Dania Hall

Please join us for our Dania Hall Open House event on December 8th from 3pm-8pm at the Brian Coyle Community Center to learn more and share your thoughts.

History of Dania Hall

Dania Hall was a cultural center and performing arts space located at 427 Cedar Ave S. Completed in 1886, the building was destroyed by an accidental fire in 2000 at the outset of an extensive renovation project. It served as a multi-purpose space for the community who utilized the facility for concerts, banquets and many other events.

Since the building burned down in 2000, the site has sat vacant. The City of Minneapolis is the owner of the vacant lot. The City of Minneapolis hosted community conversations about the site in 2009. An RFP (Request for Proposals) was published to sell the site, but only one proposal was submitted and that was withdrawn during that time’s difficult economic conditions.

In 2021, the West Bank Business Association convened a Dania Hall Taskforce to explore developing the Dania Hall site and to engage the community in visioning for what should be done with the parcel. The Dania Hall Taskforce consisted of a diverse group of residents, businesses, and nonprofits in the neighborhood who are interested guiding the development of the Dania Hall site. The work of the Taskforce has been funded by the Minneapolis Foundation, LISC, and the City of Minneapolis.

Possible Model for Development

The Dania Hall Taskforce partnered with Assembly MN and the University of Minnesota College of Design to understand the cost and what was possible to build at the site. In addition, the Taskforce discussed neighborhood priorities for developing the site. West Bank Business Association staff conducted business outreach about Dania Hall and held community engagement events to understand what community priorities are for the site.

Based on the work with the community, Assembly MN and the University of Minnesota College of Design, the model presented here was developed. This model incorporates the following priorities identified in the Taskforce’s work:

  • Include the rear lot behind Dania Hall (currently a parking lot) for development of condos. Condos should be an affordable option for people living in the neighborhood to own their home and large enough for our neighborhood’s families.

  • Reopen 5th Street as a walking mall, creating additional connections to Riverside.

  • First floor of Cedar Avenue building is commercial/mall space with opportunities for affordable ownership of space for small businesses.

  • Floors 2-5 could be affordable live/work space for artists and microbusinesses. This could include artist studios as well as space for childcares, home business kitchens for sambusa makers, and offices.

  • Floor 5 could contain community gathering and event space with a possible walk-out rooftop garden on the rear building.

Ownership Is a Number One Priority

In our conversations with both residents and business owners in the community, affordable ownership opportunities was the highest priority for a possible Dania Hall development.

The financial feasibility analysis conducted by Assembly MN for the Dania Hall Task Force showed that a development of this lot would be extremely expensive. If space were sold at-cost, residences and business space would be well beyond what most people in our neighborhood could afford.

Several Community Ownership models exist to make ownership more affordable for low-income people:

Community Land Trusts - A community land trust is an independent entity that holds land in trust to benefit low-income people of a community. The trust sells building or building unit space at affordable prices to low-income people but retains ownership of the land. Owners can pass the real estate on to their children or sell it and do not have to remain low-income. In return for buying the property below market rates, if the property is sold it must be to low-income people and the amount of profit from a sale is limited. Land trust property is kept permanently affordable.

Community Investment Trust - Under this model, community members can own shares of a trust that buys, rehabs, and manages commercial and residential property. Shareholders not only collectively own the trust, but have voting power to direct decision-making about property. In addition, shareholders may receive a return on their investment and can also sell their shares. Trust shares can be structured to be affordable and can also limit the voting power of any one person.

Rondo Community Land Trust sells commercial and residential spaces to low-income people.

Cooperative Ownership - A cooperative owns the building and members purchase shares of the cooperative. Some coops limit the cost of shares and resale price, keeping shares affordable. Shareholders control business practices through their votes. Some coops lease buildings from nonprofits and members have affordable payments like rent. Some coops are market rate and do not control purchase or sale price, but are still are a form of collective ownership.

Nonprofit Ownership - A community development corporation (CDC) or other nonprofit owns the property and manages and rents it for the benefit of the larger community.

Mercado Central on Lake Street is a business cooperative owned and managed by the business cooperative members

What’s Next

The City of Minneapolis owns the Dania Hall space and will decide when it is sold, who it is sold to, and what they will require to be included in any development.

One purpose of the work we are doing in the community is to tell the city what our community priorities are for developing this site:

  • How important is ownership opportunities for businesses and residents?

  • What model of ownership (community ownership options or market rate) does the community prefer?

  • Given that parking will make this development much more expensive (estimated $40,000 per parking space), how important is it to include parking in the residential and commercial developments?

  • How important is it to reconnect 5th Street and establish it as a walking mall?

  • Is the community interested in live/work spaces?

  • Is the community interested in adding some rental apartments?

  • How important is community event space for this development?

Please take our Dania Hall Survey to give us feedback on these questions. You can also attend our December 8th Open House Event from 3pm-8pm at the Brian Coyle Community Center.