2013_UMN MLA Capstone-Hixson: REUSE/REWILD/RE-IDENTIFY-Southeast Minneapolis Industrial Area, MN

REUSE/REWILD/RE-IDENTIFY:

Southeast Minneapolis Industrial Area

Elizabeth Hixson Final Capstone Book June 2013

CONTENTS 1 Overview 3

Executive Summary

5

The Site

17

Bison and the Railroad

27

What Could SEMI Become?

29 Remediation 33 Phasing 37 Design 45 Conclusion 47

Construction Details

54 Bibliography

Acknowledgements Thank you to my committee: Rebecca Krinke, Pat Nunnally, and Egle Vanagaite, for your comments and support. Thanks as well to Vince deBritto for keeping me on the right track, and to Matt Tucker for the remediation expertise. Andrew Caddock (MPRB), Mary deLaittre (Minneapolis Parks Foundation), John Slack (Stantec), and Colleen O’Dell all provided helpful input and guidance at various times. Thanks as well to the whole Landscape Architecture department for letting me work on this crazy project.

Overview This project explores multiple layers of meaning embedded in an industrial area enfolded by campus and residential neighborhoods in Minneapolis, MN. The legacy of industrial processes is cleaned by phytoremediation processes and represented by repurposed grain silos. Natural history is recalled by the presence of reintroduced bison. This wild island, with remnant silo sentinels, would be engineered to be self-sustaining and provokes questions about cyclical history, the fear of wildness within the city, and the growth/ land use paradigm.

1

GRAND ROUNDS MISSING LINK (PROPOSED)

HENNEPIN AVE E

LARPENTEUR AVE

PROPOSED PARK

W

COMO AVE

U OF M PROPERTY

E

TE

RS

TA TE

35

ELM STREET

STATE FAIR GROUNDS

ES

FORMER VALENTINECLARK SITE (SUPERFUND)

15

TH

AV E

NU

IN

BIOMEDICAL DISCOVERY DISTRICT & STADIUM U OF M EAST BANK CAMPUS

PROPOSED PARK

LRT STOP

GRANARY ROAD (PROPOSED) UN

IVE

RS

ITY

LRT STOP AV E

NU

ES

E

GRAND ROUNDS MISSING LINK (PROPOSED)

LRT STOP

HIGHWAY 280

GRANARY ROAD (PROPOSED)

U OF M SAINT PAUL CAMPUS

0

500

1,000

2,000 Feet

2

CONTEXT MAP OF SOUTHEAST MINNEAPOLIS, SAINT PAUL, AND ST. ANTHONY PARK

Executive Summary The Southeast Minneapolis Industrial area (SEMI) and rail yard sits between the two Twin Cities campuses of the University of Minnesota.

Many systems and intense development forces are at play here. An in-depth research and analysis process revealed that this site includes a few large landowners and many smaller parcels, a drained wetland, and a lasting legacy of pollution from previous industrial processes. How can and should this area change over the next century? Can we learn from the history of this place and create a plan to reuse, re-wild, and re-identify instead of bowing to redevelopment pressures?

about a controlled repopulation of large keystone species. Here, this theory would be tested by inserting a wild area into an urban pollution-laden environment. This posits questions about wildness and safety within a controlled “human environment,” and also questions the purpose of a park, restoration, and conservation. SEMI can be a new type of park where wild bison are allowed to roam, and where people can view them from a safe distance. In keeping the remaining grain silos on the site (to be used for remediation and viewing structures), the presence of industrial production is juxtaposed against this manufactured wildness.

This is not a typical brownfield remediation and master plan project.

“Normal” remediation efforts focus on capping or mechanical remediation for human occupation, or cleaning to industrial re-use thresholds.

What if we changed this expectation and instead cleansed the land gradually for ecosystem and research needs? Alternative “natural” methods can be used such as planting aspen (Populus tremuloides and deltoides or hybrid species), sunflower (Helianthus annus) and boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum) as hyperaccumulators. The areas with heaviest pollution can be cleaned using fungal remediation (mycoremediation) by piling dirt on remnant building slab foundations and adding spores from the oyster mushroom (Pleurotus eryngii).

Somewhere below all the current bustle of train cars, factories, machinery, vacant buildings and expanses of rail ties lies the course of Bridal Veil creek, a small tributary to the mighty Mississippi. Bridal Veil is one of many subverted creeks within the city of Minneapolis and any one of them could make an interesting study. The wet legacy of this watercourse (which causes problems for the warehouses and loading docks) and the context of the many projects yet to be realized within this milelong stretch provides ripe territory for research and design.

