Fourth Street Guild
A woodworking cooperative transformed its austere landscaping into a beacon of sustainability in industrial North Minneapolis.
Project Details
City: Minneapolis
Type: Action Grant, Planning Grant
Status: Completed
Timeline: 2015-2016
MWMO Funding: $59,717
Partners: Metro Blooms; Burns McDonnell Civil Engineers; Earth Wizards; Light Dark Landscape
Nancy Stowe
Projects and Outreach Director
612-746-4978
Email Nancy Stowe
View Bio
The Fourth Street Guild, a woodworking cooperative, sought to turn its new site in North Minneapolis into a model of green infrastructure. The MWMO awarded the guild a Planning Grant to hire an engineering firm to investigate soils and to design new stormwater management plans for the site. The resulting plans featured a variety of new stormwater control measures that will reduce runoff from the site by an estimated 55 percent.
In 2016, the Guild was awarded an Action Grant for the implementation of their stormwater management plan. A pair of 1,500-gallon cisterns capture roof runoff, and the parking lot runoff is treated by pervious pavers and native plantings in infiltration basins. The guild also intends to use the site to create educational opportunities for craftspeople, the neighborhood and the community at large.