DULUTH – With little fanfare, an excavator clawed at the back brick walls of a downtown building Tuesday that has long been the center of legal drama.
The city of Duluth has begun demolition of the Pastoret Terrace, an 1887-era Romanesque Revival brownstone that has been fire-damaged and unstable for years, but mired in legal disputes between the city and a local preservationist.
A $2.1 million settlement between Dr. Eric Ringsred and the city was reached in late May, and enforced by a St. Louis County judge in December. Ringsred had earlier attempted to withdraw his offer to settle.
On Tuesday, just a few freezing bystanders and pigeons lining a roof ledge looked on as bricks tumbled to the ground.
The Duluth Economic Development Authority (DEDA), the economic arm of the city, has owned the building since 2016, when Ringsred lost it for failing to pay taxes.
DEDA’s executive director, Tricia Hobbs, watched the demolition from a sidewalk. The city and DEDA are “excited for the reinvestment in the Duluth Commercial Historic District,” she said as she snapped photos.
The terms of the settlement include $1.4 million for grants and loans to owners of buildings inside the historic district where the Pastoret sits, and $700,000 to Ringsred and preservation organization Respect Starts Here, for improvements to their properties within that district.
Ringsred did not return messages Tuesday.
