Longfellow: the new Highland Park?

A once-languishing corridor is now very much in vogue

by Tesha M. Christensen

“Longfellow is the new Highland Park,” according to Eddie Landenberger of Redesign, a private, non-profit commercial and housing real estate developer based out of Seward that also provides community development services.

Landenberger noted that recently opened Longfellow restaurants are enticing folks from Meriam Park to cross the river and dine in Longfellow, rather than head south to Highland Park.

And Longfellow residents that were driving to Highland Park are “happy to have these options in their neighborhood,” he stated.

A real estate broker and senior projects manager at Redesign, Landenberger observed that much of the success of an area is based on perception, and when there are vacant buildings residents and business owners are discouraged from not just moving in but also frequenting the businesses already there.

SONORA GRILL REVIVES MOLLY QUINN BUILDING

Redesign has focused on filling empty buildings on Lake St., and has stepped in to rehabilitate buildings that others won’t touch.

Such was the case with the former Molly Quinn building at 3300 E. Lake St., now occupied by Sonora Grill. A collapsed foundation had doomed the property to vacancy since 2008, and there wasn’t a bank that would provide capital until Redesign got involved.

This is the first brick and mortar location for Sonora Grill, which has operated out of Midtown Global Market since 2011. 

Opened by Mexican immigrants Alejandro Castillon, Conrado Paredes, and Fernando Arnanda, the made-from-scratch menu is a fusion of South American and Spanish flavors. Since opening the Longfellow location in mid-December, Sonora Grill has been busy, despite the fact that January tends to be a slow month in the restaurant business.  Plus, they’re employing 35 local residents.

“Things are really good,” noted Paredes. “We’re really happy.”

Parades credits Edie Landenberger of Redesign for their move into Longfellow. “Edie did a good job presenting the project to us and showing us how it would look,” he said. He appreciates that they were able to occupy just part of the building, which made it seem like a “safer” investment for the Sonora Grill crew.

And Paredes believes that their presence and the support they’ve gotten from the neighborhood will encourage other small business owners to start up.

“Our goal was not just to turn the property around, but to turn the corner into an asset for the neighborhood,” stated Landenberger.

Sonora Grill is glad to be part of the revitalization of East Lake St.

“I think the fact that the building is not sitting here falling apart makes a big difference,” said Paredes. “That’s what I hear from neighbors and customers.”

292 TRANSFORMS FORMER MASSAGE PARLOR

A few blocks east, another decrepit building has been transformed by the 292 Design Group. The interior at 3533 E. Lake St. was gutted and replaced with an airy floorplan.

The building was once the notorious home of Diane’s Massage Parlor, just one of a string of prostitution fronts in the neighborhood that city officials and residents drove out over the last 30 years.

The new location brings 292 Design partners closer to their homes and their clients. Pam Anderson is a Nokomis resident and Mark Wentzell lives in Longfellow. Tom Betti lives just across the river in St. Paul.

The design firm has worked on the YWCA buildings in Midtown and Uptown, and is currently working with neighbors Merlin’s Rest and Graphic Systems. 

Anderson considers East Lake Street to be a great location, one that is easy to find, accessible by bus and walkable.

“It has been great to see other new businesses move into the area; we see a lot of excitement about the future of this neighborhood,” Anderson remarked.

CORRIDOR NOW THRIVING

“Fifteen years ago, Longfellow’s stretch of East Lake St. faced challenges: a closed gas station greeted traffic from St. Paul and the near-vacant Podany’s and Odd Fellows buildings occupied 27th and Lake,” pointed out longtime resident Dan Kennedy of Kennedy & Cain. “Three saunas, some vacant buildings, and scant lighting made the thoroughfare inhospitable.”

The revitalization of the major structures at 27th and the construction of a mixed use building at the river changed things.

 “The removal of these blighted bookends directly led to a burgeoning restaurant scene (Glaciers, Gandhi Mahal, El Nuevo Rodeo, Town Talk, T’s Place, Manny’s Tortas, Denny’s, and Longfellow Grill opened), but also created energy around maintaining momentum,” observed Kennedy.

 He credits the Longfellow Community Council and the Longfellow Business Association for championing a new business climate. The street became more welcoming after the reconstruction in 2007-08.

“Often overlooked are the stalwarts that continue to draw people to Lake Street,” Kennedy stated. “Businesses such as the used car lots, the garages, the auto parts stores, the fast food restaurants and Honda Town retain the old flavor of Lake Street. Northern Sun and Northwest Graphics are established retail stores. American Rug Laundry and Don’s Leather Cleaning dominate their industries. Despite its incongruous suburban layout, Minnehaha Mall attracts shoppers from a wide area.  

“If these businesses had failed, Lake Street would have had multiple large vacancies that would discouraged the first developers.”

Investment in the middle section of Lake Street has led to the opening of Sonora Grill at 33rd Avenue and the redevelopment of the near-vacant CTC building at 34th, where the law firms of Kennedy & Cain and Eric Day will soon join Diversity Day Care and Bukhari Institute, remarked Kennedy. Parka and Forage are new at 41st Ave. Further east, Longfellow Market at 39th will open in 2014.

“Things have really turned around and I think you’ll see a lot more business and residential development coming,” remarked Lake Street Council Executive Director Joyce Wisdom.

Ask Landenberger to look into the future and this is what he sees: “More interest, more people moving into the neighborhood. I see developers who used to just be interested in the river moving west. I see more variety and more small businesses.” And as Lake Street continues to evolve, Landenberger also foresees retail growth along Minnehaha Ave.

“The challenge now is to sustain momentum,” said Kennedy.