It was a good try, but the Office Outpost, which is located in the former visitor information center space at Grand Marais City Hall, will close at the end of this year.
The Office Outpost provided a workspace for residents and visitors who needed to use professional office space equipped with high-speed Internet, copiers, and a meeting room, for a small hourly fee.
Pat Campanaro, Cook County/ Grand Marais EDA director, and business consultant, informed the Grand Marais City Council by letter that the “Office Outpost has failed to generate the revenue needed to continue its ongoing support. We intend to cease operating on December 31, 2017, and at that time will return the facility to the city.”
Bob Pranis and several members of the Cook County Broadband Commission (and private sector) worked tirelessly to open the Office Outpost.
The center was equipped with 11 workstations, a conference room that holds eight people, a professional printer, and a coffee bar and private room for video conferencing.
The center was (is) open seven days a week 24 hours a day and accessible by a Kisis door lock service (passkey) purchased from the city.
Located downtown, it was thought that vacationers coming to Grand Marais who wanted to keep up on their work could take their computer to the center and hook-up to high-speed Internet and continue business as needed.
For local entrepreneurs working out of their house, it was hoped the space would provide an excellent place to get a break and work uninterrupted, said Campanaro at the time of the opening.
The city of Grand Marais donated the space to the Broadband Commission for the first year rent-free as part of the matching grant the group got from the city for the Blandin Foundation grant. Financial assistance was also garnered from Minnesota Power, the Cook County/ Grand Marais EDA, the Cook County Chamber of Commerce, and an in-kind donation of 10 computers from Arrowhead Electric’s True North
“In appreciation for the city’ past support, we will donate the contents of the building as is, which will allow continued use as office support,” Campanaro said in her letter to the city council.
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