This proposal seeks to re-wild the Southeast Minneapolis Industrial area by remediating the polluted areas in situ, and returning the landscape to a wet prairie where bison roam. Rewilding is a theoretical idea in ecology

Ramsey County Historic Aerial of University East Bank campus area, SEMI and Bridal Veil Falls. 5/10/1957, accessed via http://geo.lib.umn.edu/ ramsey_county/y1957/wo-2t-54.jpg

3

550

1880

1878

1850 1878

1878 10

1883 1838

200

1883

GREAT NORTHERN (1893)

1880

1886

1832

1870

26

UNION PACIFIC (1869)

1870

1867

1825

1795

1876

1838

1840

20

1830

1840 1825

25

1840

1876 1820

1760

1875 1850 1837

1828

1720

BISON RANGE AND THE TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROADS HISTORIC EXTENT OF BISON RANGE RANGE CIRCA 1870 RANGE CIRCA 1890 RAILROADS

4

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MPH BNSF -63/D, 50

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The Site

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MINNEAPOLIS RAIL ROADS AND VACANT INDUSTRIAL AREAS INDUSTRIAL AND VACANT AREAS

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Adjacent to the University of Minnesota’s Twin Cities campuses and straddling the border between Minneapolis and Saint Paul, the Southeast Minneapolis Industrial area is situated in an important location. Rail lines converge here into a switching district. Rail has been dominant here for over a century; the first rail line from Saint Paul came up along the river and through the easiest grade to downtown Minneapolis: the rail followed low-lying wetlands that formerly occupied this area. The rail was initially named the Saint Paul and Pacific Railroad, then became the Great Northern Railway, J. J. Hill’s great enterprise line that stretched from the Twin Cities and Great Lakes through to Seattle, WA and Portland, OR. This route became the northernmost trans-continental line and was completed in 1893 (see http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Great_Northern_Railway_%28U.S.%29 for more information).

The railroad enabled the passage of many raw goods from the plains and forests to be harvested and processed at the mills and silos here in the Twin Cities. As the historic aerials show, SEMI once included more silo and factory complexes than remain today.

On this land which was once a wetland surrounded by prairie and oak savannah, the rail and silos became king.

The last few decades have seen significant removal of both silos and contraction of rail lines: the land below TCF Bank Stadium was filled with railroad lines. The land at the northwest edge of the site was also formerly a small switching yard for Chicago and Northwestern Railroad (now defunct).

RIVERS AND LAKES RAILROADS RR CO - # TRAINS/DAY, MAX SPEED HIGHWAYS

5

1991

Aerial Image of St. Paul West Quadrangle: April 17, 1991, Entity ID DI00000000030627 (DOQ), Accessed via USGS Earth Explorer, http://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/metadata/1131/ DI00000000030627/

2010

Aerial Image of St. Paul West Quadrangle: April 17, 2010, Entity ID 2085716_Q3633NWHR4 (HRO), Accessed via USGS Earth Explorer, http://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/metadata/3411/2085716_Q3633NWHR4/

6

Many industries are and were within the boundaries of this site. Perhaps the most notable was the Valentine-Clark Corporation, a creosoting plant just northeast of the site boundary. The creosote would wash or drip off the telephone poles as they were being treated, and flow straight into the nearby ponds and Bridal Veil Creek. According to the MPCA, the remaining pollutants in the surface water, groundwater, and soil around Valentine Clark is highly toxic.

“Site Contamination: Soil, sediments and surface water in Bridal Veil Open Space have all been found to be significantly affected by a variety of chemical contaminants including: polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs); pentachlorophenol (PCP); several metals [including lead, copper and thallium]; and polychlorinated dibenzo-pdioxins/polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDD/PCDF). The Valentine Clark Superfund Site is believed to be the source of most of these contaminants. The former Elm Street Ash Dump occupied part of the site and also may have contributed to the contamination.”

Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Valentine Clark State Superfund Site – Bridal Veil Open Space Recommended Contamination Response, g-27-12a (July 2007).

Accessed online: http://www.pca.state.mn.us/index.php/view-document. html?gid=3207

Various other areas as indicated on the pollution map must also be evaluated and remediated. The former Elm Street Ash Dump is mostly capped by parking lots and building slabs, but testing should be performed to detect leaching. ADM had a dump near the U of M transitway (see the 2001 SEMI/Bridal Veil Falls AUAR and Master Plan, page 50, http://www.minneapolismn.gov/www/groups/public/@cped/documents/webcontent/convert_282754.pdf for more details), and though the area is capped, there was an epoxides spill here many years ago.

