By Dan Haugen (originally printed in the Waite Park Voice)

A vacant mortuary that's been on the brink of foreclosure for more than a year is now getting a new life as an office and community space.

Architect John Harriss owns the property at 3207 Central Ave. NE. His firm was originally hired to design a condo project at the site.

Own a piece of Hollywood history! A limited number of seats from the Hollywood Theater are available for sale, so place your order today. Seats will be available for pick-up on Saturday, November 21 from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm at the Hollywood, 2815 Johnson Street NE.

Be sure to visit the 4th annual Northeast School Showcase from 11:30 to 2:30 on Saturday, November 14 at Audubon Park. You'll be able to take a closer look at the public schools in Northeast and find our how the "Changing School Options" plan to save transportation costs by educating students closer to home will affect you.

The 2010 Minneapolis & Saint Paul Home Tour is looking for homeowners and home improvement professionals who would like to put their homes on the Tour. Nominations and applications are due Thursday, January 21, 2010, and early submissions are encouraged. The Tour, in its 23rd year, will be held Saturday and Sunday, April 24 and 25, 2010.

Would you like to help your neighbors maintain and improve upon Audubon's quality of life? ANA is looking for residents and business owners to serve on its board, as well as its Communications, Housing, and Land Use committees. The election for the 2010-2011 board terms will be held at ANA's November 2 community meeting.

Minneapolis Public Works is beginning the process of creating preliminary designs for the Fillmore Street NE/6th Avenue SE bicycle boulevard (aka “bike walk street”). The City would like to continue gathering feedback from interested stakeholders by hosting a “bicycle boulevard planning tour” early in November.

Learn how to reduce your energy use and save money! The Audubon Neighborhood Association has teamed up with the Center for Energy and Environment, CenterPoint Energy and Xcel Energy to offer Audubon homeowners Community Energy Services, CES, a full service residential energy program.

Audubon Park is an eligible neighborhood under the Neighborhood Stabilization Program. The program offers substantial assistance to buyers of foreclosed properties.

These Audubon Park properties are in foreclosure as of August 31st, 2009:

In June, the City of Minneapolis issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for reuse of the Hollywood Theater building and adjacent vacant lot. Three parties submitted responses to the RFP.

The City of Minneapolis is conducting a study to evaluate alternatives for implementing bicycle facilities along Central Ave NE. The project limits extend north from the Mississippi River to the City limits at 37th Ave NE. An informational meeting is scheduled for September 29 at 6:30pm at the Northeast Library, 2200 Central Ave NE.