Hook says City's plans for addition to house election equipment will harm event center

This graphic shows the minor adjustments the City of Minneapolis made to its Democracy plans near the back of the Hook and Ladder building between its May 18 and June 22 presentations. Hook and Ladder representatives have expressed concern about the City's plan to vacate the alley next to their private drive and create a 90-degree corner that tour buses and beverage trucks will need to maneuver.

View the full report as a PDF below

Tesha M. Christensen

SONY DSC

Posted Wednesday, July 22, 2026 1:23 pm

Attachments

20260723-115523-416-SupplementalInformationSubmittedbyApplicant.pdf

20260723-115522-7ec-PublicComments.pdf

20260723-115516-386-Appeal-3000-Minnehaha-Ave-Staff-Presentation.pdf

20260723-115503-4e1-3000MinnehahaAveStaffReportAttachments.pdf

20260723-115447-714-3000MinnehahaAveStaffReport.pdf

20260723-115445-5e7-3000MinnehahaAveAppellantStatement.pdf

By Tesha M. Christensen

The City is moving ahead with a plan that supporters of the Hook and Ladder Theater and Events Center say will likely damage the building and hurt ongoing operations.

As part of its move to transition the former Third Precinct at E. Lake St. and Minnehaha into a "Democracy Center" to primarily house election equipment and staff, the city is proposing to increase the size of the 38,491-square-foot building by adding 16,800 square feet onto the west side. The majority of this is to house large election vehicles. The City is also planning to vacate half of the alleyway on the south side of the building and build there, creating a 90-degree turn that Hook representatives say touring vehicles and beverage trucks won't be able to maneuver.

Katie Mozena, co-owner of the Hook and Ladder building immediately to the south of the former Third Precinct, pointed out that up to 1,500 people come through their doors every week for music concerts, fundraisers for area schools and organizations, weddings and more. The historic building from 1894 was once a Minneapolis Fire Station.

"We love this building and try to care of it, the good people of Minneapolis and beyond love our venue, as well," said Mozena. "Things are starting to deteriorate a little, some crumbling foundation, tuckpoint needed, roof, HVAC replaced soon. When there was construction in front of Minnehaha a while ago, it made our ceilings crack and break and we had to repair that damage. Also we sustained over $400,000 damage after the murder of George Floyd. We came back, we repaired and we are stronger then ever. We are like a mom-and-pop organization because the scope of work needed to be done for restoration and repair is overwhelming and we had no support or love from our good city of Minneapolis."

They have applied for a City business development loan to help cover the $260,000 cost of replacing the HVAC system that was damaged by the fires nearby.

"Let local community members and businesses shape and inform the final architectural plans. Part of being a good neighbor is listening to the core stakeholders that have worked so hard to make this a vibrant business and cultural district," said Lisa Boyd of Longfellow Rising.

The City's building plans were slated to be reviewed by the City's business, housing and zoning committee on July 21, as the August Messenger was going to press.