Where Bolander/SKB Environmental is located now, the county had a recycling facility and there are rumors of contamination. Legally and morally, we tend to re-use polluted land so that the bad areas get worse and the clean areas stay clean. In practice this makes sense, but in the long run it would be much better if we stopped these discharges and accidents from ever occurring. City planners and zoning codes group these polluting industries into conglomerated areas, which arguably keeps residential areas safe from the pollution but having so many polluters together also makes the remediation process more complex. As we move into the next century, technology will undoubtedly improve and hopefully our planning, production, and pollution containment and reuse processes will as well.

For measured pollutant concentrations, see the Valentine-Clark Final Minnesota Decision Document g-27-12b, (October 12, 2007). Accessed online: http://www. pca.state.mn.us/index.php/view-document.html?gid=3208

Railroads are also heavy polluters, from the creosote in railroad ties leaching into the surrounding soil, to iron deposits ground from the wheels and rails, to the weed-killing sprays used to keep the right-of-way clear. All areas that are or were railroad-owned need to be evaluated and treated accordingly.

7

Analysis: Ownership UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA

CS

ST

NT

ME

ME

CITY OF MINNEAPOLIS

VE

ST

IN

VE

M

IN

CS

M

MIXED INDUSTRIAL

-

NT

S

U OF M SPORTS AND RECREATION

S

CSM PROPERTIES (MANY TENANTS)

-

MIXED INDUSTRIAL

CAPP INDUSTRIES

CITY OF MPLS

MIXED INDUSTRIAL

UNION PACIFIC RR

U OF M TCF BANK STADIUM U OF M

MURPHY WAREHOUSE

CAPP INDUSTRIES

MACKAY MITCHELL ENVELOPE MURPHY WAREHOUSE

CITY OF MPLS

RAILROAD

LIGHT INDUSTRIAL

BURLINGTON NORTHERNSANTA FE RR MATHISON PROPERTIES

BOLANDER/ SKB BOLANDER / SKB

TR

MI

XE

AN

SIT MI

DR

RESIDENTIAL OR MIXED-USE

WALL INVESTMENTS

WA Y XE

ET AIL

DI

CSM INVESTMENTS

ND

US

MIXED INDUSTRIAL

TR

IAL RE

SID

MIXED INDUSTRIAL

EN

TIA

L

WESTGATE DEVELOPMENT CSM INVESTMENTS

8

COMMERCIAL

Analysis: Water WELL SEWERSHED AREA STORM INTERCEPTOR SITE BOUNDARY PEAT OR MUCK CLOSE TO SURFACE WET

9

Analysis: Pollution RAILROAD

FORMER CHICAGO-NORTHWESTERN RAIL YARD ELM STREET FLY ASH DUMP

PROBABLE PLUME FROM GENERAL MILLS PROBABLE PLUME FROM VALENTINECLARK CREOSOTING

IDENTIFIED RELEASE SITES SITE BOUNDARY

10

CALUMET

RAILROAD

U OF M

PEAVEY

23

Sta

rd m Av e Vi

diu

LR

T

lla

ge

KURTH

29

Pro

th

sp

Av e

ec LR t Pa T rk

Be

rry

We stg LR ate T

St

11

KQRS Midland Paper

Murphy Warehouse

Padco

Wholesale Produce Party Rental

525 acres

Duramark Equipment & Supply

ry e v o isc rict D m u i 14 d MNRR ist D Sta lage 0 ac BNSF & UP Vil k n of Ba F C rai T m u i d lro a St 9,600 jobs a

American Importing Brock White

S K B / B o la

3L

RT

Un

ive

S u r ly

sto

rsit

D E RO

ps

yA ve

nder

nu

eS

M e r it e x E

Aproposd io Ar t Stu

Minneapolis City Line

d

(Census 2010)

We s t g a t e

12

Highway 280

Pace Analytical

+175 acres in ST. PAUL

r ts

Spo

UM

N

15 th

Av en

ue

SE

Elm Street

Existing and Historic Conditions

WETLAND +HIGH WATER TABLE

TRAIN YARDS

WET PRAIRIE

Potential Future

RESEARCH GREENHOUSES

CLEANSING WATER

WET PRAIRIE WITH BISON

13

Themes Platting Production

City Insurance Map from 1903, Plate 34: http://geo.lib.umn.edu/plat_books/minneapolis1903/reference/map00154.jpg

14

Westward Expansion

Color train in prairie/Bryan’s Photo Blog, Alberta: http://bryanpass.files.wordpress.com/2006/11/rr1.jpg

Benig

Schoenebe http://www

gn Neglect

erg-Sudgelande Park, Berlin, Germany: abandoned railroads as benign neglect: w.landezine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Schoeneberg-Sudgelande_18.jpg

Identity Lost?

