The unsightly, burned-out shell of a once-proud, once-elegant townhouse structure has sat neglected, a blight, a target for criminal activity in our downtown for more than six years. Its demolition seemed about the likeliest, and probably the best, fate, even if it would come at a steep cost to taxpayers.

But now, with a City Hall getting bullish and deliberate about redeveloping what once seemed long-dead, too-far-gone eyesores, a trio of promising ideas has emerged to return what once was known as Pastoret Terrace into something useful, something Duluthians can be proud of again rather than avoiding.

The ideas came in response to a request for proposals put out by the Duluth Economic Development Authority, which acquired the property at the corner of Second Avenue East and First Street so something positive finally could happen with it. The three proposals, encouragingly, all include renovating the one-time landmark designed by celebrated architect Oliver Traphagen. That means all three would preserve nearly 130 years of Duluth history, as unlikely as that may have seemed even not so long ago.

“We definitely want to save the building and make it look like it did in 1889 on the outside, though not on the inside,” T.J. Johnson, who, working with University of Minnesota Duluth faculty, submitted one of the three proposals, said in a News Tribune story last week. He said the restored building could be turned into an attractive upscale hotel. One of his partners said renovations could involve students and UMD staff, working across disciplines, to give the building new, high-efficiency systems, possibly in conjunction with energy experts from Iceland and Scandinavia.

“I think we, as a city, have a responsibility to preserve something of that nature,” Duluth businessman Rod Raymond said, explaining that his proposal, in partnership with Hoeft Builders of Eau Claire, Wis., would use historic tax credits to restore the building’s exterior while its interior is converted into modern, market-rate efficiency apartments.

“I don’t view it as this gloom-and-doom place,” Raymond told the News Tribune reporter.

Affordable downtown workforce housing with some supportive housing units is what is envisioned by former Duluth planning director Mike Conlan, who partnered with former state legislator Mike Jaros and architect Bill Scalzo to submit one of the proposals. Conlan previously teamed with the building’s former owner to find a future for Pastoret Terrace, which, when it burned, housed the infamously seedy Kozy Bar.

“Now that we have worked three years to get the building on the national register as a certified historic resource, it would be extremely difficult for anybody to tear it down,” Conlan told the reporter. “There would be sure to be litigation on that.”

In accordance with Minnesota’s Data Practices Act, details of the three proposals weren’t disclosed. If they’re as promising as the ideas the developers shared with the newspaper, however, DEDA officials could jump at the chance to invite all three to submit more specific plans.

Decisions about what happens next are expected shortly — the sooner the better. The burned-out eyesore has been a blight and a magnet for criminal activity for long enough.