At its longtime berth in Leif Erikson Park, the city-owned wooden Viking ship has been incessantly battered by the elements and repeatedly hit by vandals. Even the protective layers of shrink wrap covering it since 2000 have been set on fire.
But better days are ahead for the 42-foot Leif Erikson Viking ship replica that sailed from Norway in 1926, bound for Duluth.
Developers of the LaFarge cement terminal site west of Bayfront Park have offered to store the ship in a warehouse on the property, with hopes of eventually giving it a permanent home -- in a grand, glass-topped rotunda as part of an ambitious $55 million project now on the drawing board.
"We're excited to potentially become part of the project," Neill Atkins, co-chairman of the nonprofit restoration group Save Our Ship, said of the project that could see the craft, with its dragon head and tail and ornate carvings and shields back in place, suspended at full sail under the rotunda.
Preliminary plans for the former LaFarge site -- for now called the Pier B project -- call for a 120-room hotel topped with a restaurant, a
ADVERTISEMENT
conference center, 30 luxury condominiums costing $375,000 to $450,000 apiece, an arboretum and 30,000-square feet of retail area that could be later expanded. Artists renderings include retail establishments such as Ikea penciled in and tourist attractions such as amphibious duck boats. Cultural and arts groups have been approached to have a presence in the development and some, like the University of Minnesota Duluth's Tweed Museum, are interested.
Flanked by slips, the site is next to a future marina for visiting recreational boaters being planned by the city of Duluth and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. The project also will offer slip space for transient boats.
Sandy Hoff, part of the investment team that purchased the LaFarge site for $1.3 million, said the vision includes a subterranean parking garage under a slip that would accommodate 420 vehicles, with a lock controlling the water level above. It's a big challenge, Hoff said, that would cost an additional $15 million, twice the cost of a traditional parking structure.
The Pier B project could take several years to be built. Cost estimates are being solidified while architectural plans are drawn up over the next few months. Then comes putting the project out for contractor bids and getting the financing, said Hoff, who hopes to see construction start in 2012.
But in the meantime, the Viking ship will get a new home, finally protected from the weather in a warehouse on the site.
"We need to make sure it isn't exposed to the elements and vandalism," Hoff said.
Atkins' group happily agreed.
"Securing it has been an issue," Atkins said. "Security for it really is not there (in Leif Erikson Park). This way, it'll get out of the harm's way. And we're happy about it."
ADVERTISEMENT
Atkins said the 12-ton ship could be moved in mid- to late September with some spectacle; talks are under way with the North Shore Scenic Railroad to move it to the LaFarge site warehouse by steam locomotive. A crane would lift the ship from its crib in the park to a freight train flatcar for the move.
"The rails go right to the warehouse," Atkins explained.
At the LaFarge site, the crane would place the ship on a 50-foot movable trailer that's already been purchased. Once in the warehouse, the ship's plastic covering can be removed and minor repairs and painting done to ready it for public display.
On its trailer bed, the Viking ship could be transported to different events, including the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center for the October visit of the king of Norway. And maybe even the Christmas City of the North Parade, Atkins said.
In the drawings of the eventual project, a balcony beneath the rotunda would encircle the ship, allowing its curved hull to be seen to full advantage. Those who venture up would have a full view of the ship's deck. The Scandinavian-themed exhibit also would allow for display of Vikings artifacts that have been collected over the years.
