Committee forwards Lakeshore Arms landmark proposal to council without recommendation after owner objects

City planning staff told the committee that the Lakeshore Arms Apartments (3026 Lake Street West) meet local landmark criterion for Spanish-eclectic architecture and that the State Historic Preservation Office concurred; staff recommended approval and noted the Heritage Preservation Commission had voted to recommend designation.

Rob Skllecki, senior city planner on the historic preservation team, presented features that support the designation—ornamental parapets, cast cement ornamentation, wrought-iron grills and preserved multi-lite windows—and said the property retains the seven aspects of historic integrity required by ordinance. He noted staff received more than 15 public comments supporting designation and that the owner opposed the nomination.

Owner Steve Hornig, who said his family has restored and managed Minneapolis apartment buildings for generations, accepted the architectural significance but argued the designation would foreclose future higher-density housing opportunities at the site and that similar buildings by the same architect elsewhere in the city were not singled out. He asked the committee to delay or deny designation to keep future redevelopment options open.

Council Member Schafer moved to deny designation but the committee ultimately voted to forward the matter to full council without recommendation to allow further consideration and discussion at the council level.

If the council later approves local landmark designation, exterior changes and potential demolition would be reviewed under the city's process for designated properties; denial would trigger a three-year waiting period before the nomination could be reconsidered at the staff/HPC level.