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A portion of Mentors long-neglected Old Village area is targeted for a major upgrade.

Uptown Mentor LLC proposes a 40,000-square-foot, mixed-use, Class A office building at 8675 and 8695 Mentor Ave., near Little Mountain Road.

City Council recently authorized a development agreement with Uptown Mentor for construction, and exemption from taxation, of improvements to the parcels, comprising about 4 acres.

This is one of the commercial centers in Mentor's Old Village area that will be razed for a new office building project.

The legislation allows the city to provide certain infrastructure improvements via tax increment financing and property tax abatement incentives available in the Old Village Community Reinvestment Area.

Most of the existing storefronts on the property have been vacant for many years. Along with office space, developers envision restaurants and shops, and high-energy patio space.

As you know, this area is probably the most rundown, blighted and underutilized area of Mentor, said Uptown President Alison Sikora, who owns two other commercial properties nearby. It has been that way for decades, which has never made sense to me.

"I have always believed that Mentor should have a vibrant and walkable central business district," she added. "This area seems to be the prime location for such a development. The area is surrounded by well-established neighborhoods in all directions.

Studies completed by major commercial brokerage firms show that most employees appreciate the flexibility to work from home during the pandemic, but they also want to be able to work from an office, ideally closer to home, she said.

Employers, in turn, are predicted to accommodate those changes in the workforce by providing work near home options, studies show.

For this and other reasons, demand for suburban office space is on the rise, and that trend is predicted to continue, Sikora said. Mentor currently has lack of supply of quality office space. Moreover, office tenants want convenient amenities like nearby restaurants and shopping. Additionally, people are more interested than ever in outdoor dining options.

She said she and her brokers are actively pursuing tenants for this development, and they are in discussions with several that Mentor residents would be excited to have here.

She noted that she is working with local brokers and contractors with Mentor connections, where possible.

My sincere hope is that this development will have a catalytic effect, that it will become a local landmark, and that it will begin a transformation of that highly visible and vital area of our city, she said.

Her team has worked closely with the city during the last several months on bringing the project to this point. It still requires Planning Commission approval.

The project is welcomed by city officials, Mentor Economic Development Director Kevin Malecek said.

For many years, both the city and the public recognized these properties as an eyesore on bustling Mentor Avenue," he said, "And the opportunity to have a state-of-the-art, mixed-use building with Class A office facilities and a developer committed to making significant investment to improve the area is an extremely positive change.

It is also a recognition of what we are seeing in the commercial real estate market that with the pandemic, areas like Mentor, closer to peoples homes, may see growth opportunities in higher-end commercial possibilities.

Razing of the buildings is expected to take place in the spring, with construction soon to follow.

Ideally, Id like this development to be a shining example of collaboration and civic pride for many decades to come, Sikora said.

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Mixed-use, Class A office project proposed on blighted properties in Mentor's Old Village - News-Herald.com

The construction of new offices in central London has declined by half (50 percent) in six months as developers and occupiers shift their focus to refurbishment, according to Deloitte Real Estates latest London Office Crane Survey. The crane survey analysed office building data over the six months to 30 September, and included a poll of Londons biggest developers conducted at the end of September. The total office space under construction in central London is now 15.1 million sq ft. This is similar to the level recorded in the previous survey (15.3 million sq ft, the highest since 2002) as developments are now taking longer to complete.

Siobhan Godley, partner and head of Deloitte Real Estate, said: As a bellwether of developer sentiment and future office supply in the capital, this crane survey shows a decline in new construction starts to just 2.6 million sq ft across central London. This is down significantly on our previous survey, but remains broadly in line with the surveys long-term average. Notably, a higher than average 40 percent of new construction starts have already been pre-let, indicating less speculative construction.

Mike Cracknell, director at Deloitte Real Estate, said: Our data reveals that 3.3 million sq ft of office construction was not completed as scheduled between April and September and remains under construction. Had these projects completed on time, the total volume under construction would be almost a quarter lower.

Leasing demand became the biggest challenge to new development this survey. The developers sentiment survey showed that 57 percent of respondents said letting conditions were either the same or worse when compared to the end of March this year.

