They're tall, they're weathered, and they're certainly one-of-a-kind. And if you're the lucky bidder, one or even two aging neon motel signs Hennepin County has put up for auction could be yours.
The unique auction of the Metro Inn and Aqua City Motel parking lot signs comes as Hennepin County preps both sites for conversion to new affordable housing.
"It won't be a motel anymore," said Kyle Mianulli, a county spokesman. "At the same time some people may find novelty in preserving them."
The motels were purchased in 2020 and 2022 when the county was looking for rooms for temporary protective shelter for people experiencing homelessness during the early days of the COVID pandemic. It was more economical to buy the properties than continue to pay for individual rooms, Mianulli said.
The county paid $2.5 million for the Metro Inn, and it plans to spend another $750,000 to renovate it into 38 units for people living on incomes below $25,660 a year. The Aqua City motel cost $2 million, and it should have about 36 units of affordable housing when completed. Renovation costs are still unknown, Mianulli said. The county spends about $10 million a year on average on affordable housing, he added, or enough to create about 975 units per year.
The auction is definitely an as-is kind of deal, with both signs showing plenty of wear. The Metro Inn sign at 5637 Lyndale Av. S. was once lit up with neon, but the condition of the neon is unknown, according to the county's listing on municibid.com. The same thing's true of the Aqua City sign at 5739 Lyndale Av. S.
County records show the Metro Inn was built in 1954; Aqua City in 1968. The actual age of their signs is unclear. The Aqua City Motel was in the Cohen brothers film A Serious Man, although its named was changed to The Jolly Roger. Actor Fred Melamed told an interviewer that the change was made to match the script.
The bidding started at $5 for each sign, and as of Thursday evening the sign auctions had climbed to $18 for one, $525 for the other. The auction lasts until the afternoon of March 21.