Kurth and ADM/United Crushers Silos in SEMI, photographed October 2012 by the author

15

16

Bison and the Railroad When Landscape Architects talk about ecological restoration, they often look to pre-settlement vegetation or other indicators of predevelopment conditions. As students, we are taught to question the preconceived notions of what restoration means, how disturbance regimes and succession occur, and what time period is significant. In light of this, can a project that seeks to re-insert bison and engineer a prairie on former industrial and rail yard land be called a restoration?

Bison are the historic keystone species of the plains, and they form part of the identity of the Midwest as an ecological region. A map earlier in this document showed the historic range of bison through North America. Although bison were exterminated from Minnesota around 1870 as the prairie was being plowed up to make way for cities and farms, they still hold a place in our collective memory.

As the railroad was extended, it allowed more people to live on the “frontier” and provided more access to bison hunters. Ostensibly the railroad was built for tourism and industry, but the timing of massive bison killings in the 1880s coincides with the rise of railroads and manifest destiny. An 1889 survey by William F Hornaday found only 1091 bison remaining (see http://www.americanbisonsocietyonline.org/AboutUs/Timeline. aspx).

“The long term (beyond 20 years) may hold redevelopment potential for areas of the current BNSF Railyard. Fully utilized at present, BNSF suggests that future consolidation of their railyard facilities in the metropolitan area could make property available for redevelopment in an area called the Central Redevelopment Area in this report.”

Alternative Urban Areawide Review (AUAR) for SEMI/Bridal Veil Area, Volume 1 Executive Summary (May 2001), page 10, accessed online: http://www.minneapolismn.gov/www/groups/public/@cped/documents/webcontent/convert_282754.pdf

With an adjacent large yard in Saint Paul and a much larger switching area in both Northeast Minneapolis (Columbia Park) and Columbia Heights, SEMI’s rails could be phased out and repurposed.

Where bison have become a symbol of our nation’s lost nature, the railroad has always been a symbol of human ingenuity and industry.

Bridges and tunnels are hailed as massive engineering feats, and large switching yards are impressive reminders of the complex network and logistics that keep our economy running. These switching yards leave marks on the urban fabric of cities; the northern half of Minneapolis has many superblocks comprised of neat rows and curving lines of tracks.

In a city grid with many nodes, it should be feasible to consolidate and increase efficiency. While railroad companies are notoriously protective of their property, the next 50 to 100 years will surely bring changes to the industry. Even over the last 20-50 years, SEMI has seen track consolidation (see 1991 and 2010 aerial images earlier in this report). In addition, the 2001 SEMI/Bridal Veil AUAR stated that BNSF does (perhaps) intend to phase out more of their tracks.

Photo at left: Bison on the Konza Prairie, accessed May 2013: http://www.lternet.edu/sites/default/files/Bison%20herd%20on%20Konza%20Whiles%202007. jpg

17

London Riverside Conservation Park and Rainham Wildspace, East London, UK • 2.5

square miles (645 Ha), opened 2006

• Many

zones within the entire park, and is connected to Thames Gateway

• Partnership

with Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) to create a conservation viewing center

• Livestock

grazing maintains grasslands in a better state for bird habitat and the RSPB works to encourage appropriate grazing

• Concept

of High Nature Value farming (HNV) promotes better habitat

Rendering of proposed Rainham Wildspace, from Peter Beard_LANDROOM, http://www.peterbeardlandroom.co.uk/assets/wildspace_C.jpg

18

Wild ponies on the Oostvaardersplassen, Lelystad, the Netherlands •

22 square miles (5,700 Ha)

• Formed

as part of the Lelystad Polder in 1968

• Internationally

recognized as an example of rewilding

• Known

primarily for bird habitat but also features wild konik ponies, deer, elk (red deer), heck cattle

• Animals

are not managed or regulated, so the reserve has attracted attention for deaths of animals due to overpopulation, raising questions about wild animals, extent of human intervention a and government responsibility

• Scraggly

savannah appearance is due to overpopulation of herbivorous animals who eat the trees and push them over before they can mature

