When the Grand Marais Arrowhead Building needed to be made more energy efficient and the interior updated, the building’s owner, Virginia Palmer, secured a Business Energy Retrofit grant from the Iron Range Resources Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB), and along with using her own money, made great improvements on the commercial space. Staff photo/Brian Larsen
Grand Marais’ Arrowhead Building owner Virginia Palmer utilized Business Energy Retrofit (BER) grants to help pay for renovations to leaking windows, siding, insulation and a leaking roof in her multi-business commercial building.
Located in downtown Grand Marais, the building was originally constructed in 1918 as the Arrowhead Hotel. Palmer’s family purchased the building in 1997 and rented spaces to a variety of businesses over the years. In the past few years, the Arrowhead’s occupancy was reduced to about 65 percent due to economic markets and needed internal and external improvements.
Through BER grants and her own private investment, Palmer made the much-needed improvements to create energy efficient and attractive lease spaces. Occupancy is now at 100 percent with seven tenants including Yellow Bird Fine Art, Mathison & Vos Attorneys at Law, Ancient Traditions Healing, Ascend Services, Country-Wide Insurance, Grand Marais Wellness Center, one residential unit and Palmer’s own Coldwell Banker North Shore Realty.
“The BER grants made it financially viable for me to spend more money on internal renovations that created desirable commercial rental spaces,” said Palmer. “I kept the existing tenants and attracted new ones. It is now a thriving commercial office and retail center which filled an important need in Grand Marais and strengthened the business community.”
Since BER’s inception in 2013, 285 grants have been awarded to help small businesses with energy efficiency upgrades that can result in reduced utility bills, improved building aesthetics and increased building life. The program is funded by Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation and administered through a partnership with Arrowhead Economic Opportunity Agency (AEOA). To learn more email Vince Meyer at AEOA or call him at 218-735-6828.
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