Legal Fight Over Historic Rochester Home Has Officially Ended

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Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - A legal dispute over a historic property in southwest Rochester's Pill Hill neighborhood is officially over.

The Olmsted County judge presiding over the lawsuit involving the property at 912 8th Sreet Southwest, known as the Harry Harwick House, has filed an order dismissing the case. The dismissal was requested by both parties in the case after the property came under new ownership and a city commission took action to formally back away from an earlier decision that prompted the legal action.

Local plumber Michael Macken purchased the home and its expansive lot in 2020 for $630,000. According to court records, he then embarked on an extensive renovation of the home and put it up for sale after obtaining permission from the city to split the property into two lots. The newly created lot encompassed a large open area to the east of the house, where Macken had plans to construct another home.

Those plans were opposed by some neighbors, who filed a lawsuit that put the splitting of the property into separate lots on hold. Since then, Macken sold the historic home to a Mayo Clinic Doctor for about $2.6 million. Dr. Scott Zeitlow is a member of the family that owns the Kwik Trip company. Despite his assurances last fall that he had no plans to create a second lot on the property, the lawsuit remained active until the Rochester Planning and Zoning Commission recently voted to cancel its approval of Macken's request.

A little over a week later, the parties involved in the lawsuit filed a motion to dismiss the case, and the order dismissing the lawsuit was officially filed in Olmsted County Court late last week.