Cracknell continued: Of the developers we surveyed, a clear majority 85 percent pointed to weak tenant demand as the major obstacle to starting any new development. Until there is more clarity about occupiers office plans, developers will hesitate to embark on new projects, particularly speculative ones. Nonetheless, the news about vaccines has already resulted in a re-rating of real estate stocks, and may see both a bigger shift back to the office in the short term, and a strengthening of investor demand in London offices over the medium term.

This reluctance to embark on new office building, especially new projects, has led to a shift towards major refurbishments. The survey found that more than two thirds of the new construction starts involved an extensive upgrade of existing office stock across 28 separate projects. By transforming outdated buildings into COVID-safe, high-quality workspaces, developers are looking to upgrade and futureproof their offices in a market where occupational demand is increasingly discerning, added Cracknell.

Construction activity

The City of London, which dominated construction activity in previous surveys, has seen new office building activity fall by 60 percent to 1.2 million sq ft across 10 schemes. This compares to 2.8 million sq ft across 16 schemes in the previous survey. Notably, just under half of the Citys new construction starts are available to let, again suggesting a lower appetite for speculative development.

Richard Hammell, UK head of financial services at Deloitte, said: The financial services sector has for many years occupied the lions share of City office space, considering its office portfolio an essential part of doing business. Even before the pandemic, the sector was actively looking to reduce costs and consolidate its office presence in central London as many functions were distributed across the UK and offshore, and there was an increasing use of automation. The seismic shift in people working from home this year has served to accelerate this trend. While specific in-person aspects of business life most valued by this sector such as business development, efficient trading, client engagement and employee collaboration mean that offices will remain part of financial services, the nature and operational use of space will adapt in the years to come.

Office building and development in the West End remained at the same level as in the previous survey, with 12 new starts breaking ground, equivalent to 500,000 sq ft. The Southbank saw five new starts over the summer, amounting to 350,000 sq ft, and Midtown observed a small uptick in new construction activity, with 500,000 sq ft across eight refurbishment schemes.

Fewer new construction starts, especially projects built speculatively, are likely to take place in the short to medium term as a result of weaker occupier demand, the lack of development finance and the economic downturn, explained Cracknell. This lower level of new construction and substantial delays in office completions will have a major impact on future supply levels, leading to a self-correction which should prevent oversupply in the short term.

Godley concluded: The UK is leading the way with remote working across Europe. Nearly three quarters (72 percent) of UK employees would like to work remotely more often in the future 10 percent higher than that of European peers*. Developers and investors are acutely aware of this growing trend and are thus in a state of suspension before committing to new projects, until there is more clarity in the market and occupiers reveal their future of work strategies.

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Focus shifts to refurbishment as new office building in London falls by half - Workplace Insight

This helps reduce the construction period.

CPWD officials said they are using special bamboo flooring in these projects which are being brought from Meghalaya.

According to CPWD, the projects, started in August this year, have already made 35 per cent physical progress. This technology has not been used in such big projects.

Its success will demonstrate that construction of buildings in cities like Delhi can be done causing hardly any damage to the environment. It takes at least two years to construct such a building complex using conventional technologies.

These two office complexes can accommodate nearly 15,000 employees.The employees, who are currently occupying office space at hutments near South Block, will be shifted here.

The vacated areas will be utilised for construction of a new PMs Office, PMs residence and for accommodating SPG employees.

Officials said the facade of the buildings will resemble the Lutyens style and terracotta tiles will be used for this.

They added the expeditious construction was possible because of 'dry wall construction technology', which uses light gauge steel frames (LGSF) for external and internal walls.

These frames are covered with cement fibre boards on the outer side of external walls.

Cement fibre boards, coupled with gypsum boards, are used for interiors. Rock wool is filled in LGSF sections for thermal insulation.

This does not need water for curing of any concrete or cement plaster work and hence, a lot of water is saved.

Moreover, to increase fire resistance of the structures, vermiculite cement plaster is being done on the steel structures.

Due to this, the structures can withstand for two hours in case of a fire.This finish is not only aesthetically appealing, but also very durable and maintenance-free for years.

This type of faade has a very low effect of ageing, fading and discolouration over time due to their low water absorption properties and high firing temperatures during manufacture.

