The old Fuji-Ya restaurant at 420 S. 1st St. in Minneapolis is still boarded up and its parking lot is a Minneapolis Park and Rec. contract lot. What's up with that?
What was once a beautiful restaurant on the west bank of the Mississippi River on the edge of downtown has been sadly left to languish under ownership by the Minneapolis Park Board. The restaurant was built with great care by the late Reiko Weston in 1968 on the thick foundations of a burned-out flour mill. Now, the restaurant could get refurbished as part of a developer’s plan to build a 38-unit, $60 million luxury condo tower.But opponents say the project would damage the riverside mill ruins and obstruct views of the river and historic structures.The Park Board used eminent domain to acquire the Fuji-Ya's 100-car parking lot in the late 1980s to make room for development of W. River Parkway. In 1990, the board bought the building and remaining land for $3.5 million. The small parking lot that remains in front is a contract lot. By the way, the Weston family has since opened a new Fuji-Ya at 600 W Lake Street. Anyone have any memories of the old restaurant or thoughts on what should be done with the land? Sources: Star Tribune library
Suzanne, your own Doug Grow
Suzanne, your own Doug Grow wrote a column (2/20/05) on the Fuji-Ya site and the treatment of Mrs. Weston by the Park Board. A good question might be why sell the parcel for $1.5 million when they got it through ED for $3.5 million?
http://www.mplsparkwatch.org/node/221