On bustling Franklin Avenue, sustainable values of Seward neighborhood come to life in brick and stone

Gar Hargens landed on Franklin Avenue nearly 50 years ago and never left.

He arrived from Boston, with a wife and baby, to study architecture at the University of Minnesota under the legendary Ralph Rapson. After settling into some cheap student housing on the East Bank, he strolled across the Franklin Avenue bridge to the Seward neighborhood, where he came upon an intriguing modern office building tucked among the trees.

It was the home of Close Associates, an innovative architectural firm founded by the late husband-and-wife team of Win and Lisl Close. Hargens went inside, got a job and has been there ever since, serving as the firm's principal since 1980 and sole owner since 1988.

From his perch, a stone's throw from the Mississippi River, Hargens has watched Franklin Avenue change — and, yet, not really change. There's less industry on the avenue now, and more retail. There are fewer car dealers, and more tattoo parlors.

But the bones of the avenue — the buildings that line the sidewalks — have largely remained. In keeping with the green ethos of the neighborhood, they've been recycled, repurposed and reused, adapting to the changing needs of the residents. Hargens has played a big role in that process, handling the architecture for several noteworthy renovations on the street.

We took a walk along Franklin Avenue with Hargens and got his thoughts on the street that's been his professional home for half a century.

"Being near the U, Seward was inexpensive, and it attracted a lot of students. So it began to have this crunchy flavor to it," Hargens said, recalling his first years in the area. "I think the neighborhood has matured now. There are more people who are permanent, who have lived here a long time. It's harder to find a place to rent here now."

The co-op won an LEED Gold designation from the U.S. Green Building Council, the highest award for environmentally sustainable buildings.

Other Hargens designs on Franklin include Metro Place, an early example of new urbanist thinking, with shops on the ground floor and living spaces above; and the former Smiley's Clinic, now transformed into a commercial hub housing a variety of small businesses.

Most of the modern structures along the avenue are on the north side, which underwent some mild urban renewal 40 to 50 years ago. That includes the matching Seward Towers east and west, a pair of 21-story monoliths about three blocks apart that provide affordable housing.

The towers scream of postwar institutional brutalism, but Hargens — who wasn't the designer — defends them on the grounds that "they provide built-in density. Everything except the towers is on a very human scale."

As we walk along, he ticks off the histories of the buildings we pass.

Toward the western end of Franklin, where the neighborhood boundary runs into Cedar Avenue S., is the headquarters of the Republican Party of Minnesota: "More evidence of our diversity," Hargens said with a grin.

A key to the ongoing revitalization of the neighborhood, Hargens said, was the preservation of Milwaukee Avenue, a two-block-long street opening off the avenue with small brick homes originally built in the 1880s. Hargens witnessed the project take shape as an architecture student; it's now a historic district.

"To me, that was the beginning," he said. "It brought a new sense of neighborhood pride."

Though Franklin Avenue is a busy street with heavy traffic, there are few large parking lots visible. Most lots are small, tucked beside or behind buildings. Some businesses have created shared parking arrangements. It's all in keeping with the Seward character: collaborative, cooperative, yet fiercely individualistic.

"There's a certain way of approaching governance and living" in the Seward neighborhood, Hargens said. "You keep familiar landmarks and you improve where you can.

John Reinan • 612-673-7402