Friday, May 3, 2013
Consulting firm hired by Duluth studies four downtown sites for 100-unit hotel and three sites outside downtown and concludes The Block is the superior site.
An outside consulting firm hired to do a hotel feasibility study presented its report to the Duluth City Council and concluded that the Old City Hall Block, now called “The Block,” would be the best site for a 100-unit select service hotel. Representatives of San Francisco-based PKF Consulting USA attended an April 29 joint Duluth City Council and Downtown Development Authority work session to present the report. Senior Vice President Henry B. Staley Jr. from the consulting firm’s Jacksonville, FL, office delivered the study results. He was accompanied by Vice President Jill L. Bidwell from the Atlanta office. PKF Consulting USA studied four possible locations in downtown Duluth and three sites outside downtown: Site 1 on the east side of …
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Duluth City Council, Downtown Development Authority informally agree on ambitious timeline for seeking, selecting developers for retail/entertainment district and residential neighborhood downtown.
With the blessing of the Downtown Development Authority, the City of Duluth plans to proceed with an ambitious timeline for requesting qualifications and selecting developers for a proposed retail and dining district and a high-quality residential neighborhood in two downtown locations. In a joint work session April 29, the Duluth City Council and the DDA informally agreed to authorize city staff to issue a RFQ (request for qualifications) seeking interested developers. Later, the city would issue an RFP (request for proposals) to qualified developers. Duluth Planning Director James Riker explained the two-step process and presented the timeline at the joint work session in the Community Room at Duluth City Hall. The two locations are …
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
DDA may be able to move ahead expeditiously with project to expand Red Clay Theatre and eliminate unsightly depression next to it.
Members of the Duluth City Council and Duluth Downtown Development Authority informally agreed on a design for a Red Clay Theatre expansion at a joint work session in the Community Room at Duluth City Hall Monday (April 29). Based on a design presented by DDA Vice Chairman Rob Ponder, an architect, the city may be able to move ahead with the project expeditiously. Ponder said RFPs (requests for proposals) for constructing the expansion could probably be sought using his design, which was modified during the meeting. The expansion would eliminate an unsightly depression next to the theatre created when the end wall was replaced to stop water from leaking into the basement. “The DDA is ready to go,” Ponder said. “The city needs to fill the …
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Duluth Downtown Development Authority votes to allow Eddie Owen to use $25,000 in funds donated by Duluth Fall Festival to build out Red Clay Theatre's basement for music school.
The Duluth Downtown Development Authority voted Tuesday (March 19) to authorize Eddie Owen to use $25,000 in funds donated by the Duluth Fall Festival to start building out the basement of the Red Clay Theatre for a music school. Owen manages the city-owned music venue and presents regular live music concerts. The DFF funds are deposited in the DDA’s bank account. Owen reported he has received three bids from contractors to do the build-out. The RCT also needs better signage in the front and rear of the building, he said, but the DFF funds would not cover both the improvements to the basement and new signs, Owen said. Theater-goers often go into downtown stores to ask where the theatre is located, he said. Owen told the DDA that he would …
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Duluth Downtown Development Authority hears, discusses plans to facilitate downtown revitalization, increase visibility.
Building a wall along the edge and widening the elevated sidewalk in front of stores on Main Street in downtown Duluth is being contemplated, according Duluth City Manager Tim Shearer. This change would eliminate the triangles that jut out between parking spaces. Steps would be added to improve access for shoppers from the street to the stores, he said. Widening the sidewalk would provide more space for outdoor dining, artist demonstrations and vendor merchandising as part of the city’s plans to revitalize downtown, Shearer told Downtown Duluth Development Authority members at their Tuesday night (Jan. 15) meeting. Turning the 18 parking spaces in front of the elevated sidewalk into parallel rather than vertical spaces is also being …
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Morris & Fellows presents proposal for public-private partnership to transform Old City Hall Block, now known as The Block, in Duluth.
