Students Show Possibilities for Garbage Burner Site
The official process for determining the future of Hennepin County’s garbage burner site is years away, but a North Loop professor knew it was the perfect real-world learning opportunity for his students. “I believe we need to make teaching and research impactful in communities,” said Fernando Burga, Ph.D. Burga is an Assistant Professor with the University of Minnesota’s Master of Urban and Regional Planning program.
The North Loop Neighborhood Association hosted a public meeting for the professor and his first- and second-year Master’s students to present their ideas. The Hennepin Energy Recovery Center (HERC), commonly referred to as the garbage burner, is scheduled to close between 2028 and 2040.
Burga explained that his class is divided into three teams, each provided with an idea to explore through their own research and feedback from the public: a new Timberwolves/Lynx/Mixed Use Arena; Affordable Housing/Mixed Use and Urban Agriculture.
Affordable Housing
The public gets a look at ideas for Affordable Housing at the garbage burner site.
Ryan Sibley and Sam Berens are on the Affordable Housing/Mixed Use team. “We want to incorporate more housing to allow for more transit-oriented development around that Green Line station,” said Berens. “The site stands on the edge of the neighborhood between the downtown corridor and next to a highway and just off a lot of restaurants and breweries, so it’s already set up in a great spot for that accessibility to be a destination,” added Sibley.
Urban Agriculture
Students from the Urban Agriculture team listen to feedback.
Rashid Mfinanga, Oshana Reich and Cristian Tineo make up the Urban Agriculture team. “With the Farmers Market being really close to this site that drew our attention,” said Mfinanga. “It is an opportunity for the neighborhood to grow things and grow together,” added Reich.
Tineo said their research has included the history of the site. He explained that part of the Urban Agriculture idea is “thinking about what spaces can be reclaimed, to really serve the people and the lands. Perhaps consider not so much building up, but growing in the heart of this neighborhood.”
Arena
Lauren Snyder, Ayden Schaffer, Marcus Hansen and Angela Ginseurg are on the Arena/Mixed Use team. “I have a background in land use and policy, as well as I’m a big Timberwolves and Lynx fan, so I immediately wanted to see what it would be like to be a stadium development zone,” said Hansen.
Snyder added, “People really want more green space, especially since the HERC is kind of an eyesore. So having a space that builds up community and allows people to interact with each other is a really important thing.”
The public put their ideas on Post-It notes.
“This is a site planning class that resides in the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, which is at the intersection of policy and design,” making it different from say, a class in an architecture school, explained Professor Burga. “This is where students connect with residents and learn how to be professionals,” the professor said as he thanked those in attendance for giving students the experience of sharing their ideas.
Professor Burga speaks to the group.
“This has been one of the most challenging classes I’ve ever had, but it’s been super rewarding,” said Angela Ginseurg of the Arena team. “It’s been so interesting to go to the community and just talk to the community and see what they’re thinking.”
The students’ ideas aren’t part of any official governing body’s process concerning what will ultimately happen to the site, but getting the public involved in conversations now makes the community more ready to be engaged whenever the official process begins. “The goal is to generate interest and mobilizing people around the change that may happen,” said Burga.
As for the students, they’ll be graduated and well into their careers by the time the future of the site becomes reality. Said Hansen of the Arena team, “I think being able to see that as a planner ten years from now will be fascinating. If I’m still in the area, I definitely would like to get involved.”
The closing of the HERC may be years away, but it’s not too early to imagine the possibilities. “At some point, the garbage burner is going to be gone, said David Crary, Vice President of the North Loop Neighborhood Association. “Thinking about what it could be before it’s gone is a good thing to start.”
Professor Burga invited everyone to follow him on Instagram @cityadvocacy for updates on the students’ work.
By Mary Binkley, NLNA Board member