It also provides acoustic insulation from outside, which reduces noise levels by 10-20 per cent.

Pollution control measures have been adopted at both the sites. The air and noise pollution is being monitored round-the-clock with sophisticated equipment.

Thermal comfort comes from ventilated terracotta tile faade which also reduces the use of energy for air conditioning as well as for heating.

The ventilated installation system reduces the solar heat gain of the building from the external facade, thereby reducing energy requirements for cooling.

These measures include 10 metre-high barricading all-round the perimeter, regular sprinkling of water on the open areas, use of anti-smog guns, controlled deconstruction measures, covering of all debris, sand, excavated soil and aggregates with suitable fabric sheets, covering of trucks/dumpers transporting the debris outside the site, and cleaning of tyres of all vehicles.

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New Delhi: In A First, 'Dry Construction Technology' Being Employed To Complete Office Buildings In Record Seven Months - Swarajya

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October construction starts in South Florida rose from September, but lagged behind amounts seen a year prior, according to a recently released report.

Total construction starts for Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties fell 10 percent from October of last year to $964.3 million, according to Dodge Data & Analytics, a Hamilton, New Jersey-based construction data analytics firm.

While nonresidential construction starts jumped, they were offset by a decline in residential starts. Nonresidential construction rose 63 percent, year-over-year, to $583.41 million. Residential construction fell 46 percent to $380.9 million. Residential construction represented about 60 percent of the total building in the region.

Nonresidential construction includes office, retail, hotels, warehouses, manufacturing, educational, healthcare, religious, government, recreational, and other buildings. Residential construction includes single-family homes and multifamily housing, according to Dodge.

October total construction starts climbed about 72 percent from September. That puts Octobers total above those reported for March, April, May and August.

October residential construction was up 16 percent from September. Nonresidential construction more than doubled from September.

Year to date, total October construction starts fell 27 percent, year-over-year, to $7.9 billion. Nonresidential construction starts fell 35 percent to $3.4 billion. Residential construction starts fell 20 percent to $4.5 billion.

Nationwide, total construction starts rose 12 percent, year-over-year in October. Nonresidential building increased 19 percent and residential activity gained 2 percent, according to Dodge.

Year to date through October, total nationwide construction starts fell 11 percent, compared to the same period of 2019. Nonresidential starts dropped 24 percent and residential starts decreased by 2 percent.

South Florida projects that scored construction loans in October include Coral Rock Development Groups $53.5 million loan for the 260-unit residential portion of its mixed-use project in Hialeah.

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South Florida October construction starts drop, year-over-year - The Real Deal

Rendering of Project Commodore

A planned development in MidtownManhattancould bring another one of the tallest buildings in North America to the New York City skyline in the next decade.

Dubbed Project Commodore, the mixed-use building planned for the site at 109 East 42nd St. would reach 1,646 feet tall and feature more than 2.1M SF of office space and a 500-room Grand Hyatt hotel as well as 10K SF of open-air public space and 43K SF of retail, New York YIMBYreports.

RXR Realty and TF Cornerstone are pairing up todevelop the project, which would ultimately bring a suite of improvements to Grand Central Terminal and the Grand Central-42nd Street Subway station in Midtown East. Those include an upgraded subway entrance at East 42nd Street, along with a new transit hall with retail that would be built on the western side of the development site and connect to the terminal, according to theEnvironmental Assessment Statement RXR and TF Cornerstone filed with the city.

The1,646 feetwould makeProject Commodore the tallest building in the city by roof height,passing Extell Developments Central Park Tower on West 57th Street, according to The Real Deal.The project is headed to a public scoping meeting next month, with completion slated for 2030.

TF Cornerstone principal Jeremy Shell said in a release when the building was first announced in February 2019that it was an opportunity to bring a new icon to New Yorks skyline and help advance the citys goals for desperately needed new development and infrastructure in East Midtown. The area was rezonedin 2017 with the view of encouraging more office development.

The building would join new office supertall One Vanderbilt, which developer SL Green openedin September on theopposite side of Grand Central from Project Commodore. That $3B building spans 1.7M SF and is 1,400 tall, making it the fourth-tallest in New York and the tallest office building in Midtown.