Morris & Fellows, a company that has been involved in developing, redeveloping and rescuing significant projects nationally and locally, has proposed entering into a public-private partnership with Duluth to revitalize its downtown. Cheri Morris, president of the Sandy Springs-based company, outlined a plan at a joint meeting of the Duluth City Council and Downtown Development Authority Monday (Dec. 17) that would initially focus on the Old City Hall Block, now referred to as “The Block,” but eventually involve other parts of downtown. The Red Clay Theatre would serve as the anchor for a restaurant and entertainment district with retail shops, offices above the stores, residences, and possibly a boutique hotel envisioned by Morris and her …
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
DDA member Greg Lindquist reiterates his opinion that downtown merchants should be represented on the panel.
A committee has been formed to study Duluth’s sign ordinance over the next three to four months. Chris McGahee, the city’s economic development manager, disclosed the names of persons appointed to serve on the committee at the Tuesday (Nov. 27) meeting of the Duluth Downtown Development Authority. The sign committee so far includes Duluth City Council members Jim Dugan and Marsha Bomar, DDA member Maxine Garner, former Duluth Planning Commission Chairman Greg Lock, downtown building owner David Cossette, sign company owner Mike Johnson, Duluth accountant Glenn Sarver, and Ty Jaiyeoba. The committee will explore the city’s current sign ordinance and make recommendations for changes to the city council, McGahee said. “It’s an information-…
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Four Members of Duluth City Council and Downtown Development Authority exploring possibility of DDA's taking over management of city-owned properties.
A task force comprised of two members each from the Duluth City Council and the Duluth Downtown Development Authority has been formed to explore the DDA’s taking over management of the city’s rental properties including city-owned buildings in the Old City Hall Block, now being called The Block. The DDA would handle leasing, managing, maintaining, and collecting rents from tenants if a proposed agreement is approved by the city council. Rent money would be used to pay for maintenance, repairs and renovations to the city-owned properties. City staff currently manage these properties. Members of the task force are Councilmen Greg Whitlock and Kelly Kelkenberg and DDA members Bill Weaver and Maxine Garner. The task force is also studying …
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
DDA plans to enter into management agreement with Owen to book concerts at the Red Clay Theatre. Owen would become the venue manager.
The Duluth City Council Monday (Aug 13) terminated its two-year lease agreement with Eddie Owen for the city-owned Red Clay Theatre. The Duluth Downtown Development Authority plans to enter into a contact with Owen being provided $75,000 a year to manage the theatre. “Eddie Owen Presents” has been booking singer-songwriter concerts at the downtown Duluth venue since last December. The management agreement between Owen, “Eddie Owen Presents” at the Red Clay Theatre, and the DDA is pending review and approval by the city attorney, according to City Manager Tim Shearer. The city council had agreed at its Aug. 6 work session to amend the lease agreement with Owen to assume the utility payments for the theatre and pay the maintenance costs for …
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Duluth Downtown Development Authority asks Hill Foley Rossi & Associates to prepare preliminary drawings and estimate cost for pre-development site adjacent to Red Clay Theatre.
The Duluth Downtown Development Authority Tuesday (June 19) authorized the firm of Hill Foley Rossi & Associates to explore preparing vacant land adjacent to the end of the Red Clay Theatre on Main Street for future expansion or development. DDA Vice President Rob Ponder reported that Hill Foley Rossi had suggested Options 1 and 2 after the DDA had authorized paying up to $1,000 for a preliminary design to erect a wall at the end of the theatre presently covered by unsightly tarpaper, stabilize the wall by pouring a foundation, and eliminate water leakage problems in the basement at its May 22 meeting. The wall may be in danger of collapsing. This proposal identified as Option 1 would be a temporary “bandaid” approach, Ponder said. Hill …
Tami Collup Scheinman
5:00 pm on Friday, May 3, 2013
I agree with all of Annette Rogers' points. A bed & breakfast would be a much better idea. There are "hotels" near the mall that can service this area just as well. How about courting a restaurant to build on the vacant lot with a patio right on the square? The square is a nice, quite, well-lit place to walk. But it's DEAD. Nothing happening except at Stevarino's. more ›