Minneapolis launches latest salvo in ongoing dispute with HGTV star Nicole Curtis

MINNEAPOLIS (KMSP) - For the last few years, Jon Lundberg says he's had to look at an eyesore in the back yard of the house next door. Now, he believes things are looking up--all thanks to the City of Minneapolis.

The home's owner and star of the HGTV show show "Rehab Addict," Nicole Curtis, has been working on the property for more than four years after buying it from the city for just $2 under the agreement that she would renovate and turn the house into a single family home. 

Recently, however, she's been embroiled in legal disputes with the city over an alleged inability to complete minimum improvements on the property, as well as tax and insurance problems. 

"At this point almost any action is good action," Lundberg said. "This has been a four-year process of continued broken promises by the aforementioned owner."

That was until Curtis tweeted out a video Monday of city crews, accompanied by police, removing property from the house on Hillside Avenue North earlier in the day. She later said the crews used Bobcats to load dump trucks with anywhere from $10,000-$15,000 worth of equipment and materials, including lumber, windows and doors.

She claimed her contractors had planned to use the materials to finish remodeling the house over the next few weeks, though a spokesperson for Minneapolis is claiming the city sent Curtis orders to address several issues before ultimately taking action.

Curtis said previously she's invested nearly $300,000 in the house, though Lundberg isn't expecting any new neighbors anytime soon.

"I would love to have it completed and have a family inside it, get some new neighbors," he said. "At this point, I would just love to not have it be the worst looking house in Minneapolis."