Photo by author, spring 2012 Cities on Water

19

Releasing the Bison at Belwin Conservancy, Washington County, MN

From Belwin’s Website: One of the motivations behind bringing bison to the Belwin Conservancy is education. Although they have largely disappeared from this area, bison were once an integral part of this landscape. As might be expected, bison are extremely well-suited to this environment and with very little assistance, they thrive given only native prairie. http://www.belwin.org/bison/

2009 Bison Release, Accessed May 2013: http://www.flickr.com/photos/belwin/3694846679/

20

Railroad ties removed and piled, with Peavey Electric Elevators (below) and new Biomedical building (below right)

Photo by author, February 2013

21

Aspen recolonizing the edge of the rail yard

Photo by author, February 2013

22

Active shipping and storage around Peavey Electric Elevators

Photo by author, February 2013

23

Infrastructure in SEMI: Dead end roads and old bridges

Photos by author, February 2013

24

“The whole enterprise of this nation, which is not an upward, but a westward one, toward Oregon, California, Japan, etc., is totally devoid of interest to me, whether performed on foot, or by a Pacific railroad....

No; they may go their way to their manifest destiny, which I trust is not mine.... I would rather be a captive knight, and let them all pass by, than be free only to go whither they are bound. ...

What aims more lofty have they than the prairie dogs?�

Henry David Thoreau, Letter, February 27, 1853, to Harrison Blake, in The Writings of Henry David Thoreau, vol. 6, p. 210, Houghton Mifflin (1906) Accessed online at: http://quotes.dictionary.com/the_whole_ enterprise_of_this_nation_which_is

25

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What could SEMI become?

Instead of an expanse of railroad tracks, SEMI could become something different, something new, exciting, and experimental. Re-wilding projects have been consciously undertaken in large, rural land areas around the world. These include places like the Oostvaardersplassen in the Netherlands and Rainham Wildspace on the eastern edge of London, UK. The former Rocky Mountain Arsenal near Denver, CO, was accidentally rewilded by many kinds of animals as that huge tract of land sat unused for decades, before being cleaned by the US Government and Shell Oil and later was officially recognized as a wildlife preserve. These examples of re-wilding, whether intentional or unintended, show that this process can work. This project seeks to extend the idea of re-wilding and hybridize it with remediation and land reuse, to create an iconic reminder of our historic landscape in the Twin Cities.

27

28

Remediation Cleansing the pollution can be accomplished through various techniques, four of which are appropriate for this site. Perhaps more techniques will be developed in the near future. Processes particularly suited to removing the pollutants at SEMI include phytoremediation using Aspen (Populus tremuloides and/or deltoides), perennial crops (specifically sunflower Helianthus annus, and boneset Eupatorium perfoliatum), mycoremediation (fungi applied to soil), and water filtration. Remediation is a scientific process, but results are not predictable so a regular testing cycle should be developed. Researchers and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) should evaluate and make a determination when the soil is clean enough. Larger areas needing low-intensity remediation can be planted with perennial crops or Aspen trees, while the areas with heaviest pollution can be diluted by mixing compost with the soil and/or piling the soil and adding mushroom spores through a process called mycoremediation.

Groundwater pollution would also be addressed by Aspen plantings, but additional cleaning may be needed via pumping water through treatment ponds.

Most remediation projects focus on bringing pollution levels to either human occupation or industrial use standards set by either the EPA or state pollution control agencies. This project, by the act of planning for bison, questions the typical drivers for remediation.

29

PERENNIAL PHYTOREMEDIATION

Boneset and sunflower are planted first because they are hyperaccumulators. Researchers will monitor growth and accumulation of pollutants. Plants will be removed in a regular cycle. After significant remediation has occurred, a mixed wet prairie can be seeded.

Hyperaccumulator

Boneset Eupatorium perfoliatum

Kentucky Blue Grass

30

Poa pratensis

Lead Plant Amorpha canescens

Missouri Indian Grass Compass Porcupine Goldenrod Grass Sorghastrum Plant Solidago nutans Stipa Silphium spartea missouriensis laciniatum

Heath Aster

Prairie Cord Big Blue Stem Grass Andropogon Aster Spartina gerardii ericoides pectinata

Pale Purple Prairie Coneflower Dropseed

Side Oats Grama

Switch Grass

White False Indigo

Little Blue Stem

Echinacea pallida

Bouteloua curtipendula

Panicum virgatum

Baptisia lactea

Schizachyrium scoparium

Sporobolus heterolepis

Rosin Weed Silphium integrifolium

Purple Prairie June Grass Clover Koeleria Dalea macarantha purpurea

Hyperaccumulator

Sunflower Helianthus annus

Original artwork by Heidi Natura, Conservatuion Research Institute Cylindric Blazing Star

