Bde Maka Ska pavilion won't be rebuilt for at least 2 years

Construction workers tear down the remainder of the Bde Maka Ska pavilion.
Construction workers tear down the remainder of the Bde Maka Ska pavilion in Minneapolis May 28, 2019.
Evan Frost | MPR News file

It'll be at least two years before the pavilion at Bde Maka Ska is replaced. Insurance money likely won't be enough to cover the cost of rebuilding.

A fire last month destroyed the historic building. Prosecutors have charged a 23-year-old man with negligent fire after allegedly dumping hot coals from a hookah behind a trash can.

At a Minneapolis Park Board meeting Wednesday, Assistant Superintendent Michael Schroeder said insurance adjusters valued the structure at around $650,000.

"If we look at what we are typically finding for construction costs on a square foot basis, the $650,000 will not be enough to replace it," he said.

Schroeder said that in the meantime, workers will install temporary pavement and electrical wiring on the site so the owner of Lola on the Lake — the restaurant that was in the pavilion — can park his food trucks there.

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