Star Tribune from Minneapolis, Minnesota • Page 40

80 FridayDecember 231994Star Tribune Ivy erty. Ziggurat architecture. Designed by nationally prominent architect Thomas R. Kimball of Omaha, the building is prized by preservationists for its pebbly concrete exterior and its stepped shape. Hints of Mideastern influence also are visible in the arch systems of the roof lantern.

Babinsky has argued that it's not economically feasible for him or any other conventional landlord to renovate the building, which needs a sprinkler system, new windows, asbestos removal, heating and air conditioning, an elevator, other interior work and handicap access. Colton said it would cost about office tenants. The costs would be spread over relatively puny floor plates that provide only 10,000 square feet of leasable space. As a result, likely rental income of 1 1 a square foot would leave the owner with a negative return on investment. The investment pro-forma makes the building nearly impossible to sell because banks won't touch a deal that promises to lose money, Colton said.

It's a long shot, but the only chance for the building to be saved through private negotiations would be for a rich, preservation-minded buyer to finance a takeover and possibly use the building as an owner-occupied headquarters, Colton said. Unless such an offer surfaces, Ba-binsky's vision for the property is a 28-stall parking lot that could serve the nearby Minneapolis Convention Center. Bans said it would produce income and Babinsky would have the chance of selling at an attractive price if a developer needed the land to piece together a big project on the block. "He just wants to tear it down and put a parking lot there," Bans said. Contiaoed from page ID Built in 1 930 by the Second Church of Christ Scientist, the tower originally housed administrative offices, classrooms and a reading room.

The master plan called for a total of four towers surrounding a church building, all crowned by a massive dome. That plan was abandoned, however, and the lone original tower was sold to commercial interests in 1965 and converted to offices. Renamed Ivy Tower, the mid-block structure was designated as historic in 1986 by the Heritage Preservation Commission. According to the designation form, the building is a unique example of block, said Seth Colton, an attorney for Babinsky. "It's complete nonsense that we haven't tried to sell the property," Colton said.

"Why wouldn't we sell this property? It's losing money right now." While there's no "For Sale sign on the building, Colton said the property was listed most of last year with Towle Real Estate a major commercial real estate firm based in Minneapolis. "We got a couple of nibbles, but nothing significant," he said. ing the 1980s that led to a high vacancy rate in the Ivy Tower and subsequent financial trouble. "Other buildings were cheaper and better," Bans said. Babinsky, who also owns apartments in the Twin Cities area, had two partners in the Ivy Tower, Gary Persian and Donald Smith.

In January, however, the two gave up their interest in the tower in exchange for being released from their mortgage liability, Bans said. Persian said he lost "plenty of money" on his investment in the prop $770,000 to reopen the building for The property was listed for $700,000, but Colton said Babinsky would listen to lower offers. Minneapolis Architect Tom Meyer said he offered $75,000 plus the cost of the mortgage (about He said it would make sense for his firm to buy the building, refurbish it and occupy it. It's an investment that could pay off over the long term if the building's value rises significantly, he said. Though Meyer expressed his purchasing interest in two letters to Babinsky, Colton said the communication hasn't been taken seriously because Meyer has provided no earnest money or explanation of how he would finance the purchase.

Besides, Colton said, $275,000 is not enough to trigger a sale. A staff report from the Heritage Packard Bell TANDY By AST COMPAQ. EPSON I 3 1 AinhanzedllaeUer OvrrlSSeftwm TitltfViM tttfOO! Mi -iMf mm .1 Built-in 14" Sony Trinitron Iffb'KKlltMfc Mww'SSOWKfcO HSoftwut mksbdvM. JUIOOOVili! 33 MHz 68030 processor 1MB PO local busvideo -l Cf Sf 16-btt sound card vN4Jjrj Stereo speakers ti, fcJZ Wm 14.4 faxmodem jT'-" Pre4oaded software CrTitT 12-10431 Monitor not included. 1TV SMBKAM Pitium90HHi Intel Pentium 90 MHz processor 8MB RAM 810MB hard drive DoublespeedCDKOM color monitor (112" viewable screen size) Faxmodem Built-in stereo speakers 12 preloaded programs I12-1WV12-1M98 lfC? 't-'L 160MB hard drive DoubfcspeedCDKOM 16-bit sound card UUHIU t'JUHlU'tl IT Preservation Commission said Ba-binsky's $700,000 asking price was very high compared with prices for similar properties.

A sale price of $400,000 would be more reasonable, the report said. If the building was sold just for its land value, it would fetch $240,000 at the highest price ever paid for downtown real estate $40 a square foot for the old Ritz Hotel block, according to the report. The nine-story Ivy Tower at 1115 2nd Av. S. was boarded up in March 1993 after its heating system failed.

The pigeons that now inhabit the building don't pay rent, and Babinsky Suffered $120,000 in total operating losses on the property from 1991 to 1993, Colton said. Preservationists who spoke before the Committee on Zoning and Planning hinted that the owners of Ivy Tower let it fall into disrepair by not making capital improvements. But Bans said the owners were victims of a downtown office glut dur- Multimedia System With Color Printer! Intel486 SX33 Chess, Compton's mLwsmmI Tax. IBM ThinkPad WK 8.4" active color screen JUi Intel486 SX33 Two PCMCIA slots lTi iT' 7 flLi 170MB hard drive Preloaded software WtLmUtmm mk tjjpt 4MB RAM wi)25i ir 1 nriatf iMC WMI HM WMI tllri Irrw 23-10250 1 JZ-' Interactive Encyclopedia and more! Stereo speakers Daewoo SVGA Color Monitor 13" viewable screen size .39 dot pitch Epson Color Printer 24-pin dot matrix II2-8MW processor 4MB RAM Seagate 525MB hard drive Sanvo double-speed CDfcOM Manufactured by AST SoundBlaster compatible 16-bit sound card Software includes Battle PresarioHOCDS 486SX2 66MHz processor 4MB RAM 420MB hard drive Double-speed CD-ROM drive Stereo speakers 16-bit sound card 14.4 fax modem Keyboard and mouse Epson Stylus 300 Inkjet Printer Two-year warranty IBM Under Monitor Speaker System Built-in microphone IV SVGA Color Monitor 13 viewable screen 12-80206 Ud486CK2 66MHz 4MBRAM 540MB bird drive SandBbtteraudloaid 144ftxmodem LocalbuiSVGA video fantttpakm totaled software HUMS MobMot told sjMnny. UemalOHvOH 7Zj 033 ItefcTixrrMiBzi Canon Northwest Continued from Page ID Northwest objected to statements in Sprenger's press release that said the company treated its obligations to black employees "as mere rhetoric" and that it "failed to report" harassment complaints to Sprenger.

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Anderson said black hiring has increased 30 percent since the decree was signed. He also said hundreds of discrimination claims have been reviewed and corrective action taken. 1 1 HP ScanJet Ilex Scanner Superior scanning quality 24-blt color 400 dpi optical ixi Quad-Speed Internal CD-ROM 600Kbps data transfer 256KB cache memory 220 ms access speed CDKOM accessories SCSI-2 2year limited warranty 11-10119 Edutainment CD 16 Multimedia Kit Sound Blaster 16 Value Stereo speakers Edition stereo audio card microphone Double-speed CDfiOM 23 software titles M02S3 REVEAL Into your electronic flies 37-10131 PCBadioCard rteywfavxirrteFMsUuthro .9 If 1.. ,11 Anderson said Sprenger brought attention to Alsop's order because he has been unable to negotiate a fee settlement with Northwest that included cash and airplane tickets. "He wanted us to pay him and his wife also an attorney more than his clients would get," Anderson said.

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