Duluth, Minnesota‘s leaders are aiming to spread the revitalization from the city’s already-transformed pockets, going from rusted industrial town to vibrant destination.
The keuy to doing so might be a stately old brick building that comprised luxury townhouses near Duluth’s bustling downtown more than a century ago.
But like so many structures in the Lake Superior city, the Pastoret Terrace saw years of decline and deterioration, dwindling from high-end residences to dozens of smaller apartments to an abandoned, graffiti-filled blight.
Now, city leaders say, it’s prime time for development in that spot, which sits a block uphill from multimillion-dollar renovations at a historic theater and new businesses on re-energized Superior Street.
The Duluth Economic Development Authority bought the parcel from the state and St. Louis County for a reduced price of $75,000 after it went into tax forfeit.
The authority is now inviting developers from around the region to submit proposals to either renovate the historic structure or tear it down (it might be too far gone to save) and build something new there and possibly on surrounding parcels.