Winona clears way for $30 million downtown hotel project

A $30 million apartment-hotel project is set to shake up Winona over the next few years as the city seeks to grow its downtown vitality.

The Winona City Council unanimously signed off on the 60 Main Street project earlier this month after two years of planning between city officials and developers. The construction, which also will garner more than $5 million in subsidies from the city, involves putting up a five-story building near Levee Park overlooking the Mississippi River.

Mike Rivers, president of Rivers Hotel Co., said the project capitalizes on a number of initiatives in Winona's downtown.

"If you haven't been here, I'm telling you, there's quite a bit going on down here," Rivers said. "It's much different than it was five years ago."

The Rivers group will oversee the property while general contractor La Crescent-based Wieser Brothers is in charge of construction, which will match other downtown buildings with brick facades. The building will be the only hotel downtown, with 20 to 30 high-end apartments and 70 to 80 hotel rooms once the project wraps up in 2025.

The project also includes renovating a closed restaurant and brewery across the street, which will open in 2025, according to Rivers. Plus, 60 Main Street is expected to bring in up to 45 to 50 new full- and part-time jobs.

"It's in the right spot," Rivers said. "That's what we're excited about."

Local officials have looked to redevelop the site, which has sat vacant, ever since.

"We're finally healing the back end of the Latsch Block that was torn down to renovate the city half a century ago, and I am delighted that I lived long enough to see it," Council Member Jerome Christianson said during the council's Dec. 18 meeting.

Developers will save up to $4.9 million through a tax-increment finance (TIF) district on the property. And the city sold the site, valued at almost $550,000, to developers for $1.

Winona plans to spend up to $700,000 on infrastructure improvements at a nearby railroad crossing and rail yard, which will be leased to developers for parking. The city also is allocating $800,000 in state and local funding to clean up the site before construction starts in the spring.

Community members have split on the project, with proponents arguing 60 Main Street will boost Winona's economy while critics argue the project takes away public parking and ties up funding that could be used for more affordable housing. But council members pointed out similar subsidies for affordable housing projects in the past, and the TIF funding ensures projects within the community.

60 Main Street joins at least one other large-scale project under construction in the downtown area over the next few years. Another development company is busy with the $35 million Masterpiece Hall, a music venue and art gallery funded through Bob Kierlin and Mary Burrichter. Kierlin is a founder of Fastenal and a former Republican state senator.