In 2021, a few longtime residents banded together to form a non-profit called the Como Community Center (CCC) to save the Como Congregational Church, a Queen Anne-style historic structure built in 1886, from demolition. Urban Canopies, a local developer, owns the rear annex and was the first to express interest in renewing it. CCC manages the donated sanctuary and grounds. With the backing of the neighborhood, they acquired the building and were awarded a zoning variance to convert the rear annex into multiple rental units in 2022.

HGA, a landscape architecture firm in Minneapolis, Minnesota, offers a two-day Design Workshop that provides pro-bono design services to local non-profits through an intense, all-day design charette. The workshop began with a tour of the grounds and historic structure and culminated in a final presentation of the team's work.

 

Design Vision
CCC wanted the grounds to reflect the historic architecture, be a space for community gathering, and be distinctive. The primary challenge, aside from the budget, was reconciling the need for this garden to be a pathway while also preserving room for gathering. Drawing from European monastic cloister gardens, a circular brick court with a raised flower mound would accomplish both design goals. Historic bricks and cobblestones, salvaged from former Minneapolis streetcar lines, were used to complete the court. Reclaimed Tennessee marble from St. Paul's James J. Hill library functioned as steps connecting the court to the sidewalk.

With a period of significance in the progressive era of the early 1900s, the planting beds were designed in the prairie style. The final planting palette was selected to strike a balance between native and low-maintenance plantings in consultation with the MN Horticultural Society and Minneapolis Garden Club.

Community Support
Design students from the University of Minnesota, residents of the building, long-term community members, and the design team came together to implement the design vision.

Now that the first phase of the ground's renovation is complete, the CCC is working toward the next major milestone. Appropriation bills were being considered in both the MN Senate and House of Representatives to fund the interior renovation in May, but due to competing priorities, the bills never passed. While the future is still unknown, a brighter future is certainly on the horizon.

As seen in LASN magazine, November 2024.