Helping found The Twin Cities Ronald McDonald House had given me an eye into the Motley Neighborhood right by the U of M East Bank Campus. I’d gotten to know the Neighborhood and understand what an “Impacted Community” it was with unsupervised student renters. When the Mpls. School District finally decided to sell the mothballed Motley Free School Building, the Neighborhood requested a competition of developers that they could approve. I had helped promote the idea of neighborhood participation and encouraged my friends and clients Helen Sweet who lived next to the site and Anne Barnum whose Close Assoc. Wolf House in Prospect Park I had helped remodel to form a committee.

 

Four developers created concepts and plans with their architects. The three other designers were former professors of mine: Leonard Parker, Milo Thompson, and Ralph Rapson. All three presented boxy condo solutions. Knowing the Neighborhood’s potential for student housing but the resident’s concerns about absentee landlords, I convinced my developer, Brighton Development, that townhomes with accessory dwelling units (apartments) would be a welcome solution. In the tradition of Cass Gilbert, I had educated the Committee members about the merits of our scheme before the presentation and it was unanimously selected.

 

One awkward moment occurred as Ralph was just leaving the front of the room and I was coming forward. Years ago Ralph had called to say he had an excellent drafter and model maker, Fred, who he was going to have to let go for lack of work. Could we hire Fred? We did and it was Fred’s beautiful model of Dartmouth Place that I was carrying. Ralph’s model was much smaller and simpler. “What a great model!” Ralph blurted out. Also unthinking, I replied “Well, you know Fred!”. I’ve always felt bad about my thoughtless comment.

 

Brighton selected Frana Construction contractor. Pete Dineno (now President) was the Project Manager. Missy Thompson of Brighton sold the units. There were many options, A through F. The front row was built

first, then second and third. Twenty of the twenty eight units had the ADU’s. Missy had to work hard because mortgage interest was at 17%. But, the Univ. had a mortgage program for faculty and all the lenders let the ADU/ renters’ payments help pay the mortgage.

 

My designs for the four phases of the Ronald McDonald House that our Office did were a modernized versions of “Colonial Revival” as Charlie Nelson of the Historical Society told me to call it. I used the same simplified New England forms for Dartmouth Place as well, white clapboard  with gable roofs to repeat the Neighborhood’s predominate pattern.

 

Both the Owners’ back terraces and ADU’s back doors opened on  to a shared space. Missy wanted it left open, common. I preferred yards for each unit with a path down the middle. Budget favored Missy though today some units have created small gardens.

 

The project was sold out and proved a great benefit to the Neighborhood. Buyers used the Accessory Dwelling Units for relatives, students, home offices, etc. Doctor Stuart Jameson, renowned heart/lung surgeon, housed his patients in the at grade unit before and after their operation so he could keep and eye on them.