Rest assured, it appears Grandma's Marathon won't be going anywhere for a long time to come.
Grandma's Marathon Duluth Inc. officials announced Tuesday that they will purchase the 4,500-square-foot building beside Cold Stone Creamery at 351 Canal Park Drive, less than 100 yards from the finish line of Saturday's races.
The nonprofit has been renting office space there from A&L Properties since 1996, when it relocated from the Fitger's building.
The main problem with Fitger's was that marathon officials were spending so much time around race day shuffling back and forth between Canal Park and the offices, said Scott Keenan, executive director of the marathon.
"This is a very important step for us," Keenan said. "It was one of the things we looked at for numerous years."
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Although Grandma's had approached A&L Properties previously about purchasing the building, it wasn't until a few months ago that officials with the property development company agreed to sell it, Keenan said.
"Scott Keenan and I have had a good relationship for more than 20 years. My primary motivation for selling this building was out of respect and consideration for Scott and for the event itself," Rob Link, co-owner of A&L Properties, said in a written statement.
In 2005, A&L Properties did major renovation and construction to the building, more than doubling its size. The expansion created a conference room, storage areas and additional office space for Grandma's Marathon.
Keenan declined to say how much the building was sold for until the deal is signed by both sides.
