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Subscription Center2016 Historic Development that Overcame Significant Obstacles
A-Mill Artist Lofts
Developer: Dominium Development & Acquisitions
Location: Minneapolis, Minn.
The Historic Rehabilitation Award for overcoming obstacles is presented to Dominium Development & Acquisitions for A-Mill Artist Lofts in Minneapolis, Minn. Opened in 1881, the Pillsbury A-Mill was a working flour facility until 2003, when it was purchased by a private developer to build luxury condominiums. The project never came to fruition, but Dominium saw potential and purchased the property in 2010. The developer leveraged state historic tax credits (HTCs) and federal low-income housing tax credits (LIHTCs) to open the A-Mill Artist Lofts as affordable artist lofts.
Anne Staudhammer, a judge for the Historic Rehabilitation Awards, said Dominium had to, “[resolve] significant physical issues with the property” due to “deterioration from time and mechanical exertion on the building” since it was built more than 100 years ago. Another judge, Kathleen Crowther, emphasized that the A-Mill Artist Lofts is a National Historic Landmark on the National Register of Historic Places, so the developer had to overcome obstacles requiring “significant investment in structural work, requiring the review and approval of the state historic preservation office.”