Victory Neighborhood

[nick is rulz]

Gentrification is the polar opposite of urban decay or white flight. While on the surface, this might naturally seem like a positive thing...with it comes a different demographic and higher property taxes which often result in the poor folks having to move out, several of which have put hours of hard work into neighborhood improvement.

For the northside to become gentrified, it would be a huge process. That article mentioned Bassett Creek, and I fully anticipate that Harrison will be completely gentrified in about 10 years. North of 55 though would require some serious capital investment before a true gentrification would happen.

More likely a scenario is the Northside will start to look like Powderhorn or Phillips. A diverse mix of people, and rough around the edges in some spots but a dramatic improvement from its former self.

[Slig]

Gentrification is a slow gradual process. I think increasing gas prices are going to accelerate it though. More and more people are going to want to move closer and this should increase investment into the city neighborhoods.

[nick is rulz]

the Star Tribune had an article a few months back titled "the return of the $100,000 house", and it was all about how people are buying fixer uppers on the northside for dirt cheap. Some of em dont sit long at all. There was this crazy looking property on the corner of Xerxes and Plymouth that was going for about a quarter of what every other property on that street sells for, and I guess it resulted in a bidding war. I know I had an interest in a $50k property on the corner of 2nd and Penn, but it was sale pending before I had a chance to look then there was the 1200 sq ft two level condo on 11th and Newton (right behind the police station) for $60k that looked amazing...that went in a hurry.

[Slig]

If I still worked in Plymouth I probably would've bought a house up there. Unfortunately I got a job in Eagan and had to settle for the south side

[MNNative]

I was talking with an electrician who was doing work on the house we're buying and he was telling us how surprised he was that it was a foreclosure for the condition it's in and about what a steal we must be getting. He said a good friend of his (who is a property inspector for Mpls) told him that the record sale so far is $6500. It was a 2bedroom home that obviously needed some work done, but just think...
I believe the second place spot went to a $9000 sale.

[Slig]

I heard there are entire blocks of North Minneapolis that can be purchased for around 150k. If only I had a couple million to throw around...I'd be buying myself a neighborhood.

[Camden Northsider]

Although I don't like that we're getting pretty off-topic from the original thread here (which I might be a little at fault for), I thought I would add some comments.

Regarding the article about gentrification in North Minneapolis, I do have a few points. (1) there are areas and/or neighborhoods in both Near North and Camden that have never been low-income neighborhoods and still are not...more affordable? - yes, yet still historically having higher median incomes than the city's average with less diversity but possibly more integration than other neighborhoods. (2) For the neighborhoods that are plagued with foreclosures and urban blight right now, now is NOT the time to be complaining about gentrification and should not be an issue/ worry to anyone right now in some areas. EVERYONE, no matter what their background is, wants to live in an area that has a sense of community and is safe for their families. There are some neighborhoods that really need stable homeowners (or responsible landlords) that are committed to the neighborhood and interested in stabilizing it. Yes, affordable housing is a big issue in the Twin Cities and there is a big need for it - but the slumlords in some neighborhoods were NOT offering affordable housing, they were charging average Mpls market rate (and I know this from experience). There has been no major "urban removal", sure there was probably a case or two with some of the newer developments, but that's a moot point. And yes, Harrison has development activities going on right now that look a lot like gentrification, but so do other neighborhoods similar to Near North neighborhoods like Philips/ Whittier/ Powderhorn in South Minneapolis that are similarly very close/ adjacent to downtown. Sometimes I don't get it - if someone's not complaining about the complete lack of developers interested in investing in their neighborhood, then they're complaining about the ones that are.

But there does need to be a point made about involving neighborhood residents and the local community at large in any planned development or project of interest, as well as ensuring that there are slots for affordable/ subsidized housing in whatever the development is (regarding the criticisms of mixed use developments, there has similarly been much criticism old-school methods of concentrating poverty in relatively small geographic areas - e.g. projects, etc. throughout the nation and the effects this had on people/ neighborhoods)- but if there is no communication with the local residents about development projects, its likely that this type of fear will surface.

[CamdenRedhouse]

Just wanted to post a little update here. As the Artistic Director of the only theater company in North Minneapolis, the Northside (Camden) is now the proud owner of an IVEY award winning theater company.

Workhouse Theatre Company won an IVEY award on Monday (9/22) in the category of Overall Excellence in Theater. To put it into context, there were 65 theaters represented at the awards ceremony and only about 12 awards given. And in that category there were only two.

So - If you are thinking of moving to Camden, you have to look at what amenities are available as a resident. I may be a little bit biased, but to have an Statewide recognized quality theater company is a pretty good amenity.

[Camden Northsider]

Originally Posted by CamdenRedhouse

Just wanted to post a little update here. As the Artistic Director of the only theater company in North Minneapolis, the Northside (Camden) is now the proud owner of an IVEY award winning theater company.

Workhouse Theatre Company won an IVEY award on Monday (9/22) in the category of Overall Excellence in Theater. To put it into context, there were 65 theaters represented at the awards ceremony and only about 12 awards given. And in that category there were only two.

So - If you are thinking of moving to Camden, you have to look at what amenities are available as a resident. I may be a little bit biased, but to have an Statewide recognized quality theater company is a pretty good amenity.

I actually had heard/ read about this just this morning - congratulations on the award and your company is very deserving of it - my wife and I have been frequent patrons of and have always enjoyed your plays (and my wife used to be an Ivey evaluator herself just a few years back). It's always great to take a walk down the parkway or one of our favorite Victory streets, have dinner and drinks at Sauced or Papa's, and attend a Workhouse play (and possibly pick up our drycleaning/ tailoring, drop off something at the neighborhood office, and get some gelato or whatever else along the way). Keep up the great work as we are more than happy to support your company and we always make an effort to introduce/ invite neighborhood friends to come with us as well.

It's good to see the Victory Neighborhood thread revived (now I'm trying to remember other newsworthy neighborhood items that I've failed to post the past couple of months).

[Camden Northsider]

As there are now 5 pages of posts about the Victory Neighborhood on this thread, I thought it was way overdue to add some actual pictures of the neighborhood. Below are some pictures I've either taken while out on walks (on a low-quality cell phone camera) and/or found somewhere online.

Collage of Neighborhood Landmarks (Ryan Lake, Victory Mmrl Flagpole, Parkway, Lincoln Memorial):

Loring Community School (elementary):

Loring's Classroom Garden:

ViNA Office/ Businesses (44th & Osseo Road):

Lincoln Memorial:

Victory home:

The Warren:

Maranatha Christian Academy:

Aerial view looking SE towards downtown Mpls (looking across parkway/ Victory from Robbinsdale vantage point):

Aerial looking directly west across Victory Memorial Pkwy into Robbinsdale's Crystal Lake, residential and downtown areas:

"Sauced" Pics:

[IMG]http://stmedia.startribune.com/images/502*333/3RN0703.jpg[/IMG]
Steamworks Coffee:

Papa's Pizza and Pasta:


Other pics and information on Victory Memorial Parkway from an U of M study: http://www.designcenter.umn.edu/refe...PW-Victory.pdf