My only question: What will happen to all of the now-unemployed strippers?

Music to my ears. Way to go, Mayor and team!

God yeah. This made me cry.

I'll release the prisoners now. Rediguana, I'm sending Ringsred's monkey after you. Yes! It will take herculean efforts, civic sacrifice/support and lots of $$ ... but at least, it can finally start. The WPA worker guys on the stairwell are cracking plaster smiles.

They would only get $6,500 because they are an existing home buyer.  That might cover the cost to  replace the light bulbs in the sign.

@ndy, assesed value should not to be confused with market value, as it can be as much as 50% less than actual value. These numbers must be taken from the selling price of similar properties sold in the last 6 months.

Andy,

With deepest love and affection I will partly correct you.  I say "partly" because I, too, think $2.6 million is a bit high, but it is not out of the ball park.  The addition of the Sheraton, the purchase of the Hotel Duluth by the Sheraton, the new Black Woods contract to run Greysolon (and add the Black Water lounge) and ESPECIALLY the addition of the Zeppa properties in that block have all increased the value of the property.  Oh, and Tim Nelson and Rod Raymond are restoring the old jail building which is kitty corner and also they just signed a purchase agreement for the old Carlson Book building.  

I also wanted to add that I think it will be economically viable to run but it took too much space to do that so I stopped.  Plus, I haven't seen the plans yet or the business plan for the theater so I can only guess at that.  But if they are doing the obvious things, then trust trust me, it will work.

Any news on what the Carlson Book and Record building will be used for?

Thank you, Mayor Ness.  You rock my face off!!

Living in Duluth in the winter is an impractical idea, but that hasn't stopped us silly monkeys yet. I appreciate pragmatism and acknowledge that the approach to renovation needs to be practical and sustainable. We so often forget history. Yeah the building has challenges, and it's not going to be cheap to bring it online. But don't forget the history here. It's never had organized community oversight. Single individuals have, some valiantly, some despicably, tried to make it work. 

Harlan Quist's Theater in the State "nonprofit" was a sham attempt at community governance of the space, more an excuse to support his lifestyle than anything and soured the powers that be to this day. 

I firmly believe that when there is true community-driven vision, oversight, governance, effort and support, the facility will thrive as a  linchpin and epicenter. The key to economic viability is being a community focused, multi-use venue and an intelligent/energy efficient renovation, (and a cool bar/vibe/stage in the mezzanine -- IMHO). With due respect, I say onto you nattering neigh-bobs, Ni!

Holy sh*t! I advocated this direction in another post here about the Norshor on PDD many, many months ago. I'm ecstatic to see Duluth head in this direction and take ownership of this jewel as an investment in the creative economy. Congrats and great work!!!!!

Boo says he thinks the tower was still in existence about 10 years ago.

And how much did DEDA sell the Bridgeman-Russell building for?

Alright.  I talked about this today on Danny Does Duluth a bit (and sort of made fun of myself in the process) but there is something about this situation that bothers me.  Obviously it's a little odd that Ringsred is so buddy-buddy with the city just a month after he blamed them for his friend's death.  Which is fine, I don't pretend to know the whole story there and I don't pretend to.  However, I wanted to read the original open letter he wrote where he mentioned the "blood on their hands" in reference to both the city and local media.  I remembered it being posted in it's entirety on the Buzz, so I went there to bring it up.  It has been taken down.  In fact, it's kind of difficult to even find the letter with a Google search.

My opinion on the sale to the city has nothing to do with this.  In fact, I'm glad that this cool old building will be brought back to decent shape (odd that nobody seems too upset about all of the cool old buildings that are being demo'ed for a new Walgreens, however).  I'm just a little "ooged-out" at the idea appearance of a pseudo-media black-out on a related story from just one month ago.

Tony - You are partially correct, A&L did get TIF funds for the Wieland Block.  It also got a loan for $600k from the storefront loan program.  It also applied for and received New Market Tax Credits.  So none of those things cost the city any money. (Including the TIF, which in this case was structured as a partial annual refund of the incremental increase in the real estate taxes A&L pays that resulted from the project being built.)  

The only thing that could be seen as a handout was the Strand site. I have no idea what the city paid for the Strand site. What I do know is that the city had a specific idea of what it wanted there and A&L was willing to go along with that. (Or vice versa - it really doesn't matter because they agreed.) 

So to recap, in addition to the almost $30 million they have into the Tech Village, A&L has spent between the renovation of the Hayes Building (Lizzards), the four-story Traphagen, the Wieland new construction, the underground parking garage and the Skywalk, more than $20 million (American as you say) and what did the city have to contribute? The land at the Strand site - a site that sat vacant for more than a decade. 

As far as your comment about Conlan?  A&L hired a dozen consultants, including Conlan's consulting firm (which he started after he left the city)  to work on this project.  A&L hired lawyers, architects, bond counsel, engineering firms, environmental consultants, CDCs, CDEs, general contractors, realtors, me, shit, they even contracted out  Bruce to empty the building.

As far as the Muffler Clinic now? It's absurd that the city hasn't built the connection to Lake Place Park. The entire park was designed to funnel into Old Downtown and bridge the city and the Lakewalk.  The Feds built an overpass right up to the edge of the Muffler Clinic and all the city had to do was buy it and spend, what was then maybe a few hundred thousand dollars to extend the park another 100 feet - and presto - a direct landscaped connection from the new Lakewalk to the heart of Downtown. THAT WAS IN 1989! Think of how nice it would be to have that.  You could have live music, summertime vendors, maybe an ice cream stand, I don't know maybe something that would lure the countless lakewalkers to Downtown.  Instead we have the MNDOT elevated  walkways retro fitted behind the buildings on the lower side of Superior Street that only a handful of office walkers and bums use.  

