The long-time vacant building on the 4100 block of Fremont Ave North has been the center of a redevelopment project with the City of Minneapolis since 2016. The two commercial buildings are located at 4146 Fremont Ave N in the Webber-Camden neighborhood. The buildings contain approximately 7,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space. One of the buildings includes a second floor with four vacant apartment units totaling approximately 2,500 square feet. The development goals for the site include redeveloping the vacant storefronts and providing retail goods and services to the community that will support the commercial and residential activity near the 42nd and Fremont intersection.
In November 2016 the City of Minneapolis, through its department of Community Planning and Economic Development (CPED), issued a request for redevelopment proposals (RFP) for two adjacent buildings located at 4140-4146 Fremont Ave N. The City received seven proposals prior to the February 10, 2017 submission deadline. One proposal team withdrew its submission, and City staff removed two proposals from further consideration based on the evaluation criteria listed in the RFP. Architect Jamil Ford’s proposal was accepted by the City of Minneapolis. From the request for proposals (RFP) process, the City Council granted exclusive development rights for the property to Ideal Development Group LLC (IDG). IDG is owned by Jamil Ford, who is also President of Mobilize Design and Architecture located in North Minneapolis.
Project plans are for multi-tenant commercial spaces with a restaurant, bookstore, event space and art gallery, and office spaces on the second floor. The project is named “Baldwin Square” after the African American writer, James Baldwin. Jamil Ford and other investors comprise Baldwin Square Group LLC, the entity that will ultimately own the Fremont real estate that will be developed by IDG.
After agreeing to terms the City sold the building to Ford’s development group for $1 in 2020. The project’s $3.4 million dollar price tag has been very difficult to put together. The property has continued to deteriorate over the interim and the City revoked the exclusive rights late in 2024 and solicited other bids for demolition of the buildings.
Ford’s development has won a reprieve from the city after a new partnership has been formed with Ford and architect Paul Bauknight, plus support from community members opposing the demolition of the buildings. City spokesperson told North News “City Staff are in the process of reviewing the information that Ford’s group submitted on September 3”. The City has paused the bidding process to assess the new submittals. Hopefully this project will be able to find approval and financing to finally move forward.