‘Force on Fifth Avenue’ Close to Opening

DULUTH, Minn. – “Force on Fifth Avenue,” the new housing development, is close to opening in downtown Duluth.

“I’m proud of this particular project because it’s really the gateway to downtown Duluth and to our community. And as you can see, we’re doing work out there now to make sure it’s beautiful,” said Brian Forcier, president of Titanium Partners.

That corner is 5th Ave and West Superior Street, and it’s heading into a new chapter.

“I’ve been part of downtown my whole career, and rather than taking each other’s tenants in commercial spaces, we tried to create an environment that actually brings good traffic downtown on a 24/7 basis, with residents that are going to live here, eat here, spend their money downtown, and walk the streets with good purpose,” said Forcier.

The building now houses thirty furnished units for short-term, mid-term, and long-term housing. The main floor offers five thousand square feet of commercial space, featuring a lobby and a soon-to-be coffee shop with direct access to an outdoor plaza.

Daniel Fanning, vice president of Titanium Partners, explained the importance of bringing more housing and positive activity to downtown.

“To have a place like this right downtown, convenient to everything, fully stocked, fully furnished, this is exactly what we’ve been hearing for a long time that this community needs,” said Fanning. “We know there are more needs as well, but this is a great step in the right direction.”

Neighboring small businesses like family-owned Lulu’s Pizza, just two doors down, are looking forward to the new foot traffic this building will bring.

“I think hopefully it’ll increase like sales for pizza,” said Connor Riley, owner of Lulu’s Pizza. “I think the more the merrier in downtown is kind of my philosophy.”

It’s a new chapter for this 1970s building, one that modernized the interior while preserving key elements of the recently listed historic property.