CROOKSTON -- It appears that even the inclusion of the Palace/Wayne Hotel on a list of Minnesota's "10 Most Endangered Historic Places" isn't going to protect the historic downtown hotel from the wrecking ball.
The Polk County Commission on Tuesday decided to move ahead with a plan to demolish the building. While the board did not authorize the demolition, it directed staff to seek project estimates.
The decision came after the county and the city of Crookston learned late last week that the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency had rejected a funding package from MetroPlains Development.
The developer had proposed restoring the building and converting it to affordable rental housing. That MHFA financing was supposed to supplement a $1 million USDA Rural Development Loan for the project.
"I think it's going to have to come down," Commissioner Warren Affeldt said. "The cost is the issue -- and how we pay for it."
ADVERTISEMENT
The commission voted in January 2009 to demolish the building if funding had not been secured by October 2009 for the rehabilitation project.
At the time, the commission indicated a willingness to contribute $300,000 toward the rehabilitation project because that was the estimated cost of demolishing the building at the time.
Now, commissioners are not so sure the county will get by that cheaply. The county will have to deal with a regulated process to demolish a historic building. It also will face cost of asbestos removal, demolition and disposal.
The commission set its March 2 meeting to review preliminary cost estimates for demolition.
Reach Bonham at (701) 780-1110; (800) 477-6572, ext. 110; or send e-mail to kbonham@gfherald.com .
