Three proposals for renovation of the Pastoret Terrace property have been received from developers by the Duluth Economic Development Authority. The DPA urges acceptance of a proposal that maintains the historic architectural integrity of this unique building. See the Duluth News Tribune article:
“Three would-be developers have submitted proposals to renovate the Pastoret Terrace building, formerly home to a low-rent apartment building and the Kozy Bar, at 129-131 E. First St. in downtown Duluth.
The proposals were due Wednesday, and while the Duluth Economic Development Authority has not disclosed details of the respective individual plans, it has revealed the identities of the groups vying for the property, in accordance with Minnesota’s Data Practices Act.
The suitors include:
• Pastoret LLC, headed by former city planning director Mike Conlan, who had teamed with the building’s previous owner, Eric Ringsred, in a few previously unsuccessful bids to renovate the tax-forfeited building.
• Thorlackson Inc., an enterprise led by Duluth businessman T.J. Johnson in conjunction with faculty from the University of Minnesota Duluth.
All of the prospective developers of the property propose to renovate the 129-year-old building designed by Oliver Traphagen, a noted architect.
But the structure fell into severe disrepair in the wake of a 2010 fire and has since been declared unfit for human habitation.
Raymond said he has assembled a capable team to explore how best to restore the historic building to its former grandeur.
“I’ve got some good partners in this opportunity. These guys are the real deal,” he said, pointing to partners Peter Hoeft, president of Hoeft Builders Inc. and Robb Majeski, partner and owner of Cottagewood Group.
Raymond’s business holdings include Fitger’s Brewhouse, the Blind Pig in Duluth’s Old City Hall, Endion Station and Burrito Union.
Raymond expressed his desire to keep Duluth “authentic, historic and meaningful.”
Looking past the building’s seedy former bar front, Raymond sees a structure worthy of preservation.
“This building, while it wasn’t designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, it was the work of Oliver Traphagen. This building is not the Kozy Bar. … So I see it through a different lens. I don’t view it as this gloom-and-doom place. I see it as Oliver Traphagen’s creation,” Raymond said.
“I think we, as a city, have a responsibility to preserve something of that nature,” Raymond said, explaining that he hopes to restore the building’s exterior with the help of historic tax credits but convert its interior into modern efficiency apartments to be offered at market-rate rents.
Conlan said his consortium, which seeks to renovate the building, includes former state legislator Mike Jaros and architect Bill Scalzo. Ringsred is no longer involved in the effort.
“Our goal is still to provide affordable downtown workforce housing with some supportive housing units,” he said.
Conlan views reuse of the existing structure as the only responsible option.
“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. There would be sure to be litigation on that,” he said.
Conlan contends that after four years of working to bring a project forward at Pastoret Terrace, he and his team are closer to being able to execute a plan than any of the others who have subsequently expressed interest in the property. He noted that the National Park Service already has approved Pastoret LLC’s rehabilitation plan for the building, and the project has been qualified to receive more than $3.5 million in historic tax credits.
Johnson, too, spoke of preservation, saying: “We definitely want to save the building, and make it look like it did in 1889 on the outside, though not on the inside.”
Anne Hinderliter, a professor from UMD’s department of chemistry and biochemistry, said the school is looking to involve students and staff, working across disciplines, in a project to restore the building and update it with new high-efficiency systems, possibly in conjunction with energy experts from Iceland and Scandinavia.
She described the project as an exercise in service learning, and various funding models are being considered.
Johnson proposes the restored building could be turned into an attractive upscale hotel.
Heather Rand, DEDA’s executive director, said a review panel comprised of city and county planning staff, financial analysts, as well as a few commissioners from the authority, will review the proposals by mid-January and determine whether to invite any of the development teams to submit a more-detailed proposal.”