Photo Credit: Chad Davis via Twitter @daviss

Update: NHS has responded. See this post

I ran across this home the other day at 1406 Girard Ave N and couldn’t help but ask the same question anyone else would: Why?

According to the City of Minneapolis, this vacant home is owned by Neighborhood Housing Services if Minneapolis. NHS is a non-profit group with the following mission statement:

NHS of Minneapolis is a neighborhood-based, private, nonprofit housing organization. The agency, and the programs it administers, are a positive and proven approach to assisting neighborhoods in self management through the promotion of neighborhood reinvestment, home ownership, home improvements and community pride, with a particular focus on low and moderate income individuals and families, and emerging markets.

I certainly am not all that familiar with NHS but it doesn’t seem that in this situation they are doing much of a service to the community. The photo was first posted to Twitter with someone else then posting it to the popular northside chatter facebook group North Talk. What followed next is a 150+ comment thread that is quite interesting to say the least.

Update: John Hoff over at The Adventures of Johnny Northside has also filed a blog post on this photo.