Buffalo Grass Prairie Prairie Dock Big Bluestem Dropseed Bouteloua Silphium Andropogon Liatris dactyloides Sporobolus terebinthinaceum gerardii cylindracea heterolepis

Purple Little Bluestem Coneflower Schizachyrium Echinacea scoparium purpurea

Black-eyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta

Indiangrass

Prairie Cordgrass Sorghastrum nutans Spartina pectinata

31

18TH AVENUE SE

SE ELM STREET

15

TH

AV EN U

ES

E

VAN CLEVE PARK

CA

LU

ME

T

GRANARY ROAD (PLANNED)

BIOMEDICAL DISCOVERY DISTRICT

TCF BANK STADIUM SE

PE

AV E

AV E

RD

Y

23

KURTH BOLANDER/SKB

TR

32

IVE

RS

ITY

AV E

NU

ES

WA Y

E

HIGHWAY 280

UN

SIT

WESTGATE DRIVE

OAK STREET SE

AN

29TH AVE SE

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA EAST BANK CAMPUS

EXISTING CONDITIONS PLAN

Phasing Over the course of 75 years, this area can be re-claimed and rewilded into a 350 acre bison preserve. Because the American Bison (Bison bison) like to wallow and dig into shallow soil, the top layers of the entire area must be cleaned enough to keep the bison healthy. While we do not know the exact extent of pollution, this project assumes that a majority of the area will need treatment or modification. Remediation on this scale cannot occur overnight, nor should it be achieved by importing soil from elsewhere and capping the underlying problem.

Therefore, the phasing plan consciously does not introduce bison until approximately 30 years in the future, but these first bison are introduced in a more highly visible area. If remediation targets are achieved earlier, the bison can be introduced sooner.

Today • Public

park (10 acres) established at the corner of 23rd Avenue SE and 6th Street SE, modified from 2001 SEMI Master Plan.

• Peavey

Electric and Kurth Elevators preserved.

• Phytoremediation

begins with boneset and sunflower near Granary Road and around the grain silos.

33

Next 15 years • South

BNSF yards and train maintenance building removed and remediated with boneset and sunflower.

• Aspen

phytoremediation begins on former shipping container storage

areas.

• Planning

begins for second public park near Calumet elevator.

Phytoremediation with boneset and sunflower starts in this area as well.

15-30 years • First

30 bison can be introduced in area around Peavey and Kurth elevators.

• Phytoremediation

continues in perimeter areas.

• Red

outline areas begin combination of mycoremediation and phytoremediation.

• Asphalt

and building slabs left in place as caps over the worst polluted

areas.

• Oak

Street Southeast to 18th Avenue Southeast connector road established.

• Planning

begins for BNSF railroad conversion to elevated park connecting SEMI to Van Cleve park.

34

30-75 years • Phytoremediation • Bison

continues where needed.

have at least 250 acres, potentially 350 at final stage.

• New

public park at Calumet elevator established, with elevated rail to trail along BNSF connecting to Van Cleve park.

• Kurth

re-used as an elevated tower

• Calumet • Peavey

used for rock climbing

Electric Elevator used as visitor’s center and research interface

35

18TH AVENUE SE

VAN CLEVE PARK

15

TH

AV EN U

ES

E

SE ELM STREET

CA

LU

ME

T

BIOMEDICAL DISCOVERY DISTRICT

OA

KS

TR

EE TS

E

GRANARY ROAD

TCF BANK STADIUM SE

PE

AV E

AV E

RD

Y

AN

IVE

RS

ITY

AV E

NU

36

SE 6TH STREET

WA Y

ES

E

SOUTHEAST MINNEAPOLIS INDUSTRIAL AREA

BUILDING SLAB USED FOR WATER FILTRATION AND SEDIMENTATION

GRAIN SILO AS SENTINEL AND VIEWING POST

REMEDIATION TO WET PRAIRIE

FUTURE BUILDING OR LABORATORY

PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLE CONNECTION

MYCOREMEDIATION AND LATER GRASS MOUND ON BUILDING SLAB

ASPEN GROVE

PUBLIC OPEN SPACE

CITY BOUNDARY

29TH AVE SE

UN

SIT

HIGHWAY 280

TR

WESTGATE DRIVE

23

KURTH

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA EAST BANK CAMPUS

MASTER PLAN

Design With fences composed of re-used site material and a landform berm, the boundaries of SEMI will not feel like typical livestock enclosures.

