Northrup school for sale again

BY ED FELIEN

The Minneapolis Public School (MPS) system is trying to sell Northrup School again. The school at 1611 E. 46th St. opened in 1923 and closed in 2005. At one point United Properties was planning on buying the property, tearing down the school and building 106 cooperative housing units for seniors, but a weakened housing market destroyed those plans.

The city says the market value of the building is $782,400, and the land is worth $1,708,100 for a total of $2,490,500. It’s not clear what the MPS is asking for the property.

NorthMarq Real Estate Services was marketing the property previously and said the two story building has about 33,698 square feet. It includes a gymnasium with a stage, media center and a kitchen. There are 13 classrooms, each with two bathrooms, administrative offices and storage areas. The entire facility is classified as a concrete cast-in-place structure. The exterior walls vary in thickness but most are 1 foot - 3 inches (1’- 3”) of concrete with a brick veneer face. The support structure is cast-in-place columns, beams, joists and deck.

Many of the support beams that parallel the corridors are 3 feet (3’) deep.

The heat has not been turned on since 2011. In 2009 the heating bill was $74,000. To change the boiler, which is not in use, from coal to natural gas would cost approximately $80,000. With normal maintenance the boilers should operate for another 20 years.

The roof is in three sections and the largest of the sections was installed in 1974 and is at the end of its useful life. Also, there are stacks that are leaking and should be replaced as soon as possible.

House lots in the area are valued at about $70,000. If a developer could get 30 houses on a block, that would make the land on the block worth about $2,100,000, so an asking price for the land of $1,708,100 is a bit of a bargain.
If you’re interested give the school board a call or contact the Field, Regina, Northrup Neighborhood Group at 612-721-5424.

Former school board member Dave Tilsen regrets the sale. He said, “I am always against any property going from public to private. The Nokomis community should have a good use for the space.”