1865 sawmill in Norwood Young America finds new life as a home and business

In hindsight, it makes perfect sense that Erin Allard would end up in a space like the one she’s settled into in Norwood Young America.

It’s a big, beautiful three-buildings-in-one setup with history, heart and incredible potential. Allard, 58, who owns a custom drapery business called Seams Like a Good Idea, is just the right person to celebrate the building’s past and move it into the future, helped along by her seemingly boundless energy and creativity.

“I love synchronicities, when things come together and then you look back and think, ‘Wow, how did that happen?’” she said.

In the case of this property, located right off Main Street, Allard may have found the ultimate example of how asking a few questions — and keeping an open mind — can lead to a brand-new way of living.

During the early days of the pandemic, she anticipated a downturn and decided not to renew the lease on her retail space in Burnsville. But after moving everything into the walkout basement of her Golden Valley home, business boomed.

“Everyone was sitting at home, and they started decorating,” she recalled. “I was busting out of my basement, and then things spilled over into the garage.”

In search of new space, she followed a friend’s advice to look for old properties sitting empty that no one wanted, such as schools, churches or banks. She came across the unoccupied sawmill, which had been owned by a bank for the past 10 years.

“My philosophy is always just to ask questions and see what happens, so I called my Realtor,” Allard said.

She learned that the sawmill was built in 1865 and later converted into a gristmill. According to Explore Minnesota, the mill has been owned by several companies, including Hamm’s Brewing.

Three buildings, all connected, totaled 13,300 square feet. “I did six months of research before I made a move,” Allard said.

She visited the property with an architect, friends, peers in the design industry and an inspector. Everyone, she discovered, had an opinion. There were the “Are you insane?” folks (including that inspector, who predicted dire outcomes) and the “Of course you have to buy it,” crowd, which included the architect.

“If it were me, I’d be all in,” she told Allard.

And Allard, it turned out, was in her camp. She wrote a business plan, talked to the local bank that held the deed and presented her ideas to the City Council.

“I placed the offer in October 2021,” she said. “I asked the banker if we could pick a lucky date and time, so the closing was officially at 2:22 p.m. on 2/22/2022.”

One of the first things Allard did was move her business into one of the buildings, which required a deep cleaning of left-behind junk and removal of the insects and critters that had made their home there. A previous owner had converted one of the buildings into an antique mall, so the existing stalls allowed for easy storage of fabric and other materials.

Phase two was to build a brand-new home within the shell of the existing building.

“I spent $50,000 just on things you can’t see,” she said. “We had to rip out the floorboards and re-level the floors.”

Her design plans included celebrations of the property’s past.

“The original mill [wheels] is in the basement of my home portion of the building,” she said.

Allard also updated the grounds and the mill exterior, although it still maintains an old-timey look. “There was a crumbling ramp and pergola that were demolished and there were tons of vines growing over the face of the building. ... There were so many weeds and weed trees growing on the grounds that I had no idea there were brick paver patios and walkways.”

Allard’s contractor, Jeff Meyer, worked on construction jobs in her Golden Valley house and was excited to be part of the process. “You never know what you’re getting into with older buildings, and maybe that’s why I like working with them so much,” he said.

Major challenges included leveling the floors, ensuring that supports and braces were correctly placed and finding a way to install plumbing in such an old building. “I think we were able to keep that rustic old farmhouse look, but to include all the modern conveniences,” Meyer said.

“I really wanted to make quirkiness part of the home’s design,” Allard said. “I don’t like that white and gray trend, and I wanted it to be something you couldn’t see or experience anywhere else. I knew I needed color, so you’ll see reds, yellows, greens and blues. I have many friends who are artists, and their work is displayed throughout the house.”

With phases one and two completed, she’s pondering her next move for the “sandwich filling” of the space that’s between the business and her home. “It’s 5,000 square feet, with two massive gas fireplaces, and it’s the spot that always causes people to say, ‘I’d love to hang out here,’” she said.

When friends began asking if they could rent it, she realized it could be an ideal event center. But there’s lots of work to do before that happens. Key priorities are repairing the front porch and fulfilling the necessary accessibility requirements.

Allard also wants to add solar panels so the building’s energy use is self-sustaining.

Shelly Rae Linnell, a Realtor and designer who worked with Allard, said she’s amazed at how the integrity of the original building has been so well-preserved.

“The energy Erin has had in reviving this amazing building has truly been impressive,” she said. “It’s a delight to walk through it and see what she’s done. It’s a real gift to the community.”

While these plans for the future take up some of her attention, Allard also makes sure to live deeply in the current moment.

“I love it here so much,” she said. “Every morning I wake up and think, ‘I get to be here again today.’”

Julie Kendrick is a Minneapolis-based freelance writer.