JPMorgan is also moving aheadwith its plan to build a massive new headquarters at 270 Park Ave., with that building, which would house 14,000 people and reach 1,425 feet, now set to open in 2024.

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1,600-Foot Office And Hotel Tower Planned Next To Grand Central - Bisnow

MASONThe original portion of the Ingham County Jail is ready for the wrecking ball.

Built in the 1960s, the old jail will be completely torn down, the first sign of progress for the $70-million justice complex construction project. That portion of the jail was decommissioned more than a year ago as maintenance issues made it difficult to house inmates there, Chief Deputy Jason Ferguson said.

The complex is slated to open in mid-2023 and stay within cost estimates, Ferguson said.

We are currently doing very well with our budget, he said.

A rendering of the new Ingham County Justice Complex in Mason. The complex is expected to open in 2023.(Photo: Courtesy of the Ingham County Sheriff's Office)

Located adjacent to the current county complex on Cedar Street, the justice complex will house a new jail, the Sheriff's Department's administrative offices and 55th District Court facilities.

The jail, built in 1963, has outlived its useful lifeand is plagued with problems from flooding, deteriorating walls, and functional deficiencies, an evaluation found.

The new jail will have roughly 410 beds, a decline from the more than 600 the facility held decades ago, Ferguson said.

The Ingham County Jail in Mason, Michigan. Friday, Nov.13, 2020.(Photo: Robert Killips | Lansing State Journal)

The new complex will cover the parking lots and vacant land south of the jail and sheriffs administrative offices. Work on thebuildings' footings and underground utilities should start in early 2021.

Once the footings are down, it will go up pretty quickly, Ferguson said.

Precast concrete parts of the building will be installed late in 2021 and people will see the complex start moving upward in 2022.

"We're that close," Ferguson said.

The construction will not interrupt operations at the jail, courthouse or offices but will restrict some parking and roads in the area, Ferguson said.

The current courthouse, jail and sheriffs office will all be demolished once the new complex is open. The only structure that will remain is the mechanical building, which will house vehicle maintenance and a shooting range, Ferguson said.

Ingham County Sheriff Scott Wriggelsworth talks about the plan to build on to the existing facility near a recreation area no longer in use during a tour of the Ingham County Jail on Tuesday, April 24, 2018, in Mason. That portion of the jail will be demolished this year.(Photo: Nick King/Lansing State Journal)

Ferguson said a team of people at the sheriffs Department and courts have worked together to design the interior layout of the building.

In August 2018, Ingham County voters agreed to a new justice millage, which was primarily designed to fund the design and construction of a new complex for the jail, Sheriffs Department and courts.

More: Voters approve millage for new Ingham County Jail, justice complex

The 0.85 of a mill raised about $6.2 million in its first year and means anan extra $42.50 in taxes annually per $100,000 of home value, according to Ingham County.

Aside from the building's construction, the millage has funded programs for inmates within the jail, Ferguson said. Those programs will grow once the new building is operational and the jail has more space, he said.

Contact reporter Craig Lyons at 517-377-1047 orcalyons@lsj.com.Follow him on Twitter @craigalyons.

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Jail demolition to clear the way for new Ingham justice complex - Lansing State Journal

Two local companies are planning to breathe new life into the Brookwood Village at Lakeshore Drive.

The new mixed-use district will have a public green space as its anchor, and this space will be surrounded by locally owned, upscale retailers; food and beverage options; new office buildings; hotels; and housing for both renters and homeowners. The plans include 350 high-end apartments.

The two companies under contract are an affiliated entity of Colliers International | Alabama, a leading real estate professional services and investment management company; and Arlington Properties, a leading multifamily development, property management, and construction firm. They announced their plans at the Oct. 26 Homewood City Council meeting.

Brookwood will be an accessible, regional destination that is vibrant, energetic, and bustling, and one that supports positive growth in Homewood, the companies said in a release. The multi-use property will be conceptualized and planned to withstand the test of time and to be conducive and beneficial to the natural evolution of the community and its needs.

Mark Stuermann, executive vice president of development at Arlington Properties, said he was attracted to the property because of what it meant tothe community.