To protect both the bison and people, the fence enclosing the bison area must be at least 6 feet tall around the entire perimeter. This can be accomplished by a combination of stacked, free-standing gabion baskets, and gabions incorporated into landform edges. New research facilities and greenhouses will be gradually added along the seams of the bison enclosure to enable observation and augment the prairie plant stock or food source for the bison. The silos will be re-used as a visitor’s center (Peavey), a viewing tower and bison shelter (Kurth) and a rockclimbing wall (Calumet).

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REMEDIATION ASPEN

BISON ENCLOSURE WET PRAIRIE REMEDIATION ASPEN

EL

EV AT E

D

REMEDIATION MOUNDS

PUBLIC AREA

BI

KE

W

AY

FOUNDATION TO POND

PE

AV E

Y

KURTH

BISON ENCLOSURE WET PRAIRIE

38

DETAIL PLAN

0

75

150

300 Feet

Two public areas are included on the plan. One is developed early in the phasing process, allowing representative experiences of the remediation process and giving visitors a view to the bison (plan at left). A new bike path is built along a berm on the back edge of this first area. The berm acts as a wall for the bison on the interior side, and as a raised viewing area for the public. Trees planted in tight grids allow people to experience the feeling of a remediation grove. Small mounds mimic the mycoremediation dirt piles. And as time progresses, a visitor center with research functions can be created within the former Peavey Electric Elevator building.

The second public area is possible at a later phase, more likely 30 to 45 years after this plan begins. Here toward the center of the bison enclosure, a fenced-in 7.5 acre area surrounding the Calumet grain elevator.

The silos can be used as part of the wall separating people from the surrounding bison; in this area, the relationship of humans to bison is inverted since the area is surrounded on three sides by fences, providing a unique experience. A focal point of this area is the existing pond and rock climbing on the Calumet complex. In addition, the park is attached to a potential rails-to trails connection that continues up the former railroad tracks toward Van Cleve Park and I-35W.

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Bike Path and Rock Climbing in Calumet Area

Overall view across SEMI, with foundation pond in foreground

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Surly Brewery with beer garden, demonstration remediation garden and views of the bison

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Railroad parts can be recycled and reused: the ballast rock can become fill for gabion baskets

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Conclusion Although many plans have been proposed for this area, none look very far into the future. After comparing the proposed Biomedical Discovery District, private development plans, transit-oriented development spurred on by the Central Corridor Light Rail Transit, the Grand Rounds Missing Link, and the twelve-year old SEMI/Bridal Veil master plan, it is clear that none of these proposals are perfectly aligned with one another.

This project allows for many of the same activities to occur but in new ways. Existing research can be transformed into hybrid work studying bison, prairie, and remediation. New facilities can be built while preserving or augmenting the remaining silos. Larger public open space can be created as a seam and transition between new development and the future bison enclosure.

Furthermore, in a larger sense, this project questions traditional land planning and development assumptions, our society’s willful acceptance of pollution and mechanized remediation processes, and the loss of identity through ignorance of our natural and industrial past. SEMI would not be the same place if all of the silos are torn down. Similarly, this region lacks the presence of bison, our former keystone species and an icon of the frontier. Juxtaposing the two within SEMI re-inserts and re-values these two important aspects and re-interprets an identity for the Twin Cities.

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Key for all construction details 6

1 BI

KE

PA TH

2 3 5

4 AREA OF KEY PLAN A

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0

75

150

300 Feet

Appendix 1: Construction Details

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48

8.5’

7

49

Ro w a n s t ig d fi h ll e tly s p nti re aced are to a fit

App r Buil oximat ding e Fou section nda tion line for to P ond

A 50

Tre

es 1

0' o

10'

nc

ent

er

6" 2' 6" 6' 3'-6"

Roughen surface prior to pour

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Do not prune terminal leaders or branch tips.

Prune co-dominant leaders.

Prune broken branches, rubbing or crossing branches, water spouts, and narrow crotch angles.

Remove tags and labels.

Do not wrap trunk or stake tree unless specified

by Arborist or Landscape Architect.

Cut away all bailing ropes, and remove top of wire basket. Check for suckers, or girdling roots (if container grown) and trim them.

3 to 4 inch muddle ring. Mulch 2 to 4 inches deep, kept 1 foot from root flare as shown.

Hole must be 2 or 3x diameter of root ball, and of sufficient depth to cover root ball. Area around rootball is deeper so that the tree sits on a soil pedestal as shown.

Widen and score hole wall prior to planting.

Set tree with root flare exposed.

