Cohousing at Howe School in Minneapolis
------------------------------------------------------------------- The proposal below is no longer active. The school will be reopened as a school due to unexpected jump in enrollement in the area. ------------------------------------------------------------------- As of May 2011 the possibility of developing a cohousing community at the Howe School site in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA is being explored. About Cohousing The school has been closed since about 2006 and is for sale. The site is for sale as an " open listing " through NorthMarq for 60 days, June 15th 2011 The school faces south on the south half of a block (with the north half as open playground). The SW corner of the block is at E 38th St and 44th Av S That is between 37 & 38th Streets (which run east-west) and 43rd Av S and 44th Av S (which run north-south) Map The zip code is 55406. It is a great location! * 4 blocks from the Mississippi River and walking/biking trails * 1 block from retail corner with coffee shop, wine bar, garden center, medical clinic THE Riverview Theater, "where we present everything from Hollywood's biggest blockbusters to niche art films, all in a classic auditorium featuring new high-backed rocker seats and digital sound." * 3 bus lines stop within 1 block of the property * Easy 5 minute bus ride to the Hiawatha Light Rail Line * The Longfellow Community Council ( LCC ) is the neighborhood group --- Historic status --- * It was chosen as "one of the top 10 endangered buildings in Minnesota" by the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota But this does not in itself prevent demolition or extensive renovation of the building. That is something determined by the... * Heritage Preservation Commission of Minneapolis. Tho Howe School probably has not yet been reviewed by the HPC, there is some expectation that the school most likely would be designated as a local historical landmark, which would mainly prevent demolition. Picture of the site Pictures of the site and interior 2010 For Sale listing for siteDiscussion on cohousing-L May 25, 2011
Cohousing in Unique Structure / Tornado near Fred Re: Cohousing in Unique Structure Tornado near Fred Re: Cohousing in Unique Structure Tornado near Fred Howe school Re: Howe school Re: Howe school Cohousing in Unique Structure - School, MinneapolisDetails
extracted from the June 10, 2011 Listing Information (large 4.3 MB pdf) aerial picture of site Floor plan of first floor Floor plan of second floor (Link fixed 6/17) Street view from SE (38th st and 44th av Note that the gym floor is at about ground level (as are most entrances) while the first floor of the classroom wings are about 3 feet above ground level. Note the "D -------> <------- D" in the hall way south of the Gym on the first floor that indicates ramps. This difference in elevation allows a higher ceiling in the gym while having some space over the ends of the gym ( 211 and 214 "Tutor") are above the gym. I still do not know if there is a basement (which affects how plumbing can be added to first floor classrooms. Year Built 1927 Parcel Size 139,300 SF Rectangular shaped parcel 514 feet x 271 feet Zoning R1A/Single Family District Surrounding similar blocks with all houses have about 25 houses. Parking on Northwest side of the building Building Size 36,161 square feet Building Foot Print First Floor: 19,331 SF - (includes gym space which mostly has no second floor and extension of the west wing to the south which is one story) Second Floor: 16,830 SF 15 Classrooms: 814 sf. 924 sf. combined first floor 2 3 5 second floor 4 6 10 total 6 9 15 media center (2,112 sf) occupies the space of two classrooms. gymnasium/stage (3,550 sf) lunchroom (1,122 sf) One possible conversion to cohousing would make each class room into a living unit and the media center into two for a total of 17 units. COMMON AREA NOTE that this use of "Common area" is NOT the same as the Cohousing "common space". Real estate use: consisting of hallways/corridors, stairwells, restrooms, elevator, and mechanical rooms. Cohousing use: Shared spaces: Dining space, group kitchen, shared lounges meeting rooms etc Total Common Area (hallways etc) 12,300 SF 7,290 SF First Floor Common area 5,010 SF Second Floor Common area There is one Elevator Classroom clearing is 12 feet floor to deck. In addition there is a The distance from floor to floor is 12' 5" 11' 5" being clear. Above the Level 2 deck is a 4' 10" wood structure to support the roof. The exterior walls (parapet) extend 1' 5" above the roof. The bays vary with the main area containing bays 21' X 22' (462 SF) and 18' X 22' (396 SF). (A bay is architectural term for zone between the outer edges of engaged columns.) I suspect classrooms are made up of two bays to make the 814 sf. 924 sf. (36 x 22 or 42 x 22) Non-classroom Space Staffrooms, office spaces, workrooms, gymnasium/auditorium, stage, media center, lunchroom, kitchen Brick exterior on old and new portion Windows Original Double Hung Type A windows with wood frames (Appx. 169 windows) Bathrooms Common and private bathrooms Ceiling Tiles All the classrooms have acoustical ceiling tiles that are glued on. HVAC The facility is heated with a 2-pipe boiler system. One is fired by natural gas, the other by coal. They are both controlled with the same thermostat. Roof The roof was inspected during the month of August 2007. All observations are based upon this date.There are two sections of roof on this facility. The main section (17,103 square feet) is a 4-ply built-up roof with one inch of insulation. A 4-ply roof consists of insulation layers to meet the heat loss code. This insulation is covered with four layers of tarpaper that are applied with hot tar and covered with pea sized rock. It was installed in the late 1970's or early 1980's. It is past its life expectancy and is in immediate need of major repairs but should be replaced. From LCC Neighborhood Development Caucus *Draft* Meeting Minutes June 13, 2011 Minneapolis Public Schools will be putting Howe School up for sale in an open listing. The property will be listed for 60 days, after which all proposals will be evaluated. MPS is also considering demolishing the building to construct athletic fields for Sanford Middle School on the site. The listing of the property for sale will allow a determination of whether or not there are viable economic uses for the site. Parking Lot Approximately 30-40 stalls (northwest) No Fences or Retaining Walls Six feet wide sidewalks surround the perimeter of the site ABOUT This page basically assumes familiarity with the idea of cohousing. There is a great deal of information about cohousing on the Internet including The Cohousing Association of the United States ( Coho/US ) Cohousing-L discussion (Which Fred Olson happens to manage) Monterey Cohousing located 2 miles west of Minneapolis' Uptown was established in 1992. They will have an information session on Thursday July 21, 2011. If you want to avoid the long development process, they have 3 units available. (see their web site for details) This page is maintained by Fred H Olson email: fholson [at] cohousing.org Since this is a fast developing current proposal this page is a work in progress and likely not as refined as could be. Sorry.