People have very fond memories growing up there, he said. There are so many little memories that Ive heard about from people about how much they love Brookwood.

Its well-located real estate too, he said. Not only does the property have easy access to U.S. 280 and U.S. 31, it also sits between Jemison Trail and Shades Creek Greenway.

Despite these advantages, Brookwood Villages disadvantage is that it has been a single-use development. There are some offices on the property, but the development is mostly used for restaurants and retail.

When you have places that are designed for a single use, if the economy changes or peoples patterns change, then its no longer a fit, Stuermann said. There are some offices, but in general, its a massive retail facility.

Under the mixed-use plans, the hotel, offices, apartments and retail offerings will all be owned under separate, local entities. Before this deal, the mall has been entirely owned by one entity.

So if the hotel needs to change over time, that ownership group could change it, as opposed to having to redevelop the whole mall, he said.

The most important thing about a mixed-use development, Stuermann said, is it brings people there all day long. The plans include 350 apartments and between 80,000-120,000 square feet of office space.

Youll have 500 people living at Brookwood, and theyll walk on the trails. Theyll walk their dogs. Theyll wake up and eat breakfast, lunch and dinner. Theyll shop at Fresh Market. The office users will come in the mornings. Theyll get coffee at OHenrys. Theyll eat lunch. They may grab a drink with a colleague on their way home.

The hotel will have approximately 120 rooms, which means approximately 150 people could be staying at Brookwood Village each night.

The reason Brookwood worked was because it was a shopping destination and it brought people in. Were making it a destination again, and were going to also program it with lots of people to kind of activate it. It will be a place for people to live there, to work there and for the community.

The conceptual planning and rezoning process could be finished by spring 2021, the developers said in a statement. After that process is complete, construction could take 18-24 months.

Mark Stuermann of Arlington Properties and Joe Sandner IV of Colliers International held four community meetings in Homewood and took questions from the community. These were some of the frequently asked questions:

Q: How will the increased need of infrastructure affect our taxes?

Q: How long will the construction take from start to finish?

Q: How many jobs will be lost because of this project?

Q: Why are you building office space when so many offices are not being used due to COVID-19?

Q: Whats different about the retail that will be offered in the new project versus the retail in the current mall (which is clearly not doing well)?

Q: Will Macys get a face-lift to match the new project?

Q: Do you know what the makeup of the apartment units will be?

Q: How many units will there be?

Q: Why cant you come up with a plan that doesnt have any apartments?

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Mixed-use development in the works for Brookwood Village - thehomewoodstar.com

For people first setting out on the road to recovery from substance use disorders, waiting for space to open up in treatment can be a prohibitive barrier.

They might have no other choice than to wait it out in the same unhealthy environments they were in before. And the delay can be long, said Brandy Brink, founder and director of WEcovery, a local recovery nonprofit.

We have a wonderful state that offers many different treatment programs, but sometimes people are waiting a day, sometimes six weeks, and Ive heard of people waiting for up to three months, she said.

Brink hopes the addition of 13 pre-treatment beds in WEcoverys new Chestnut Street building will help bridge that gap for people until treatment.

The window of willingness is so small, she said. Thats why my hope in creating all of this is to get someone in a safe place surrounded by people who support the choice theyre making to make some changes in their life.

Alongside the pre-treatment support, the renovated building at 314 Chestnut St. is also about providing a continuum of care for people in recovery. One side of the building will have the pre-treatment housing for men and women, while the other side will serve as a recovery community center where people can go for meetings, peer recovery support and other events.

The new location replaces WEcoverys previous community center on Front Street. Having pre-treatment on one side and the center on the other means WEcovery could continue to provide support to people before and after treatment all in one building.

Theyll know somewhere to go once theyre out of treatment, Brink said. Our hope with all the things we do is were with them in the beginning, throughout and ongoing.

Transforming the building into its current use took about three months. APX Construction owns the building and renovated it, while Office Space Design donated furniture.

APX acquired the building after constructing new office space for Region V Computer Services on Excel Drive. Brink and APX Project Manager Joey Barr, whove known each other for years after going to school together, first started discussing the Chestnut Street buildings potential about seven or eight months ago.

