Under a renegotiated lease, Minneapolis Park Superintendent Al Bangoura would occupy the entire Theodore Wirth Home, while public tours of the historic house would be curtailed.
The lease, released this week, gives Bangoura exclusive access to the three floors of the home, which overlooks Lyndale Farmstead Park in southwest Minneapolis. He would be able to open the house to the public "at key times," according to the new language.
Park Board commissioners were scheduled to vote on the lease at their meeting Wednesday evening, but they lacked a quorum. Missing were commissioners Brad Bourn, AK Hassan, Londel French, Kale Severson and President Jono Cowgill, according to Robin Smothers, a parks spokeswoman.
The lease limits access for the Minneapolis Parks Legacy Society, which has hosted regular tours of the house since 2018.
The nonprofit owns the archives of Wirth, the first superintendent to live in the home, and has furniture and other artifacts arranged on the first floor.
Under the new lease, the Legacy Society would have access to the Drafting Room in the basement six days a year. The group would have until May to remove its artifacts from the main floor.
Bangoura could also grant access to other historical organizations, according to the lease.
Rent will rise in stages from $1,325 a month to $2,050 a month starting in 2021. The rent, paid by Bangoura, would go exclusively toward repairs and improvements to the house.
