Downtown Duluth High Rise Delayed, City Optimistic For Completion

DULUTH, Minn. — The site of a proposed 15-story high rise in downtown Duluth continues to sit idle, but officials tell FOX 21 they are optimistic the project will happen.

The site is located between the Sheraton Hotel and Essentia Health on the 300 block of East Superior Street, which is the former site of the Voyageur Lakewalk Inn.

The property is mostly demolished and fenced off.

Landmark Development is behind the high rise, which is designed to house 200 apartment units and retail along the street level.

The high rise was first proposed in 2018 at a cost of around $70 million. Officials estimate the cost to now be around $85 million.

“They’ve identified an updated general contractor for the project who’s continuing to work through the construction budget and has anticipated applying for building permits fairly soon,” said Adam Fulton, deputy director of Planning & Economic Development.

“You know, following the COVID 19 pandemic, there have been significant fluctuations in construction costs. And that’s related to labor availability, it’s related to material availability and cost. And so developers have had to really be careful about their numbers, the interest rate environment has changed how projects are financed. And so all of those project components have led to a greater level of complexity. But we’re very pleased to have this development team in the loop and very communicative with us as city officials to make sure that we know where they’re at. And their progress to date has been positive,” Fulton said.

Fulton says a construction timeframe has not been announced yet.