At the time the building was still a big, windowless space with a bunch of offices. Brink appreciated the opportunity to walk through it but wasnt sure it would work as is for what she was envisioning.

So they started brainstorming what would be needed to make it work. Brink told them about her idea for a center on one side and pre-treatment housing on the other, and the designs were drawn up.

With many organizations moving into new buildings rather than into existing ones, APX has plenty of experience repurposing office space. Renovating can get expensive, Barr said, but cutting in windows in each room, adding showers and bathrooms, and knocking down walls to create kitchen and commons space worked out well.

The project also hit close to home for Barr and others at APX. Barr said experiences with family members showed him how needed the pre-treatment beds are.

I personally and some of the other people in our office have backgrounds and dealt with some of the things that Brandy is out there trying to help people out with, he said. Thats why its been a special project for us.

Once people see the proof of concept, he could see similar projects popping up elsewhere in the state to meet the need. Pre-treatment beds are currently a rare commodity.

Karen Klabunde, facility director at the Wellcome Manor inpatient treatment center for women in Garden City, called the pre-treatment beds a unique idea that could bring great value to the region. Many times, she said, clients are waiting for space to open up or for funding authorization to go through before entering treatment.

Theres a lag time between the time they call and when they arrive at our doorstep, she said. Its an extremely high-risk time and some of our clients get scared right up to the last minute.

Studies show being on a waitlist is one of the most common barriers for people seeking treatment. One 2006 analysis in the Journal of Drug Issues found substance users reported long wait times led some to give up on treatment or viewed their sobriety during the wait time as proof they no longer needed treatment.

Having a safe and sober place to go until treatment starts could help, Klabunde said. She also pointed out the good timing of the project during the pandemic, as concerns about substance use are ramped up with so many people struggling financially and mentally.

The pre-treatment beds are on track to be available in December, Brink said. An opening date will be announced later, with Brink planning virtual information sessions and open houses to alert agencies to the new resource.

She wouldnt be surprised if the beds are filled within a week of opening. The need is that great, she said.

Its very evident with us getting this close to the end that this program will be utilized and is needed, she said.

We are making critical coverage of the coronavirus available for free. Please consider subscribing so we can continue to bring you the latest news and information on this developing story.

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Road to recovery: Pre-treatment beds coming to Mankato - Mankato Free Press

BOSTON Boston Seaport by WS Development and Turner Construction celebrated the ceremonial topping off of 111 Harbor Way (Block L4 of the Boston Seaport project), which will soon become home to Amazons new office in the heart of the Seaport neighborhood.

Slated for completion in 2021, 111 Harbor Way is a central component of WS Developments Boston Seaport project, spanning 33 acres across 20 city blocks.

111 Harbor Way is a 525,000 square foot, 17-story building with two stories devoted to retail and restaurant uses. Amazon will use 430,000 square feet of 111 Harbor Way for valuable office space and job creation as it expands its Boston Tech Hub and creates an additional 2,000 jobs, which were announced in 2018 in fields including machine learning, speech science, cloud computing, and robotics engineering.

Today marks an important milestone for a development project that delivers economic opportunities for many residents of Boston and generates investments in affordable housing and workforce training programs. I want to congratulate WS Development and the project team on achieving this milestone and look forward to welcoming over 2,000 new jobs to Boston when the building is completed, said Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh.

In these uncertain times, it is ever more important to set our sights on Bostons bright future. This morning, we celebrate all that this building signifies for Seaport and for Boston job creation, economic empowerment, innovation, and the expansion of the public realm in our community. We are incredibly grateful to Amazon for their belief in Seaport, to Mayor Walsh and our partners in government for supporting our vision, and to our partners at Turner Construction and the skilled men and women of the Building Trades in Boston for their commitment to excellence and safety, said Yanni Tsipis, Senior Vice President, Seaport, WS Development.

WS Development chose esteemed architectural firm Gensler to envision and design the tower. In a collaboration between its Boston and San Francisco offices, Gensler respected the authentic industrial context of the Seaport, creating a building that has a timeless aesthetic and a highly articulated expression. The buildings design emphasizes human-focused elements, including outdoor terraces on alternating floors and the Paseo, a street-level interior public promenade lined with shops, cafes, and a welcoming central amphitheater.

