A Camden News reader recently saw a City vehicle parked at the two City-owned properties at Penn and 44th, and asked some City staff what was/is going on. Miles Mercer’s team oversees the properties and gave us all an update:
The City of Minneapolis car at the site was likely a City staff person letting a consultant into the former Domino’s building (2147 44th) to inspect for potential hazardous materials, like asbestos. We are doing that assessment of both buildings to inform a bidding process to select a contractor to demolish them. We were waiting until we had the results of the survey before starting to inform the neighborhood on our trajectory. But since you asked, and given the timing of the Camden Community News’ next publishing date, we’ll start now.
As you know, the former Domino’s building has been vacant since the City bought both buildings in December 2018. The City leased out the 2139 44th building to a community clinic during COVID, but it has been vacant for the past few years. Unfortunately, the condition of both buildings has deteriorated, and we’ve experienced some break-ins and vandalism. We think its time to bring the buildings down.
Once we have bids, we’ll know what the cost of the demolition would be. We will need City Council approval to go with one of the bids and to appropriate funds to pay for it. The demolition will need to secure all necessary regulatory approvals, and be conducted according to any safety and environmental requirements. Amber Lee on my team is coordinating the demolition process.
Once done, the City will continue to monitor the site and address any property management issues.
When the site will be redeveloped is an open question. While we occasionally get inquires on the availability of the property, so far we haven’t received a proposal from a developer with the capacity to complete a project. Typically, the City offers development properties through a public Request for Proposals (RFP) process. We typically issue an RFP when we think the market conditions and level of interest will result in a feasible proposal. Unfortunately, we don’t think we’re in that situation now. We recognize that a vacant site is not ideal and hope the conditions come together to support a redevelopment of the site.