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Activists Fight Back Against Plan to Turn Apartments Into a Hotel

About fifty people gathered in front of the Lincoln Park Flats on the evening of April 3.  They were there for a "Homes Not Hotels" protest called by the DSA and Northwoods Socialist Collective.  Protesters braved the cold winds because of their anger at an announcement by P&R Properties that they plan to convert an entire floor of the building into a boutique hotel.  And judging by the tremendous response the protest got from motorists, pedestrians and residents - their anger is shared by many in the community.

The Lincoln Park Flats is a 74 unit apartment building that opened last June.  It was built with a significant amount of public money.  The developer received $2.35 million in tax increment financing (TIF) along with $134,946 in grant money from the MN State Depart of Employment and Economic Development.  To get that public money, P&R Properties signed an agreement with the City of Duluth to build 74 apartments, with 23 of them “affordable” (meaning rent can be no more than 80% of Area Median Income).

Here we are, just nine months later, and P&R is looking to turn 24 of Lincoln Park Flats’ apartments into hotel rooms.  While legal experts and city officials are still debating whether this move violates P&R’s agreement with the City, it certainly violates its intent.  The Twin Ports are facing a major housing crisis.  The cost of rent is going up and up, pricing many folks out of housing, and forcing them onto the streets.  Those who are still hanging on are having to commit more and more of their income to rent.  Lincoln Park Flats was supposed to help alleviate the crunch.

Housing justice activists are determined to try and stop this conversion of apartments to hotel rooms.  Even though P&R was able to quietly get a permit from the city on March 8, activists are calling on folks to turn out at the April 10 Duluth City Council meeting at 7pm.  We plan on demanding that the city step up and do whatever it can to stop this terrible plan.  We hope to see you there!

>> The article above was written by Adam Ritscher of the Northwoods Socialist Collective.

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