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#9 — Out with the old

History makes way for change in 2018

Photos by Jill Schramm/MDN TOP: Xcel Energy and workers with Huwe the House Mover raise electrical lines to move Home Sweet Home under them and across the street June 28.

Home Sweet Home was on the move in June, crossing the street to a new home out of the path of flood protection construction.

The move was just one of the changes occurring in 2018 for long-time fixtures in the Minot community.

Originally a residence, the house at 103 4th Ave. NW served as a gift shop for more than 30 years. The city purchased the building earlier this year for $432,000 to acquire the property for a flood wall. The purchase was made using primarily National Disaster Resilience funds in the wake of the 2011 flood that inundated much of the city. The purchase was necessary because of a determination by the State Historical Society that the house has historic value.

Dig It Up Backhoe Service was hired for $565,770 to dig and construct a foundation, meet requirements for asbestos abatement, board windows, remove brick and perform other preparations necessary to move the 119-year-old house and situate it on its new foundation.

Contractors settled the building onto a permanent foundation in August.

EAPC conducted an engineering assessment that identified a need for minor shoring repairs. The shoring repairs came to $17,693.

The city plans to eventually sell the house.

Also to make way for flood protection, crews began demolishing and removing the former Minot Flour Mill building, located just east of the Third Street viaduct, in April.

The North Dakota State Historic Preservation Office agreed to the demolition of the structure once the property was documented in an updated Minot Industrial Historic District report.

The history of the building goes back to before 1904, when Minot pioneer businessmen, including Erik Ramstad and Alfred Blaisdell, founded the Minot Milling Co. In more recent years, the building was used by Souris Valley Feed and Seed.

Unrelated to flood protection, the demolition of the The Virginia apartments near the intersection of Burdick Expressway on Broadway took place in August. Closing the book on that piece of Minot history, it opens the door for a new development yet to come.

The Virginia, originally known as Virginia Flats, was built in 1910 by Winfield Smart, a former mayor, state legislator and property developer. The building continued to be operated as apartments until shortly before its demolition.

Bringing the building up to code was deemed too expensive, leading to its removal, according to owner Lee Bertsch with Bertsch Properties. He said he plans to construct a new multi-tenant building that will be a credit to the high profile intersection.

Another structure not quite as old was replaced with the completion of the new Broadway Bridge. Originally constructed in two phases, with southbound lanes built in 1962 and northbound lanes in 1971, the bridge was replaced in two phases in 2017 and 2018.

The ribbon cutting on the completed $21 million project was held Nov. 15.

The 1,000-foot-long bridge includes new LED lighting to match the downtown and an enhanced walkway for pedestrians and bikes. Because of today’s engineering and design capabilities, only six piers are needed to hold up the bridge, compared to 14 on the former bridge.

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