National Trust For Historic Preservation Names Red Wing, Minnesota To Its 2008 List of America’s Dozen Distinctive Destinations

Perfect Combination of Architectural History and Natural Beauty

Washington, D.C. (February 7, 2008) – Today, the National Trust for Historic Preservation named Red Wing, Minnesota one of its 2008 Dozen Distinctive Destinations. Since 2000, the National Trust for Historic Preservation has annually selected communities across the United States that offer cultural and recreational experiences different from the typical vacation destination. From dynamic downtowns and stunning architecture to cultural diversity and commitments to historic preservation, the selected destinations boast a richness of character and exude an authentic sense of place.

Conveniently located only one hour south of the Twin Cities, Red Wing, Minnesota perfectly combines an impressive architectural history with an enviable natural environment. Historically and architecturally significant buildings dominate the community’s landscape and reflect its mid-19th century beginnings as a riverfront trade point. This treasure trove boasts a total of 25 listings on the National Register of Historic Places while its downtown district retains the majority of the commercial buildings that were constructed during the city’s early boom period of 1860 – 1910.

Red Wing has long been considered a leader in the historic preservation movement in Minnesota, maintaining and rehabilitating a wide range of structures throughout the city. Landmarks include the St. James Hotel, one of the region’s most celebrated hotels and a member of the National Trust Historic Hotels of America, the Sheldon Theatre, a turn-of-the century cultural icon, and the west residential historic district, a neighborhood that retains much of its original character and architectural styles, including Italianate, Queen Anne, Classical Revival and Prairie School.

“This is a city that knows history matters,” said Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. “With its historic river charm, Red Wing, Minnesota has sensitively preserved its heritage and natural resources to create a thriving and vital community that has much to offer residents and visitors alike.”

“Preserving Red Wing’s heritage has been a community-wide commitment for generations and continues to this day,” said Red Wing mayor Donna Dummer. “Our mission, driven by residents, businesses and city officials, is to ‘capture the vibrancy of growth while preserving and enhancing the city’s unique historic and natural environmental character.’”

Natural resources abound with Red Wing’s riverfront, majestic bluffs, hiking trails and immaculately preserved city parks. The city’s most famous landmark, Barn Bluff, showcases sweeping views of the area. From the top of the 340-foot bluff, miles of Wisconsin’s and Minnesota’s urban and rural countryside are visible against the backdrop of the Mississippi River. The city is also noted for a 19.7 mile paved bike trail that runs parallel to the Cannon River between Red Wing and Cannon Falls. With overhanging cliffs that allow for extensive views of nature’s seasonal changes, the area is unsurpassed for its beauty and serenity. Red Wing is celebrated for being one of the Top Ten locations in the United States for its spectacular fall foliage.

The 2008 list of America’s Dozen Distinctive Destinations includes:

Aiken, S.C.—Aiken seamlessly balances its varied 19th century heritage with cosmopolitan flair to offer all the necessary ingredients for a great vacation.

Apalachicola, Fla.— Apalachicola, an authentic coastal town renowned for its mouth-watering seafood and singular charm, features a waterfront dotted with fishing vessels, a downtown filled with eclectic shops and streets lined with historic buildings,

Columbus, Miss.—The birthplace of prize-winning playwright, Tennessee Williams, Columbus thrives on its extraordinary mix of Southern history, natural beauty and culture—with antebellum homes spared during the Civil War and historic tours showcasing the remarkable impact of the African American community to a revitalized Main Street that possesses great curb appeal.

Crested Butte, Colo.—One of the most charming vacation destinations in the Rockies, this former coal mining village is a recreational paradise that offers a rare mix of rugged beauty, history and adventure no matter the time of year.

Fort Davis, Texas—With no traffic lights or chain stores, Fort Davis is a gateway to an unspoiled terrain, offering an extraordinary blend of majestic scenery, abundant wildlife and cultural resources that bring to life the history of the 19th century western frontier.

