1716 26th Avenue North is often referred to as "The Jordan Garden House" due to its proximity to the "peace garden" at the corner of 26th and Knox Avenue North. (Although the Jordan Area Community Council does not own the house.) The house has been a vacant eyesore for years, since it went from one owner to tax forfeiture. And since Hennepin County has had low or nonexistent standards for who they'll sell tax-forfeited properties to, this one was purchased by the infamous Ken Welch of Assertive Properties.
The story that sticks with me about Welch with this house is that reportedly a local non-profit developer was interested in making an offer to buy and rehab the house. The developer figured Welch would be open to a deal, as the house simply couldn't be financially viable in its boarded and vacant state. The annual VBR fees alone had to make the property untenable. Instead, the offer was rebuffed on the grounds that the place was still financially worth keeping even in that condition. Why would that be, I wonder? I have my own theories, but welcome any ideas folks may have.
For the purpose of this post, however, the important development is that Welch/Assertive no longer owns the house. And here's how that happened:
