Four adjacent empty lots are for sale in downtown Grand Marais. Three lots became available because the business owners who lost their buildings to a fire have decided not to rebuild and the fourth lot has been a parking lot in recent years. Photo courtesy of Sara Hingos
When three businesses were destroyed by fire last spring, the town mourned. However, from the ashes of those businesses there is now a chance for something new to arise. This invitation is open to Cook County residents and visitors alike. Have you noticed that our natural resource based tourism and hospitality economy continues to grow? If you live here, you may be looking for an opportunity to expand or invest. If you do not live here, do you dream about living and working here? Now is the time!
Prime real estate is ready for development. In April 2020, three downtown Grand Marais businesses were lost to fire. Adjacent to those three properties is an additional lot on the corner that has been used for parking. It is centrally located in the downtown area with spectacular views of the harbor. All four properties are cleared, leveled, and ready for development.
The location includes up to 14,000 square feet of downtown Grand Marais, from the northeast corner of Wisconsin Street and First Avenue West to the eastern alley, on the north side of Wisconsin Street. Properties include fabulous views of Harbor Park, the Grand Marais Harbor, and Lake Superior. Second story elevations would provide panoramic vistas of the Sawtooth Mountains.
The property owners understand how important this project is to their community. They have been meeting with the local economic development team, designers, and architects to discuss creative ideas for a collaborative development. The opportunity for a developing partner is to become part of the collaboration, to build, and potentially own/operate one or more of the properties. The business owners are motivated to fulfill their dreams. The developing partner should have the same motivation. There may be cost efficiencies in doing one big collaborative project. In the end, it may be a combination of smaller ones. Either way, there is great opportunity for a developing partner.
The developing partner will need to possess the knowledge, expertise, passion, and resources to move the project forward. Although many great ideas have been introduced, the process is still in the early stages. We are looking for the right partner to sit on the same side of the table and join the discussion, perhaps fulfill a dream.
Common values among the property owners include:
Project will reflect and respect community history, character, and sense of place.
Project will serve residents and visitors with desired amenities.
Project components under consideration include restaurant, wine bar, food truck, food hall, event space and retail, with condominium-style vacation rentals above.
We are open to new ideas and interested in growing this collaboration with new partners.
Serious inquiries only. For more information, please contact:
Cook County/ Grand Marais Economic Development Authority Board President Howard Hedstrom. Email: hjh@boreal.org Phone: 218- 370-0319.
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