Friday Harbor, Wash.—This small, well-preserved community in the San Juan Island chain is one square mile of perfection—an antidote to city life, ideal for outdoor adventurers, wildlife enthusiasts and history buffs alike.

Portland, Ore.— Boasting both the charm of a small town community and the urban vitality of a big city, Portland, Oregon is a dynamic destination that offers an alluring mix of natural beauty, lively downtown entertainment and landmark historic attractions.

Portsmouth, N.H.—This elegant seaport, the nation’s third oldest city, is one of the most culturally rich destinations in the country with its captivating blend of coastal beauty, historic buildings and lively downtown.

Red Wing, Minn.—Conveniently located one hour south of the Twin Cities, this handsome historic town features a treasure trove of architectural gems dating back to its beginnings as a riverfront trade point as well as an enviable natural environment.

Ste. Genevieve, Mo.—One hour south of St. Louis, Ste. Genevieve is the only French colonial village remaining in the United States, providing an unparalleled glimpse into the pioneer spirit of the early settlers.

San Juan Bautista, Calif.—Known as the “City of History” because of its exceptional collection of Spanish colonial architecture, San Juan Bautista showcases Old California like no other.

Wilmington, N.C.—From riverboats to battleships, grand old mansions to historic museums, splendid gardens to Civil War sites—Wilmington, North Carolina has a charm and style all its own that dates back nearly three centuries.

 

This is the ninth time the National Trust for Historic Preservation has announced a list of Dozen Distinctive Destinations. To date, there are 108 Distinctive Destinations located in 42 states throughout the country. To see a complete list, visit www.nationaltrust.org\ddd. In each community, residents have taken forceful action to protect their town’s character and sense of place. Whether by enacting a local preservation law to protect historic buildings against demolition, rewriting zoning codes to prevent commercial sprawl, removing regulatory barriers to downtown housing, making downtown areas more walkable, enacting design standards, or taking some other major step that demonstrates a strong commitment to their town, residents have worked hard to preserve the historic and scenic assets of their communities, with rewards that transcend town limits.

To download high resolution images of this year’s Dozen Distinctive Destinations, please visit http://press.nationaltrust.org.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a non-profit membership organization bringing people together to protect, enhance and enjoy the places that matter to them. By saving the places where great moments from history – and the important moments of everyday life – took place, the National Trust for Historic Preservation helps revitalize neighborhoods and communities, spark economic development and promote environmental sustainability. With headquarters in Washington, DC, nine regional and field offices, 29 historic sites, and partner organizations in all 50 states, the National Trust for Historic Preservation provides leadership, education, advocacy and resources to a national network of people, organizations and local communities committed to saving places, connecting us to our history and collectively shaping the future of America’s stories. For more information visit www.nationaltrust.org

Travel journalist Rudy Maxa has prepared a podcast featuring the historic Minneapolis riverfront as part of National Geographic’s “Walks of a Lifetime” series.  To hear the podcast or for more infomation, check out either of these sites:

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/podcasts/walks.html

http://podcast.nationalgeographic.com/walks-of-a-lifetime/

Tuesday night, January 22, 2008, was a happy night for folks in Winona who have worked continuously for the past 12 years to protect Winona’s historic buildings; the city council approved creation of two local historic districts on Third and Second streets downtown.  To read the full article, click here.

The Neighborhood newspaper “The Bridge,” which covers Twin Cities neighborhoods bordering the Mississippi River, recently ran an article covering the preservation efforts of congregations in SE Minneapolis and their historic churches. Churches featured include:

Prospect Park United Methodist Church

First Congregational Church of Minnesota

University Lutheran Church of Hope

Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church

Read the full article online at http://readthebridge.info/2483

St. Paul Stops a Waterfront Developer From Crossing the Mississippi

Photos by Dawn Villella for The New York Times

A parking lot at the proposed site of the Bridges of St. Paul. Bottom, the developer Jerry Trooien with a project rendering.

