Latest news with #HeritagePreservationCommission
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lourdes demolition in full swing
Apr. 14—ROCHESTER — The walls of the former Lourdes High School are coming down. While work crews had already been removing some exterior elements of the building, full demolition of the 84-year-old building at 621 W. Center St. began Monday, a little more than a year after the Rochester City Council created a path for the work. Mayo Clinic, which owns the building, obtained a demolition permit in September to make way for a new logistics center as part of its "Bold. Forward. Unbound. In Rochester" expansion. The West Logistics Center, designed to manage and distribute critical supplies through service and utility tunnels to future clinical buildings, is expected to be completed in late 2027, according to Mayo Clinic. The former Lourdes site is the latest demolition connected to the $5 billion expansion. The overall project is expected to be completed by 2030. "Mayo Clinic purchased the property in 2013 for the explicit purpose to re-develop the site for future expansion to meet mission critical activities," Mayo Clinic Facilities Services Division Chairman Tim Siegfried wrote of the former Lourdes site in a Feb. 22, 2024, letter to the city. "The new facility planned for the site will serve as a state-of-the-art circulatory system for the new Bold. Forward. Unbound. clinical buildings — moving supplies and equipment to clinicians and patients in need." The property was purchased for $5.8 million in 2013, after the high school moved to 2800 19th St. NW. Father Jerry Mahon, a member of the Rochester Catholic Schools Board of Trustees, told the city Heritage Preservation Commission in 2024 an estimated $12 million in repairs would have been needed if the building had remained a school. The commission recommended the building be given landmark status, but the Rochester City Council opted on March 19, 2024, to remove the site from the city's list of potential landmarks, which opened the path to demolition. The decision followed years of discussion and debate, with the building originally being placed on the city's list of potential landmarks in 2019. The Heritage Preservation Commission later agreed to remove the newest portion of the building from consideration, but the older sections faced added review before demolition was approved. With a variety of community input and sentiment around the decision to demolish the former school building, Mayo Clinic announced plans to reclaim architectural elements of the building for use in a planned park area alongside the new logistics center, creating a transition between the Mayo Clinic campus and nearby residential neighborhood. Additionally, Katie Arendt, a Mayo Clinic obstetric anesthesiologist serving as a physician leader for the Bold. Forward. Unbound. Project, said the cross on the building's steeple was donated to the Diocese of Winona-Rochester for use at its new pastoral center in northwest Rochester. Limestone lining the exterior walls, slate shingles from the roof and existing plantings have also been recovered for future uses. With the former Lourdes building coming down, construction of the planned logistics center — one of five buildings planned to be built in the expansion — is expected to begin as early as this year.
Yahoo
18-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Rochester council set to review pitch for local Pill Hill district
Feb. 18—ROCHESTER — Two Pill Hill homeowners who voiced concerns about the potential impact of a local landmark district on their future renovation plans would likely face differing levels of review for similar projects, if the requested designation is approved. "These are historic homes that require a lot of love and investment to maintain, and when I look around my neighborhood, I wonder why we would make it more difficult to do so," said Matt Lehrman, who bought a 1922 home on Eight Avenue Southwest as a fixer-upper in 2022. The home is considered a contributing property to the proposed Pill Hill landmark district. It was owned by Dr. Norman Keith, a former Mayo Clinic division head, who raised his son, "Sandy" Keith, in the home. The younger Keith served as a state senator, a lieutenant governor and chief justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court throughout a four-decade career in state government. Lehrman said he and his wife were drawn to the historic home to meet the needs of their growing family, but he added he'd likely have looked elsewhere if restrictions proposed by the local landmark status were in effect. "We knew those regulations weren't in place, because we saw neighboring historic homes that had been modernized with huge additions or solar panels," he told the city's Heritage Preservation Commission last month. The proposed local landmark district , which was unanimously supported by the commission, is slated for review by the Rochester City Council during its meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday in council chambers of the city-county Government Center. If approved, major changes to the exterior of contributing homes would likely require a review by the Preservation Commission before related building permits could be approved. Interior changes, as well as exterior work not requiring a city permit, would not be affected by the landmark status. While Lehrman would likely face the added commission review for a permit, fellow Pill Hill homeowner Seth McLellan could see less scrutiny for similar work, since his home is considered a non-contributing property within the district. Built in 1916, the home wasn't individually described as part of the Pill Hill district when it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990, even though it sits within the