Previous administrations had tried unsuccessfully to purchase the Muffler Clinic. On the request of a previous administration A&L acquired the property, did the demolition, cleanup and prepped the site. The handshake fell apart when the administration couldn't come up with the money or political will to buy the property and make the pedestrian corridor. So A&L waited. Then during the discussions about what A&L would build across the street from the Tech Village, some of the participants asked that A&L give the city two more years to come up with the money to fund the Muffler Clinic (Lake Place Park) connection.  A&L agreed.  The two years have been up for some time.  (All of this is in the Development Agreement which should be on file at the city.) 

Why is A&L now trying to sell the site?  I don't know maybe because the city hasn't delivered on it's end of the bargain and they want to recoup the $1 million they have into it.  I really don't know.

Your other claims about promises broken?  I don't know what meetings you were at, who told you what or who spun what at the HPC.  I just know what is in the Development Agreement. (And that A&L needed to tear the Abalan's Building down to make room for parking - something I fear we'll never agree on.)

Is Rob, Rob Link?

I'm not saying the city shouldn't take part in any downtown restoration efforts. I know people are excited about the prospect of saving/restoring the NorShor. But my point is, if there is money in the city's piggy bank for purchasing and developing business properties, then there ought to be money there to take care of the services we already have that add to the quality of life and have been severely curtailed, supposedly for lack of funds. 

I'm talking about taking care of parks. I'm talking about after-school and summer programs for youth that keep them occupied doing something positive and fun (and no, pricey YMCA camps are not a substitute for free city programs). I'm talking about having a full complement of libraries open 5 days a week to serve Duluthians in their neighborhoods. $2.6 million can go a long way in any of these fields. We could be investing it in our youth, which many studies have shown gives about the best economic return on investment there is. Instead we are investing in a building and not even trying to break even, so that a few artsy businesses can turn a profit.

RedIguana makes some excellent points about how the city is buying cake when what we need is bread, but I do believe that the revitalization of Old Downtown is a good thing, and that the purchase of the Norshor will, in the long run, greatly benefit all of us. It's going to take time, but this kind of investment will make our community a more appealing place to live, and hopefully, draw more families, more companies, more members of the creative class, here to Duluth -- which in turn will add to the tax rolls, which will then add to all of our quality of life, b/c the city will be better able to provide essential services.

What is the alternative? A dilapidated eyesore sitting in the middle of what is becoming a very cool area, simply deteriorating, b/c no one is taking care of it. No thanks. As several have pointed out previously on the Norshor threads here and elsewhere, the city of Fargo rehabbed a grand old theatre downtown -- which sparked a downtown renaissance which made Fargo a more attractive place to live. And then there's Omaha, which renovated its meatpacking district, which also sparked a downtown renaissance. I know people from NYC who have moved to Omaha, b/c it's become such a cool place to live.

 I see the same kind of thing happening here -- and Duluth already has so much more going for it than Fargo or Omaha.

BTW, It seems to me, reading Dr. Ringsred's letter in today's paper, that there's a spirit of competitiveness. He knows that area is being revitalized, with or without him, because of Zeppa's venture across the street. Ringsred can't compete with Zeppa, and he doesn't want Zeppa to get all the credit, so he's getting out of the way, and letting Raymond and Nelson go at it. Great. Wish he'd done this years ago -- though I do appreciate the cheap rent I pay for my little office in the Temple Opera Block.

@RedIg and others in the negative,

I appreciate being cautious, reasoned and sane about doing this right FOR ONCE but c'mon ... "slow down a bit" ... sounds like RNC PR to me ... this TREASURE has LANGUISHED for YEARS! The DEDA $$ cannot be spent, BYLAW, on the crucial services you mentioned above. It has to be spent on economic development. Hmmm ... maybe we could decimate another bit of forest by the mall for another TIF supported big box instead ... there's jobs for ya ... or maybe we could throw it at Canal Park ... you know, gold plate the gate they use to keep the tourists down there ... or .. maybe we could do something to continue the artistic and cultural renaissance that will retain members of the creative class AND draw visitors from the entire region. 

I'm biased, I love that old hulk and I'm honored to have been able to entertain people, and be entertained, there for the last 25 years.(Except for recent history because that strip club wasn't even a sad joke and I don't know how to work one of them dancing poles.)  Charlie Chaplin and Chico Marx played there so STFU! Go get a super coke and buttercorn tub at the omniplex and watch car crash blow up gun fight sexyviolence movies. I'm sorry for the vitriol, skepticism is important if it's constructive, it will insure a healthy outcome ... it's just that it's disheartening to know that you can't see the positive about this.

Pre-production starts Saturday night of Homegrown ... RT's at 10pm.

I sent my email to the councilors, I do urge everyone else to do so! Wildgoose, glad you sent an email to them, you have a great perspective that most people don't have, on the building's potential, as well as its problems.

Doesn't anybody but me think the NorShor is architecturally ugly? 

Being historic doesn't make it worth saving. I suggest condemning the building, tearing it down, and letting some developer with deep pockets build something new.