A restaurant, an environmental education center for hunters, a field research office – those are just a few of the reuse options that could keep the historic Gehl-Mittelsted farmhouse from facing the wrecking ball.
“It has to be viable and sustainable,” said Steve Wilmot, architect with the firm doing a reuse study on the building.
Earlier this month, nearly three dozen people showed up at an open house to comment on the fate of the 120-year-old Gehl-Mittelsted house in San Francisco Township. The Chaska brick farmhouse sits on the banks of the Minnesota River is currently located on land operated by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The site was purchased by the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife trust in 1995 and donated to the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge in 2005 to be part of the Carver Rapids unit.
The area is now home to the Rapids Lake Education and Visitor Center, which opened last fall and sits up on the bluff overlooking the house. The fate of the building drew concern from preservationists when U.S. Fish and Wildlife indicated that they would be unable to maintain the house because it lay in the 100-year flood plain.
In 2006, the Gehl-Mittelsted house was placed on the Minnesota Preservation Alliance’s “10 Most Endangered Historic Places” list. That helped raise the house’s profile and now the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is remapping the flood plain which could further aid the building’s hope for survival.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services commissioned a study to look into reuse options for the house. SMSQ Architects of Northfield responded to the proposal and were ultimately chosen to complete the study.
According to Wilmot, reuse is one of their specialties at SMSQ. They were previously involved in reuse options for the Grimm farmstead, located in what is now Carver Park Reserve in Victoria. The house currently serves as an educational center in the park.
Wilmot said that unlike the Grimm house, the Gehl-Mittelsted building is in “real good shape.”
“The Grimm house was in a much worse state,” said Wilmot.
The key to a successful reuse project will be finding something that complements the refuge, Wilmot said. They’ve looked at everything from “bulldozed and gone” to a “destination restaurant,” though Wilmot admits that both of those are on the very ends of the spectrum.
Among the more likely ideas they’ve generated are potential partnerships with the Minnesota Waterfowl Association to provide an environmental education center for hunters, the Audubon Society to create a demonstration area for creating bird-friendly habitats, and the Carver County Historical Society to develop a historical center focusing on river culture and the county’s early inhabitants.
“Most likely there’s not one single use that fits the house,” said Wilmot. “We’ll need partnerships to make it work.”
Overall, people that attended the open house seemed “appreciative of keeping the house in some useful way,” said Wilmot.
SMSQ Architects will finish their study up by the end of next month and then present it to Fish and Wildlife Service. According to Beth Ullenberg, visitor services manager for the wildlife refuge, they will make a decision one to two months after they receive the study.
“We have no opinion on the house right now,” she said. “No preconceived idea.”
-Mollee Francisco, staff writer
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