Large fire in south Minneapolis is second at buildings owned by same landlord

A Minneapolis apartment building owner had a second vacant property damaged by fire last week, a few months after the first incident.

On Saturday, the Minneapolis Fire Department spent hours fighting a large fire at 2312 Lyndale Avenue S., in a building owned by C. David George. In September, a condemned building in Loring Park owned by George was also damaged by a fire.

Nobody was hurt in either fire, but officials said squatters inhabited the buildings. In the Lyndale Avenue fire, a person jumped from the second floor to escape.

According to county property records, the Loring Park building, at 200 Oak Grove St., was valued at $3.5 million. George has paid $59,000 in property taxes there this year.

The Lyndale property had a value of $2 million, and George paid $36,000 in property taxes. George, who lives in Minneapolis, couldn't be reached for comment Sunday. In a previous Star Tribune story about the Loring Park fire, he declined to comment.

City officials had been working with George to see if he was willing to sell the Loring Park property, which had been condemned in 2021 for safety hazards. Since then, the city charged him $39,000 in special assessments, including costs of boarding up and reboarding the building.

Neighbors had voiced concerns with the city and the neighborhood association about the Loring Park property's deteriorating condition for several years.

Fire crews responded to the Lyndale Avenue fire just after 6 a.m. on Saturday. They found heavy smoke billowing from the second floor, according to a news release from the Minneapolis Fire Department.

Fire crews were forced to leave the building due to the extent of the fire, which spread to all floors. Part of the roof and an exterior wall collapsed in the alley.

Crews laid additional lines to protect neighboring buildings, which include apartments and the Leaning Tower of Pizza restaurant.