Duluth's Old Downtown continued its renewal Thursday with the partial unveiling of the new façade of the Fannie Rose Building.
The building is one of five recently refurbished on four consecutive blocks of East Superior Street. Fannie Rose, on the 100 block, joins the Zeitgeist Arts Building, Wieland Block, Old City Hall and the Woodrush Building as examples of renewal in the Old Downtown area.
City Councilor Sharla Gardner considers the district she represents as a new "crossroads of the city," where people of all ages and status levels can gather for entertainment and socializing.
"People have realized that potential and continue to maximize it," said Gardner, who mentioned the Sheraton Hotel, Black Water Lounge and the Greysolon Ballroom as further examples of the revitalization. "It keeps catching on. ... I think that a lot of people understand the history of it and want to preserve it."
Fannie Rose, which houses Coney Island the Original and Western Union, will add the Fannie Rose Candy Shop this spring to the refurbished yet traditional storefront of the estimated 102-year-old building.
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"We wanted to add detailed work and keep with the vintage look," said the building's co-owner, Rand Sola.
Joining Fannie Rose with a refurbished storefront is the Woodrush Building on the 300 block and across Superior Street from the Sheraton.
Greg Follmer, the property's leasing agent, does not yet have a tenant for the building, but is seeking a business in the retail or medical sectors.
The district's evolution is poised to continue at the former Boardwalk Books store on the 200 block. Follmer said a pending sale could bring a food and beverage business to part of the 34,000-square-foot building that has been vacant for more than a year.
Both Gardner and Follmer point to the construction of the Tech Village about a decade ago as the start of Old Downtown's revitalization.
"You can see how it deteriorated over the years and how everything seemingly moved over to the financial district of downtown and a lot of development went that way," said Follmer, who has been in the city's real estate business for about 25 years. Now, "there has been a lot of action down there."
To fully revitalize the neighborhood, Gardner said steps must be taken to make street parking and parking ramps more accessible in the evenings.
"We really need to take a good look at that piece because people want to go there, but if people can't park it's a problem," she said.
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