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A vacant mortuary that's been on the brink of
foreclosure for more than a year is now getting a
new life as an office and community space. Architect John Harriss owns the property at
3207 Central Ave. NE. His firm was originally hired
to design a condo project at the site. When sales got off to a slow start, Harriss and
a business partner bought the property from the
initial developers in 2006 with hopes of improving
sales. The condos ultimately failed, and the
property has been in financial limbo since 2007.
A green, thrifty renovation is now underway
to convert the funeral home into a multi-tenant
office building, with Harriss' own architecture firm
serving as the anchor tenant. "We saw an opportunity to take a building that
was destined for the landfill and reuse it,"
Harriss said. Harriss Architecture, which specializes in
schools, senior housing and sustainable design,
hopes to transform the Central Ave. site into a
showcase for green building design.
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Read the rest of the article HERE, written by Dan Haugen for the Waite Park Voice |
