It is with a heavy heart that we say that the fight is over. Friends of the Terrace was unable to get the bonds reduced by the Minnesota Court of Appeals, and were unable to raise the $6,375,000 in bonds that Hennepin County Judge Michael Browne required. The Terrace was torn down on September 30 when the court’s temporary stay expired. We were all out of options to save this architectural landmark. It was a sad day for all of us, as it was the end of a multi-year effort to save the Terrace and re-purpose it into a glorious asset for Robbinsdale.
Although we feel that we had a strong MERA case to prove that the Terrace was a historic resource worthy of preservation, the millions of dollars in bonds demanded through Judge Browne by the Robbinsdale Economic Development Authority, Brixmor Property Group, and Inland Development Partners were simply too much for our grass roots group to raise. The Terrace never got its day in court.
We thank our attorney, Erik Hansen, for his extraordinary efforts to defend the Terrace. We especially thank him for scrambling to locate a judge on a Saturday morning to stop Inland Development Partner’s attempt to destroy the building before our request for a restraining order to the appeals court could be heard.
We also thank all of you who supported our efforts, including the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota (PAM) and the Minnesota Historical Society. Your words of encouragement and financial support buoyed our spirits those last several weeks. However, this legal fight has been expensive. If you are able, please donate to help us retire the legal bills from this last ditch effort to save the Terrace at terracefriends.org.
Lastly, on November 5 we will be hosting Rock the Terrace, a concert at the Lodge in Robbinsdale, to celebrate the life of this historic theater. While this was originally intended to be a fundraiser to support the next steps in our MERA lawsuit, we will use this opportunity to come together and remember the good times while collecting donations to settle remaining legal bills. Friends of the Terrace will remain as a vibrant, engaged group in our community helping to further the cause of preserving Minnesota’s historical assets. For us, the Terrace will always be America’s finest Theater.
Friends of the Terrace,
Robbinsdale