district's boundaries. Molly Patterson-Lungren, the city's heritage preservation and urban design coordinator, said the non-contributing status would likely only spur a staff-level review to make sure any changes don't disrupt the historic nature of the surrounding district, adding the the highest level of scrutiny would come with proposed demolition of the home. She said a homeowner would be informed any new construction on the property would be required to blend with the district's historic homes. "It's really about setting compatible infill," she said, pointing to the form and size of a new home and where it sits within the property. She said the level of review needed on individual projects will ultimately depend on what is proposed, whether it can be seen from the street or public land and other factors, but the goal is to limit any significant delays in the process for reviewing a building permit. McLellan said such oversight isn't needed when it comes to well-maintained historic homes in the district. "You can trust the homeowners in this area to make the right decisions," he said. "We moved to this district, because we wanted to live in an old home. We bought the house that we did, because it was maintained in that state. "We wouldn't change it, because we wanted the house that we were buying." He said a neighbor recently sold a property in the district and turned down offers until a buyer willing to preserve the home was found. He said he believes that would be the case for most of his neighbors. Bobbi Pritt said she's not as confident, which led her to join neighbors leading the charge to create a local landmark district. As someone who bought a home in need of repair, she said she understands concerns, but she said her home could have been purchased by a developer wanting to tear it down to build an apartment building that wouldn't fit with the historic homes. She said the goal of the district is to make sure future homeowners are invested in maintaining the historic nature of the southwest Rochester neighborhood. "As a homeowner, I thought long and hard about what this would entail," she said. "I don't see this as a negative, if this were approved. I actually see that people that live in these districts want to maintain their character." Sundeep Khosla, a resident of the nationally recognized district, said he thought the homes in the neighborhood were protected under the federal designation, but a discussion of rezoning in 2023 highlighted the lack of historic review if demolition is proposed. With downtown growth on the edge of the district, he and others have voiced concern. "I think the timing is critical, because I think we are entering a phase in Rochester where clearly there is going to be rapid expansion and growth in the downtown area," Khosla said. Martha Grogan, who worked with Pritt and fellow district resident Dan Larson on the district proposal, said neighborhood support has fueled the effort. "We did have a petition that showed the majority of the individuals that lived in this district were in favor of consideration of a local district," she told the city's Heritage Preservation Commission. Grogan said the intent is to support neighbors, rather than creating arduous restrictions. She said any review will come with suggestions and insights for preserving a home's historic character. Bethany Gladhill, the St. Paul-based consultant hired by the Pill Hill neighbors, the status will benefit homeowners, since homes in designated historic districts maintain their values at higher rates. "What I'd like people to think about now is the fact that these homeowners will have basically free assistance from city staff, from people concerned with this, in the best way to maintain these homes and renovate them that preserve their value," she said. The City Council will hold a public hearing on the issue during its meeting Wednesday, which was shifted from Monday due to the Presidents' Day holiday. Following the public hearing, the council members will be asked to consider a vote on approving the district.
Yahoo
09-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Resurrecting historic Carver
Gone are the days of steamboats and horse carts in Carver, but that doesn't mean that a trip downtown now can't elicit the same feel as it did when early settlers first came to the area. Carver's Heritage Preservation Commission (HPC) recently released its revised design guidelines for commercial buildings in the historic district. The 73-page document details how the district can recapture and enhance its 19th century river town settlement feel. 'One of downtown Carver's greatest resources is its unique concentration of historic and architecturally interesting buildings,' the guidelines read. 'This manual is designed to demonstrate how using guidelines can often uncover and preserve a building's hidden historic or architectural value.' HPC Chair John von Walter said it was time for the city's guidelines to be updated. His group worked steadily from January through August to revise them before presenting them to the Carver City Council. 'The old guidelines were outdated – almost 30 years old,' he said. 