T-Mobile tower comes down
The T-Mobile tower as it appeared atop 706-08 SE Fifth St. last summer. The equipment has been moved to a less conspicuous location.
Nearly three years after it was constructed on a rooftop in Marcy-Holmes — and a year after the city set conditions for its removal — a collection of mechanical equipment owned by T-Mobile has been moved to a less conspicuous spot.
In 2005, T-Mobile installed the “tower” — a series of antennas and other equipment surrounded by a metal fence — atop the five-story Andrews House apartment building, 706-08 SE Fifth St.
The Marcy-Holmes Neighborhood Association (MHNA) asked that the city reverse its zoning decision to allow the tower, citing its location within the city’s Fifth Street Southeast Historic District.
In May 2007, the Minneapolis Heritage Preservation Commission (HPC) acknowledge that the 2005 zoning approval was in error because it did not take into consideration the area’s historic designation.
The HPC did approve a certificate of appropriateness for the equipment last May, but with conditions that the tower’s antennas and equipment be moved to a lower portion of the roof and not extend more than 10 feet above the building’s roofline.
A year later, the move has finally been made. Earlier this spring — as T-Mobile waited for favorable weather to implement the changes — Third Ward Council Member Diane Hosftede said some of the equipment would be moved to a brick-enclosed area, while the antennas were to be fixed on the side of the building and painted to be more appropriate and attractive.
last revised: June 2, 2008