DULUTH — The Pastoret Terrace building, formerly home to the Kozy Bar & Apartments, inched closer to demolition this week when city councilors unanimously voted in support of a resolution that promises to end a prolonged legal battle over the fate of the building.
As Duluth’s 3rd District councilor representing the downtown neighborhood in question, Roz Randorf encouraged her colleagues to join her in supporting the demolition of the fire-damaged structure as well as the adjoined Paul Robeson Ballroom.
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“The building’s structural instability has rendered it beyond any feasible restoration, leaving demolition as really our only viable solution,” she said. “It allows this neighborhood to turn the page and move on to a fresh future and a fresh development.”
Janet Kennedy, councilor for the 5th District, referred to the pending removal of the Pastoret as “a great boon” for the community and suggested some of the funds from a proposed $2.13 million settlement might support the Clayton Jackson McGhie Memorial across the street from the burned-out buildings. She said the blight has had a significant impact on the monument built in memory of three Black men falsely accused of rape who were then lynched.
Eric Ringsred, the Pastoret’s former owner, along with a group of local preservationists who banded together to form an organization called Respect Starts Here, have sought to restore the historic building at the corner of First Street and Second Avenue East. Designed by renowned local architect Oliver Traphagen and constructed in 1887, the Pastoret Terrace Building is not on the register of historic places but is considered a contributing structure to the historic downtown district.
Up to $700,000 of the proposed settlement will support improvements to three other contributing properties in the neighborhood still under Ringsred’s control. Another $30,000 would be used to pay outstanding taxes owed on those properties.
The remainder of the settlement, $1.4 million, would go to establish a fund that would offer grants and low-interest loans used to spruce up other buildings in the historic district, with special preference given to those located along the First Street corridor.
Randorf noted that those dollars would go to make needed reinvestments in the neighborhood.
The Duluth City Council’s regular meetings are on the second and fourth Mondays of each month at 7 p.m., with agenda meetings at 5:15 p.m. each Thursday preceding a regular meeting, unless otherwise scheduled, at City Hall, Room 330. Meetings are also livestreamed and recorded for later viewing at duluthmn.gov/city-council/city-council-meetings-events/council-meeting-media.
District 1: Wendy Durrwachter
Represents: Duluth city precincts 1-7
Term expires: Jan. 3, 2028
Contact: 218-730-5700, Ext. 3, wdurrwachter@DuluthMN.gov
District 2: Mike Mayou
Represents: Duluth city precincts 8-13
Term expires: Jan. 5, 2026
Contact: 218-428-9195/218-730-5355, mmayou@duluthmn.gov
District 3: Roz Randorf
Represents: Duluth city precincts 14-19
Term expires: Jan. 3, 2028
Contact: 218-443-8364/218-730-5353, rrandorf@duluthmn.gov
District 4: Tara Swenson
Represents: Duluth city precincts 21-27
Term expires: Jan. 5, 2026
Contact: 218-730-5356, tswenson@duluthmn.gov
District 5: Janet Kennedy
Represents: Duluth city precincts 28-35
Term expires: Jan. 3, 2028
Contact: 218-341-6113/218-730-5357, jkennedy@duluthmn.gov
At large: Azrin Awal
Represents: All Duluth city precincts
Term expires: Jan. 5, 2026
Contact: 218-730-5359, aawal@duluthmn.gov
At large: Arik Forsman
Represents: All Duluth city precincts
Term expires: Jan. 3, 2028
Contact: 218-409-8822/218-730-5352, aforsman@duluthmn.gov
At large: Lynn Marie Nephew, vice president
Represents: All Duluth city precincts
Term expires: Jan. 3, 2028
Contact: 218-730-5354, lnephew@duluthmn.gov
At large: Terese Tomanek, president
Represents: All Duluth city precincts
Term expires: Jan. 5, 2026
Contact: 218-216-9126, ttomanek@duluthmn.gov
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