Complex includes hotel, condos, senior living
ROCHESTER, Minn. – An investment group laid out details for a $95 million new downtown library that would be part of an even larger project. In a presentation to the City Council, PB Investments said the three-story 170,000-square foot library would be the centerpiece of a complex that would include a 17-story senior living tower, a six-story convention hotel, and a condominium complex. The library itself have a street-level lobby topped by two floors of the library with three floors of hotel rooms above that. The top portion of the senior-living center would house independent living units, an assisted living section, and two floors for residents who needing memory care. There would be a skyway connection to the Civic Center parking ramp. A 200-stall underground parking ramp would serve the hotel and condos.
The site
The complex would face west from the Mayo Civic Center on the site of now-demolished Post-Bulletin newspaper building. PB Investors, which is not connected to the newspaper, purchased the paper’s 65-year-old newspaper building for $10.5 million in 2019. The complex would cover most of the large block between First Street Southeast and East Center Street.
Winona stone
The old Post Bulletin building was clad in large panels of limestone from the Biesanz quarry in Winona. When the newspaper building came down, the Biesanz panels were removed and put into storage. They would be incorporated into the proposed library. Biesanz stone has been used in many historic Minnesota sites including the state state Capitol.
New library needed?
Consensus is that the current library, built is running out of space with no physical space to expand. The proposed library would increase operational and maintenance costs by an estimated two $2 million a year. Developers say the $95 million construction cost could be reduced by $10 million Tax Increment District financing.