Housing Plans for Old Morgan Park High School

Hundreds Meet As Housing Plans Are Revealed in Morgan Park Neighborhood

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Tuesday night, about 200 people packed into the Morgan Park Community Center to simply find out about housing plans for their neighborhood.

The project would include knocking down the old Morgan Park High School, and putting up 11 12–plex apartments, which would bring 132 units total to the neighborhood.

The big question among residents was whether these apartments would be low income housing or market rate housing.

According to developer Aaron Schweiger, the apartments would be 100 percent market rate housing.

“We want to be out here, we want to be good stewards to the neighborhood, we’re investing $21 million into Duluth, but more importantly we’re investing $21 million into Morgan Park. We wouldn’t be out here spending that type of money to do business in the city, if we didn’t think that it would happen,” Schweiger explained.

Residents who voiced concerns, worried that adding low–income housing apartments would increase crime and drug–use in the area.

“I think that if we have people with higher income living here in the area, they might be able to bring more stores and that type of thing here into the area,” said Morgan Park resident Cathy Gleason.

The city of Duluth is still waiting on a vote for tax–increment financing for the units.

Once that is approved, the next phase would include demolition of the standing building this winter and breaking ground on the new buildings next spring.