By: LISA CHAMBERLAIN, The New York Times

Published: January 2, 2008 ST. PAUL — As manufacturing declined across the country, cities from Baltimore to San Francisco have reclaimed waterfronts for recreation and development. But here along the Mississippi River, an unusual situation has emerged.

 

Photos by Dawn Villella for The New York Times

 

A well-known local developer, proposing the largest project in St. Paul’s history, has been prevented by the city itself, with the support of some pro-development forces, from building an upscale mixed-use community directly across the river from the downtown.

Four years after Jerry Trooien, chairman of JLT Group, unveiled plans for the Bridges of St. Paul, the City Council — with support from the St. Paul Riverfront Development Corporation, the city’s planning commission and a new mayor — voted 5 to 2 in September not to change zoning that limits height and density on the riverfront.

Declining to develop one of the few low-lying parcels of land along this part of the Mississippi, which otherwise has limited public access, remains a highly contested decision. And in an era when large-scale developments have emerged across the country — along waterfronts and off — this is a tale of what can go wrong when competing visions collide and market forces tip the balance away from development.

“We started with the previous mayor, and we were in agreement on this,” Mr. Trooien said in an interview conducted on the top floor of his office building that overlooks the proposed site, which sits between two major spans over the Mississippi on the more residential south side of the river, opposite downtown. “We’ve done everything we can, but the squishy liberals think small-scale is morally superior.”

What is to become of the $1.5 billion 33-acre mixed-use development plan remains unclear. As it was proposed, the Bridges would have created a retail destination covering 350,000 to 450,000 square feet; a Westin, the city’s first new full-service hotel in decades; and more than 1,000 housing units, as well as a riverfront promenade, a marina and a public attraction called Mythica, a kind of theme park devoted to exploring the myths of cultures from around the world.

The failure of the project was not for a lack of trying. Mr. Trooien waged a marketing campaign, including weekly full-page newspaper advertisements, lasting years and said he had spent nearly $20 million on planning and creating models of the proposed developments. “I’ve spent $2 million worth on hotel drawings alone,” Mr. Trooien said.

But many people here say the real problem was not Mr. Trooien’s marketing of the Bridges but the plan itself. He failed to acknowledge, critics say, that community leaders long ago decided that the riverfront should not compete with downtown for large-scale development or retailing nor block views of the river.

Mayor Chris Coleman was the councilman representing this part of St. Paul 10 years ago when the city undertook a three-year planning process to formulate principles that would guide development. The guidelines envisioned a lower-density midrise development on the south side of the Mississippi, so the expansive views of the river and of distant residential neighborhoods would not be blocked.

The planning effort resulted in the formation of the St. Paul Riverfront Development Corporation, a private nonprofit agency that oversees the use of the framework. “We created a ‘development’ framework, not a ‘stop development’ framework,” said Patrick Seeb, executive director of the development corporation. “But there are rules that a lot of people were involved in creating, that the community bought into, including developers who don’t want to see downtown jump the river.”

Jumping the river with a large-scale project was not the only point of contention. Because downtown St. Paul sits on a bluff and the development site is in a flood plain (in fact, the bridges that span the river slope downward), the Bridges proposal called for a large parking deck to raise the grade level.

Mr. Trooien and his master planner, Roland Aberg of Hart Howerton, a San Francisco-based architecture and planning firm, envisioned raising the development 20 feet above current ground level. They argue that this did not so much block views as “frame” the river.

But others saw it as compromising a distinctive aspect of St. Paul: the grassy vistas from downtown. What’s more, entering the site — which could be done only by car, as there is no mass transit — would require ascending a steep incline.

“By building a parking deck and creating this faux urbanism up in the air on the wrong side of the river from where all the infrastructure is, it made every mistake that we’ve come to learn over the last 30 years,” said Thomas Fisher, dean of the College of Design at the University of Minnesota. “It doesn’t connect to existing streets or the rest of the fabric of the city.” Objections to the project focused not only on the size, he said, but also on its placement. “This would work fine on the other side of the river,” he said.

