonprofit that develops housing and work space for low-income artists, is about to start construction on its biggest project in the state: A 100-unit mixed-use apartment building will be built on a once-polluted site in the Harrison neighborhood in north Minneapolis.
Becky Carlson St. Clair, director of property development for Artspace, said the neighborhood's proximity to new transit lines and downtown Minneapolis, where the cost of housing and land is considerably higher, is boosting development — and housing costs — in the area.
"They're really feeling the pressure of increasing rents and gentrification," she said. "So there's a strong focus on maintaining affordability in the area."
The Northside Artspace Lofts will be built on the north half of a block along N. Irving Avenue in what's known as the Glenwood Avenue West Market District, a once-blighted, mostly commercial/industrial zone that's contiguous with several expensive neighborhoods, including Bryn Mawr and the North Loop. The site is within blocks of the planned Blue and Green Line LRT extensions, recreational bike trails and other public transit.
The site, which is within the Bassett Creek Watershed, was once occupied by an industrial dry-cleaning business and parking lot, but has been undeveloped for several years. Contaminated and unstable soils have made the area challenging for developers.
The Twin Cities-based nonprofit has developed more than 50 mixed-use, live/work projects for artists with more than 1,000 housing units across the country.
Like many Artspace projects, the planning process for Northside Lofts took years and was done with the participation of several community partners. In this case, Juxtaposition Arts (JXTA), a community-based arts education organization, is partnering with Artspace on several aspects of the project, including design of a public space, but it'll also occupy satellite space on the ground floor.
Artspace also partnered with Wellington Management, which just finished developing a three-story commercial building on the south half of the same block where Northside Lofts will be built. The Leef Building is a 65,000-square-foot office building that already has several tenants, and Wellington is already at work on a second, larger office building in the area.