Block E's future finally brighter?
Block E. For residents of Minneapolis the downtown city block has been a source of good times and bad, highs and lows, affluence and squalor, for almost one hundred years.
The blocks days as a notorious hub for crime and general disrepair began in the 1960s, efforts to improve the area in 2001 proved unsuccessful and now a new developer has taken over Block E with big, but as yet unknown, plans for re-development.
At the beginning of the 19th century, Block E was made up of large mansions and townhouses until re-development saw its face change to that of rows of commercial establishments into the 1980s, at which point the entire Hennepin side of the block was demolished and made into a large parking lot.
The demolition was the result of a vote by the city council in 1987, which was favorably received by Minneapolis news media. At that time, the decision was celebrated as a turning point for the area, it had, for decades, had a reputation for prostitution, drug-abuse and crime. A local bar, Moby Dick’s, was refuted to be particularly seedy and newsstands either side of the block sold pornography.
The feelings of the city council toward Block E are explicit in the lyrics of a song written to the tune of “Bye Bye Blackbird” and sung at the party to mark the demolition:
“Pack up all your crime and porn, Block or scorn, be reborn, Bye bye Block E / Moby Dick’s is beached at last, Problems vast, now are past, Bye bye Block E / No one here can stop and aggravate us, No more hard-luck stories will deflate us, Say goodbye to urban blight, Now we’ll light up the night, Bye bye Block E.”
Unfortunately for the city of Minneapolis, Block E’s troubles were not over and there were more hard-luck stories in the works. In 2001, Minneapolis news media reported that the city would contribute $38.5 million to a $134 million project to redevelop the block and turn it into a bustling shopping mall and eatery hub.
Developed by McCaffery Interests, the multi-story complex of the same name was home to a Hard Rock Café, a GameWorks restaurant/arcade and Hooters. There was also a Borders Books and a Starbucks. But the area failed to pull in revenue and Minneapolis news media reported in 2008 that Borders Books had closed its Block E location. Many of the other outlets closed or went bankrupt as well.
The mall is filled now with bordered up stores and has a sad and dated feel to it.
But according to recent Minneapolis news reports, the Block E mall has a new owner. Alatus LLC, a real estate development firm that has big plans, although exactly what they entail are, as yet, being kept quiet.
Initial plans however, seem to involve re-developing the entertainment complexes main lobby and upgrading lights and sign posts in the 550-space car park. The developer has also indicated that no public money will be requested in subsidies to breathe new life into Block E.
“The area’s ripe right now, and we’re really excited about doing it right this time,” Bob Lux, the owner of Alatus told Minneapolis news provider, the Star Tribune.
In the interests of lifting Block E’s curse, let’s hope so.
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Block E's future finally brighter?
Block E has long been cursed with misfortune and a bad reputation. The acquisition of the mall of the same name, which stands on a block with a troubled history, may signal a change in fortune for the area.
Block E. For residents of Minneapolis the downtown city block has been a source of good times and bad, highs and lows, affluence and squalor, for almost one hundred years. Read more
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