Meanwhile, the economics of the project caused concern among City Council members. Not only was Mr. Trooien asking for substantial tax deferments, but the entire project was to be built all at the same time, raising concerns about whether a city with a population of 300,000 could absorb it at once.

Still, Mr. Aberg and Mr. Trooien maintain that it could not easily have been phased in, and that the economics of a smaller scale project just do not work on the site. Although supported by the building trades unions and the St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce, the project was doomed, according to Tim Murnane, senior vice president of Opus, a national real estate development company headquartered in Minneapolis. “Here was situation where the vision of the city and the vision that Jerry had were different, and you add in other market conditions and it was going to fail,” Mr. Murnane said. “The city might have done Jerry a favor.”

Crookston’s Wayne Hotel on the Road to Reuse

The following article regarding a purchase agreement for Crookston’s Wayne Hotel indicates that the structure may be headed for reuse. Saint Paul’s MetroPlains Development has offered to purchase the Wayne Hotel and rehabilitate the structure.

The Wayne Hotel was listed on the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota’s 2006 Ten Most Endangered Historic Properties List.

Crookston Daily Times article
By Mike Christopherson, Managing Editor
Published: Monday, June 18, 2007 1:49 PM CDT
Article link: http://www.crookstontimes.com/articles/2007/06/18/news/19news3.txt

CDA agrees to Wayne Hotel purchase agreement, role is only as a conduit to speed up grant proposal

“Concluding that this is probably the last, best chance to save the historic Wayne Hotel building from the wrecking ball, the Crookston Development Authority board of directors has agreed to intervene in the sale of the property from Polk County to Metro Plains Development of the Twin Cities.

Getting the tax-forfeited property off the county’s hands and under Metro Plains control is no easy process, and with the developer seeking a large grant from USDA Rural Development, the CDA board voted unanimously Friday in favor of a draft purchase agreement that will never actually involve the CDA holding the title to the building. The county will convey the property to the CDA, but the paperwork will be withheld from the state until Metro Plains takes over ownership of the property.

The agreement has gone through many revisions, CDA Executive Director Dale Umlauf said, because the CDA insists on not “exposing” itself at all if the project to develop the building into apartments falls through. The sale price of $500 is the strongest indication of the CDA’s interest in only serving as a conduit to speed things along, added City Administrator Aaron Parrish.

The maximum loan the USDA will grant for a single project is $1 million, and $25 million is awarded nationally each year, Umlauf said. But on the plus side, he added, Minnesota projects typically are presented very well and as a result about 20 percent of the $25 million is awarded to Minnesota initiatives. With Metro Plains having a track record of successfully completing other projects with USDA money, Umlauf said the USDA likes working with the developer.

“If the grant goes through, the chances of a project being completed become quite good,” he said, adding that Metro Plains officials have said that the Wayne Hotel isn’t in as bad of shape as some other buildings they’ve rehabbed. “To me, this is by far the best chance we have to make something happen with that building, so I think we need to do whatever we can to help without exposing ourselves unnecessarily.”

Each draft of the purchase agreement has included language changes that limit the CDA’s exposure. A timeline stretching out to 2008 has been sped up, to 2007, Parrish said, “because we don’t want the due diligence to stretch that long.” In addition, language removes any CDA liability if unforeseen asbestos issues or things like hidden fuel tanks underground turn up, Umlauf added.

“There’s no reason for us to lean out there,” he said.

“In general, this is pretty advantageous, our rights are pretty much preserved in the latest version (of the agreement),” Parrish explained.

Polk County officials are appreciative as well, Umlauf said, especially if it helps them avoid the cost and headache of demolishing the structure.

“We have to make our best attempt possible to make it happen, and if it doesn’t, we tried our best,” he said, adding that the areas legislative contingent in Washington, D.C. has said they will do whatever they can to help secure the grant. “They know private financing won’t cut it.”