After setting tree, partially backfill hole with amended soil, per specifications. Water tree to settle soil, then complete backfill.

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Bibliography Cleveland, HWS. Landscape Architecture as Applied to the Wants of the West. Chicago: Jansen, McClurg & Co., 1873.

Department of Natural Resources, State of Minnesota. Data deli: http:// deli.dnr.state.mn.us/data_search.html MetroGIS (MetCouncil and local/regional governments)

Cleveland, HWS. The aesthetic development of the united cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis: an address delivered in Dyer’s Hall, April 2d 1888, to the Minneapolis Society of Fine Arts. Minneapolis, MN: AC Bausman, 1888.

http://www.metrogis.org/ Minnesota County Well Index: http://mdh-agua.health.state.mn.us/cwi/cwiViewer.htm

Cronon, William. Changes in the Land. Indians, colonists, and the ecology of New England. New York: Hill and Wang, 1983.

Minnesota Historic Society Online Maps: http://content.mnhs.org/maps/items/browse

Mississippi Watershed Management Organization. 2011. Historic Waters of the MWMO. MWMO Watershed Bulletin 2011-4. http://mwmo.org/danprojects/HWS/FINAL/ Historic WatersHR.pdf Russell, Emily. People and the land through time: linking ecology and history. New Haven: Yale UP, 1997.

Smith, David C. City of parks: the story of Minneapolis Parks.

Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2008.

“The 21st century park and the contemporary city: three leading landscape architects converge at MOMA to assess the state of park design.”

Landscape Architecture Magazine, September 2009.

Minnesota Historical Aerial Photos Online (Borchert Library): http://map.lib.umn.edu/mhapo/ Pollution and discharge reports: http://www.pca.state.mn.us/index.php/data/wimn-whats-in-myneighborhood/whats-in-my-neighborhood.html Property Ownership in Hennepin County: http://gis.co.hennepin.mn.us/property/map/ Property Ownership in Ramsey County:

Maps

https://maps.co.ramsey.mn.us/SilverlightViewer_1_9/index. html?Viewer=MapRamsey

http://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/

Surficial Geology of the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area (GIS and PDF)

Aerial Photography for GIS (specific images as noted in text): http://purl.umn.edu/58220 Cleveland Map of Minneapolis http://minneapolisparkhistory.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/horaceclevelands-map.jpg 54

University of Minnesota Borchert Map Library Historic Maps: https://www.lib.umn.edu/borchert/digitized-plat-maps-and-atlases

Relevant Reports

Minneapolis Park and Rec Board. Grand Rounds Missing Link: http://www.minneapolisparks.org/default.asp?PageID=1018 MetroTransit Red Rock line/trail: http://www.redrockrail.org/ http://www.redrockrail.org/images/content/redrock-large-map.jpg Stadium Village and Prospect Park Prospect Park 2020: http://www.prospectpark2020.org/Documents/ Full_report-current.pdf SRF Pre-design proposal: http://www.prospectpark2020.org/Admin/ Proposals-RFQs/SRF_PPERRIA_Pedevelopment_Proposal.pdf University Ave & 29th Design: http://www.minneapolismn.gov/cped/ planning/plans/cped_university-29th

University District Alliance: https://www.myu.umn.edu/metadot/index.pl?id=3856578 https://www.myu.umn.edu/metadot/index.pl?iid=6413989 University East Gateway District Master Plan (2009): http://www.cppm.umn.edu/assets/pdf/east_gateway_district_mp.pdf University of Minnesota Master Plan: http://www.cppm.umn.edu/master_planning.html Minnesota Innovation Center: http://www.minnesotainnovationcenter.com/

The Bison extinction map is a compilation of the following sources: Hornaday Bison Extinction map http://www.llanoestacado.org/files/Hornaday_Bison_map.jpg

Granary Road: http://www.minneapolismn.gov/cip/all/cip_semi_index

Transcontinental Railroad map

Granary Road Bikeway:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/Transcontinental_ railroad_route.png

http://www.minneapolismn.gov/cip/all/cip_uofm-trail_index Northern Pacific Railroad map Minneapolis SEMI and Bridal Veil Area: http://www.minneapolismn.gov/cped/projects/cped_semi

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/Northern_Pacific. png

Twin Cities Campus Master Plan – 2009 Update: http://www.cppm.umn.edu/master_planning.html

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Historic Aerial Photography from Minnesota Aerial Photographs Online (MHAPO), 1957 http://geo.lib.umn.edu/ramsey_county/y1957/wo-2t-54.jpg