'They date back to when the city got its Historic District designation.' In 2003, Chaska went through a similar process, when a team of North Dakota State University architecture professors created a downtown design guide for business owners to use when renovating their storefronts. National Register Throughout the 1970s, a non-profit corporation named Carver-on-the-Minnesota worked to purchase and renovate deteriorating properties, resulting in much of downtown Carver earning a place on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. The historic district encompasses '87 buildings and four structures of historical significance dating from the middle of the 1800s through the first quarter of the 20th century, noting Carver's early river town settlement, commerce, dwelling places and architecture.' The HPC is now responsible for overseeing the preservation and enhancement of that district, as well as maintaining downtown's historic character. Currently, any property owner in the historic district who wishes to make changes to the exterior of a building has to bring their plans before the HPC. '[A project] can be stopped at the HPC if we don't approve it,' said von Walter. The HPC is hoping to see more good examples of renovations and restorations that fit in with the city's historic character. Von Walter pointed to Greg and Meg Witt's restoration of a 1925 gas station and an 1895 grocery store building, both on Broadway. Revealing historic charm Von Walter said new materials and construction techniques are making it easier to restore buildings like those in downtown Carver. 'A lot has changed,' he said. Realizing the cost of renovating or restoring a building to its historic facade, tax credits, easements and loans are all used as incentives to encourage property owners in the historic district to do work on their buildings. The guidelines provide an idea of what the building could look like if restored down to the tiniest details, including suggested materials to use, design style and signage, among others. The document was presented to the Carver City Council in September and has been well received thus far, von Walter said. He has plans to visit each of the business property owners in downtown Carver to give them a set of the guidelines along with a historic photo of their building to serve as inspiration. Von Walter points out that the revised guidelines are not just for existing structures, but also for new buildings. 'These address not only restoring buildings, but the infill of any that we have lost,' he said. 'One structure at a time, Carver's buildings are shedding their architecturally inappropriate shells and revealing their historic charm to residents and visitors alike.'
Yahoo
26-01-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Local Pill Hill district ready for review
Jan. 26—ROCHESTER — Official review of a proposed locally designated Pill Hill Historic District is slated to start Tuesday. During its 5 p.m. meeting at the city-county Government Center, the Rochester Heritage Preservation Commission is expected to review a proposal to designate roughly 15 blocks in southwest Rochester as a local landmark distric t. The area is roughly bounded by Third and Ninth streets and Seventh and 10th avenues. The proposed local district largely mirrors the one adopted by the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. "We are talking about some minor changes to the boundaries," Grogan told neighbors gathered at a Jan. 8 information meeting . The changes remove homes that don't match the historic nature of the district and add others that fit in the district criteria related to homes built between 1903 and 1937. Neighbors in the proposed district raised funds for a study by St. Paul-based preservation consultant Bethany Gladhill, which outlines the history of homes and other structures seen as contributing to the historic nature of the area. Several neighbors have said they believed the national designation offered protection from zoning and other changes in the historic district, but they discovered that wasn't true amid discussions of a potential zoning change south of Second Street Southwest. While the change to allow the potential for additional housing construction wasn't approved by the Rochester City Council , neighbors say they are concerned about future efforts as the downtown continues to be redeveloped. "The issue will come to a head in the next few years, particularly as the downtown area expands," said Sundeep Khosla, a district resident. "I expect the zoning issue will come up again." The local designation would put all contributing properties on the city's list of designated landmarks, meaning major exterior changes, including demolition, would require an added layer of oversight by the Heritage Preservation Commission. Without designation, a demolition permit is typically awarded by staff as long as requirements for the permit are in place. At the same time, Grogan said the proposed local designation does mean property owners won't be able to make changes to their historic homes. Interior modifications won't be affected by a district designation, but exterior changes requiring city permits would require added review to ensure they meet expected historic preservation standards. As an example, it could determine what times of windows and doors are best suited for the home. "It's not going to say that we can't have changes to our homes, which are sometimes necessary, but it's doing it in the best possible way," Grogan said. "The commission helps to ensure that." On Tuesday, following a scheduled public hearing on the issue, the neighbors plan to ask the commission to recommend approval of the district, but the final decision will be made during a future Rochester City Council meeting. The date of the council decision, which will include a second public hearing, has not been set. Meetings scheduled to be held during the week of Jan. 27 include: Rochester —City Council study session, 3:30 p.m. Monday in the Rochester Public Utilities community room, 4000 East River Road NE. —Music Board, 4 p.m. Tuesday with location to be posted at —Heritage Preservation Commission, 5 p.m. Tuesday in council chambers of the city-county Government Center, 151 Fourth St. SE. —Planning and Zoning Commission, 5 p.m. Wednesday in council chambers of the Government Center. Olmsted County —Sheriff's Civil Service Commission, 8 a.m. Monday with the location to be posted at
