“The Iron Exchange at 400” Hibbing housing development officially underway

HIBBING, Minn.– Since 2018, the city of Hibbing has been navigating new changes for a potential housing development downtown.

And finally, they’re starting to see those plans come into fruition.

The historic 400 block on Howard Street has seen quite a bit over the years.

Developed in the 1920s, singer Bob Dylan once lived there, and a fire broke out in 2016, which caused significant damage.

“A good thing that the investment does, it combines a lot of investment economic development in a tighter place. So that’s a really important thing for downtown,” said Mayor Peter Hyduke, city of Hibbing.

The 20-million-dollar development with the running name, “The Iron Exchange at 400” will be four stories, three levels of market rate apartments, and have commercial and retail space on the ground.

With the block sitting vacant for years, the mayor of Hibbing said, they had some inspiration in mind.

“If you go to Europe, that’s what you see everywhere. It’s retail, commercial, with rental and home ownership above. And I think it’s kind of a European model that we’re leaning towards. And of course, we’ll also keep the historic value of the building to match what’s existing in our community,” said Mayor Hyduke.

City of Hibbing officials said, the demolition will begin in March, and the construction period will follow in April or May.

The city’s website said the project is expected to be complete in 2027.