The Paseo will lead pedestrians to a new one-acre public space being constructed concurrently with the building, which will expand the public realm in the Seaport and create a vibrant new open space hub. This new park is a focal point of the future Harbor Way, a 1/3-mile public promenade that will connect Summer Street to the waters edge a plan conceived of by the world-renowned landscape architecture firm James Corner Field Operations, well known for their work on Manhattans High Line. The park will create a hub of community activity across all seasons, hosting hundreds of public events annually including art, music performances and markets.

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WS Development and Turner Construction Celebrate the Topping Off of 111 Harbor Way, Amazon's New Office in Seaport - Boston Real Estate Times

By Rich Larson, News Director

The Northfield School Board resumed the conversation surrounding the Northfield High School Raiders mascot.

The drawing that currently represents the Northfield Raiders has come under

The Northfield Raider mascot. The sword was removed from the image a few years ago. (courtesy Tim Freeland)

question, and more than a bit of fire in recent years, with many people questioning both its relevancy to the Raiders name and the nature of the image itself.

Northfield Superintendent of schools, Dr. Matt Hillmann said yesterday that the current mascot has been in place for 64 years, and it is probably time for a change.

The current mascot was selected in 1956. A Northfield High School student created that mascot as part of a contest. And there are a lot of legends about the motivation behind how that original came to be, and we know that many people have really appreciated it over the years. We also know that 64 years later, its probably time to look at doing a refresh of that mascot.

Over the years, students at Northfield High School have taken to calling it the Racist Raider, and last February members of the High School student council formally asked the school board to look at making a change. Hillmann conceded yesterday that the mascot has cartoonish and accentuated facial features that are concerning.

So, theres two parts to this. Its time to do a refresh and we also need to make sure that the things that represent the school district are inclusive of the people who we represent in the community.

Dr. Hillmann has proposed a motion for the next school board meeting on December 14th that would direct the Northfield High School administration to begin a process and take submissions for a new mascot. Those submissions would be welcome from both students and non-student members of the community, and to select from those submissions up to four different options for consideration. The strongest consideration, he said, would be given to conceptual designs that make the most direct connection to the origin of the Raider name, and how the community did defeat the James Younger Gang when they attempted to rob the Northfield First national Bank in 1876. He also said that there would be some parameters surrounding the submissions, foremost among them would be no weaponry associated with the new mascot.

While some may question the timing of this discussion when so many other challenges are facing the school district right now, he said it is important to take up discussions like this one because there is still work to be done, and we need to keep moving forward.

Hillmann said there are already plans to memorialize the current mascot, should the school decide to make a change.

Construction projects nearing conclusion

Northfield Schools Superintendent Dr. Matt Hillmann

The Superintendent also said that a flurry of construction and re-modeling projects in the public school facilities is approaching conclusion.

The new Greenvale Park school building is basically complete, he said. There are just a few details to work out.

There are still some punch list items. Anybody who has ever moved into a new house, or youve built something, over the first year that youre there you see things [that make you say] Oh, we should adjust that or That didnt turn out exactly the way we expected. And thats something we planned, and so we continue to work through that punch list as things arise with our friends from Knutson Construction.

Those interested in seeing what the new school looks like can take a virtual walkthrough tour of school by visiting the construction page on the schools website, or by clicking HERE.

Hillmann also said the school offices at the Longfellow school should be complete in 4-6 weeks.

To hear Superintendent Hillmanns full conversation with Jeff Johnson, click HERE.

Dundas City Council approves sale of old City Hall

And the Dundas City Council Monday night approved the sale of the old Dundas City Hall.

Dundas City administrator Jenelle Teppen said yesterday that the council members went into closed session after the public meeting on Monday and approved the sale of the building to Northfield attorney Dan Irwin for $70,000. Teppen said Irwin intends to move his law office into the building.

Dundas opened a brand new City Hall in September.

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Northfield School Board to take up mascot conversation; School construction nearly complete; Dundas approves sale of old city hall - kymnradio.net