Boarded-up buildings now blend right in

Drive up James Avenue just off Broadway in north Minneapolis and chances are you won't even notice two boarded-up houses and a church.

That's what people keep telling Jerry Moore, who staffs the Jordan Area Community Council, which has an office across the street from the boarded buildings.

The difference between these buildings and others across Minneapolis is the look of their boards.

They've been painted to resemble windows -- even stained-glass windows in the case of the church -- to minimize the blight that boarding a building can bring to surrounding homes.

Instead of blank plywood staring back at passersby, the boards on these buildings have window panes painted on them, some even featuring faux plants in their painted windows.

It's all the work of a small Chicago company run by artist Chris Toepfer, whose work came to the attention of the Minneapolis development agency after his unusual approach to boarded-up buildings was mentioned at a conference.

"The idea is to essentially turn a problem, an eyesore, an unsafe building into an asset and do something that helps to revitalize," Toepfer said. If real estate begins with curb appeal, then making buildings look better helps the marketability of nearby housing, he said.

She said those factors will include the effect on sales of nearby homes, resident feedback, and whether the properties escape break-ins.

"It's certainly something we're going to be looking at expanding," said Kiener.

Meanwhile, another city agency is looking closely at doing just that. The Department of Regulatory Services is responsible for keeping boards on the city's growing number of vacant properties. It hopes to go ahead in June with a summer-long pilot project to use Toepfer's boards on some houses, according to Janine Atchison, a city housing manager.

"We're hoping to lessen the impact on neighborhoods and we're hoping to save the city some money," Atchison said.

There's some disagreement about costs. St. Paul found Toepfer's boarding to be much more expensive than current contracts, according to Steve Magner, manager of that city's vacant building program. "We find the cost prohibitive," he said.

"I'm really looking for a city that wants to do this on a larger scale," said Toepfer, who has done boarding in the Chicago area for more than a dozen years. He said he likes to work with local arts groups on painting the boards.

According to Jordan neighborhood staffer Moore, the real benefit will come when rehabbed properties are ready for sale. The city is working with a developer to rehab a cluster of foreclosed or vacant homes in the Cottage Park area where the boarded homes now sit. Having better-looking boards will give people a better impression of the neighborhood, he said.

"You could drive right by and not recognize it's boarded," Atchison said.