A real estate company is in the final negotiations to eventually transform the former Como-based Tuttle School into housing. 

The building was a nearly century-old elementary school when it was shut down in 2007 due to declining enrollment. It was put up for sale more than a decade later in Dec. 2022. 

Joel Hussong, a part of Urban Canopies LLC, is working with the city, Minneapolis Public Schools and local community members to get the final paperwork approved to turn the three-story building into housing. 

Minneapolis Public Schools, the former owner of the building, and the Southeast Como Improvement Association (SECIA) began searching in 2022 for developers who focused on redeveloping and managing older structures. The pair eventually landed on Commercial Equities Group to manage the property’s sale. 

The Listing Broker for the Tuttle School and owner of the equities group Jeff Salzbrun declined to comment on the future of the property. 

Co-chair of SECIA’s Future of Tuttle Ad Hoc Committee Kathy Knudson said the old school could be easily transitioned into housing thanks to each classroom having a bathroom. The building also has a multipurpose room, a theater and a gym. 

The building could have many uses, but Knudson said housing is the critical one. 

“Lots would agree with that, especially if they are nice and somewhat affordable,” Knudson said. 

Knudson said one of the stipulations the Minneapolis Public Schools gave Urban Canopies was that the company must have the community’s support behind whatever they decide to do. 

“We have already given him a letter of approval type thing,” Knudson said. “The general agreement is that once he actually gets ownership or knows he’s going to have it for sure, that we would start reviewing plans and maybe make suggestions and try to find things that would be amenities for the neighborhood.” 

Not everything has gone smoothly for Urban Canopies. The company has struggled to decide where to place a parking lot if an apartment is built, Knudson said. While the company wants to put it in the northeast corner of the lot, the city wants to limit the parking lot to a place where asphalt already lies. 

Knudson said the building needs repairs on the roof, windows and elevator due to a decade-plus of abandonment and vandalism. Knudson said Hussong mirrored much of that sentiment in a conversation she had with him.

“If you look at the building right now, you see all the lower level windows are covered with plywood and painted,” Knudson said. “They’ve all been broken by vandals and all need replacing.”

SECIA sent surveys in 2021 to community members to gather information on what they would like to see happen to the building, Knudson said. Many suggestions involved a community-based facility out of the property. 

The Project Manager for Tuttle For The People Natan Shayevich said he wants the space to be used for more than just housing. 

“Housing is a great start, but the landmark in Como can be used for so much more,” Shayevich said. 

A community space or grocery store are a few ideas to fill the space, Shayeich said. 

Before any construction begins on the property, it will be used to host the Tuttle Art Festival on Oct. 12 in Van Cleve Park, to showcase local artists, vendors and community volunteers.