1717 Developers, LLC, the owners of the historic John Cook House, appealed the resolution denying them the ability to demolish the property. The Minneapolis Business Housing, & Zoning Committee will meet on November 13 to continue the discussion of the future of the building. (Vince Brown)
The Minneapolis Business, Housing & Zoning Committee will take more time to assess how to come to a resolution on the future of the historic John Cook House at 948 18th Ave. NE. The decision to continue the discussion on the property was made at the committee’s meeting on Oct. 28. The committee expects to continue this conversation at the next meeting on Nov. 13.
This comes nearly one month after the city’s Historic Preservation Committee voted unanimously to deny the demolition application submitted by the property owner, Abubakar Jabril of 1717 Developers, LLC. At the Oct. 28 meeting, attorney John Steen of Minneapolis-based law firm Larkin Hoffman made the case on behalf of Jabril, appealing the denial.
“There is absolutely no question that this building is unsafe or dangerous,” Steen said to commissioners.
October’s meeting played out much like September’s. In dueling presentations, city staff argued against the home’s demolition, while Steen presented arguments made by local real estate company Master Properties, whom Jabril hired to perform a safety assessment of the property. Full coverage of that meeting by can be found in the Northeaster’s Oct. 8 edition.
After hearing both presentations at the Sept. 30 meeting, several commissioners speculated the property was in a state of “demolition by neglect.” Steen addressed this assessment during his presentation on Oct 28.
“It seems that the decision was based more on interpretation of penalizing, or making an example out of my client based on the assertion that this was demolition by neglect. I can assure you that this was not demolition by neglect. This was demolition by red tape,” Steen said to commissioners, adding that his client did not understand what it meant when the building was designated a historical landmark. “You need to use specific contractors, original materials.”
Steen also claimed that the owner has had to vacate trespassers more than a dozen times, and again brought up the multiple reports by engineering firms on the state of the home illustrating its declining condition.
When it was time for public comment, several residents approached the dais to advocate for preserving the home, including Elizabeth Richardson, co-owner of Recovery Bike Shop, 2504 Central Ave. NE.
“The John Cook House is more than a beautiful structure,” Richardson said. “It is the epitome of what Northeast is known for: artistic expression and hard work.”
Other residents, such as Karen Grivna, advocated for something to be done with the home to improve safety in the area, sharing concerns around the risk of fires and continuous trespassers.
“We are concerned about this neglected property. Whether it is demolished or not, what does the future hold?” Grivna said. “I’m not suggesting that it be demolished, necessarily, but things need to be done.”
According to the city, the Cook House, built in 1899 by mason and house builder John L. Cook, was designated a local historic landmark in 2021 for its association with Northeast Minneapolis’ immigrant heritage and its distinctive Queen Anne architectural style. The brick home shows the area’s late 19th-century Scandinavian immigrant housing, located within walking distance of several Swedish and Norwegian churches that once anchored the neighborhood’s cultural fabric, the city says.
City records show the home was registered as vacant in 2014. Public sale records show the home was sold in 2019 to the current owner and later condemned in 2020 after years of neglect and lack of maintenance. Despite monitoring by the city’s Vacant Building Registration program, inspectors noted that the property’s condition continued to
deteriorate under its current ownership.
City staff acknowledged that the owner did not respond during the nomination process, despite multiple outreach attempts. Photographs from both the city and Master Properties show the home’s visible deterioration between 2015 and 2025.
As commissioners discussed, it became clear that several members still had questions about the property that needed to be answered in order to properly vote on the appeal, including the makeup of the fines the city administered for the property’s degrading state. City staff acknowledged that the owner wouldn’t have to jump through any extra hoops if they wanted to sell the property instead.
Seeing room to consider several paths forward, committee chair Jamal Osman moved to continue the discussion so that more information could be discussed. The council then approved the motion.
The Northeaster has reached out to the property owner’s attorney for comment but did not hear back by the time of publication.