DULUTH – After a blitz of commercial development in recent years, Lincoln Park is on the verge of a housing boom.
Former furniture stores, an abandoned milk bottling plant and a century-old former hotel are all being eyed for redevelopment as apartments in Duluth's rising western neighborhood.
Nearly 250 units are planned in the core of the business district, which in the past several years has sprouted breweries, cideries, restaurants and shops alongside other long-standing businesses. With many of the smaller buildings filling in, developers are now gravitating toward larger projects.
"When we look at the whole area, it's surpassed any of our wildest dreams, with the mixed-use, the retail spaces that have moved in," said Chris Fleege, economic and planning director for the city of Duluth. "There's a lot of positive energy."
Stephanie LaFleur, president of the Lincoln Park Business Group, said the influx of new housing will complement the rise in storefronts in the area — 26 new businesses in the past two years, by her count.
"It's huge — now we'll have even more people in our area," LaFleur said.
The mayor has called the city's housing shortage a crisis, and a report last year said the average rent poses a "cost burden" to half of all residents.
With thoughtful planning, the Lincoln Park developments could be a step in the right direction, said Shannon Laing, a neighborhood advocate and partnership development director for the nonprofit Ecolibrium3.
