Lowertown: The Heart and Soul of a Growing Community

In 2011, Twin Cities Public Television (TPT) produced a program titled "Lowertown: the rise of an urban village," which explored the history of Lowertown and the many stories that helped shape the vibrant district that it is today.  During the filming of this project, the Green Line was in the process of being built, the Union Depot was under renovation, and we had just purchased the Pioneer Endicott buildings for renovation. Fast forward three years, and all of these projects have been completed, along with numerous new restaurants, and even more developments underway (like CHS field)! TPT reportedly has a renovation in the works as well. Additionally, Lowertown has received national recognition as 'The Most Romantic North American Getaway,' one of the Top 10 Up-and-coming neighborhoods around the USA,' 'America's Top Hipster Zip Code,' and #1 of the '12 Great Neighborhoods' in the Twin Cities.

With all of this recognition, new development, and increased growth, we wanted to catch up with the voices of TPT's Lowertown 2011 program, all prominent neighborhood figures, to hear their thoughts on the fast growth these past three years in the neighborhood. Our first interview was with David Fhima, executive chef at FACES Mears Park.

David Fhima

David is very clearly a huge supporter and advocate of Lowertown. Having lived in the neighborhood for 14 years, David has been here from a time when the area had only two restaurants! Born and raised in Casablanca, David made his way to Los Angeles before settling in Minnesota. In TPT's 2011 program, David explained why he chose Lowertown as a new location for his restaurant, FACES Mears Park:
"It's incredible. I mean, it's a little bit of Europe in downtown, small-town Americana. I mean, it's awesome ... every city you go to has these small neighborhoods, and this is what Lowertown is." Fast forward to 2015, and David is as in love with the city as ever: "I've seen the evolution of Lowertown as slow progress has been made. I think the progress has been almost methodical in as much as trying to grow the neighborhood from a vibrant stem point, while keeping its charm and European feel that Lowertown has. I don't think that has changed. I think it would take a lot more than that to change."

We agree with David! When asked about the fast growth of Lowertown, David had almost poetic responses (he could write a book!):

"The exterior walls of Lowertown are the same, it's the interior of Lowertown that is getting more vibrant. Like the Pioneer Endicott coming in, you guys have that beautiful building and the inside of it is getting vibrant, but the outside is still the charm, it's still that small feel." We were rather fond of this response, as that was and is the goal of our historical renovation project.

"... inside [Lowertown], the heart is beating faster and faster and faster, and so although it has grown, it has not lost touch with anything else. The charm is better than ever."

Getting a bit deeper into the conversation, we asked David if he had noticed any negativity, from the inside or outside, with the 'new' Lowertown:

"I have not seen a change negatively to be honest with you. The only thing is that I think as the neighborhood changes and gets to be more vibrant, gets to be a little bit noisier, and the people who were used to the neighborhood being extremely silent, are kind of looking sideways to the neighborhood being a little bit noisy, but I think it's good.  And the good news about it is that it's like almost the volume, you know in your car; when you turn up the volume you can hear it all at once and then you notice how loud it is. Or, you can do it slowly and you let your ears get used to it. That's sort of what's happening in Lowertown."

When asked how he thinks residents are responding, David offered another insightful answer:

" ... some people notice, some people don't, but we all are getting used to this wonderful vibrant scene. Some of us would have liked that volume to be up all the way right away, but I don't think that's what it is."

To wrap up, we asked about the artists in the community, who were here from the beginning, as well as the renewal of Mears Park.  In the 2011 video, David noticed the harmony between Mears Park and the community: 

"What a beautiful little park, I mean it almost looks like it's a boutique park. There's a lot of synergy between the park and the energy in the park, the artists around the community out here, and the restaurants."

And what does David see and feel in the community and park today?

"We still see it [artists living in Lowertown] ... it's the art and entertainment of it. Where the emphasis was a lot more on art before. I think entertainment has now caught up to it. So they are both aligned with each other. ... Mears Park may be one of the anchors that is helping [the growth], but I think it's all of the things. It's all of the new restaurants, all the new residential, the music, it's not just one thing. It's really not."

And finally, we asked David to describe 2015 Lowertown in one sentence:

"It's on the right track to become a premier small neighborhood in the state, if not one of the premier neighborhoods in the country."

And that, my friends, is a profound look into the heart of Lowertown.

Be sure to check out FACES Mears Park on their website and Facebook! And DEFINITELY stop in for lunch or dinner sometime, the food is fantastic!