WINONA, Minn. – The city Planning Commission voted unanimously to rezone a block across from the new Masterpiece concert hall for a multi-million dollar apartment and business complex. The block had been zoned as residential. The proposal is part a plan by retired Fastenal founder Bob Kierlin and fellow investors to remake a shabby area near downtown. The new structure would be a showcase visually linking Kierlin’s $35 million Masterpiece Hall, now under construction, and his $24 million Main Square residential-commercial block that he built in 2021. The new project he calls Main Square West. Thumbnail comparisons:
> Main Square (225 Main Street). A four-story structure with 23 amenity-loaded apartments; commercial tenants, including a restaurant, a realty office, a dentist, a financial services office; a Montessori school; and an open-air interior parking area.
> Main Square West. Four connected buildings with 100 higher-end and market-rate apartments and hotel-like extended-stay residences; commercial spaces for shops and professional services; and 155 to 170 underground and at-grade parking slots.
Footprint. Of proposed Main Square West project. Bounded by Fourth, Johnson, Fifth Washington streets.
Before voting to rezone for Main Square West, the Planning Commission heard opponents. Jessica Weis, an advocate for people with disabilities, said that Winona desperately needs affordable housing — not high-end stuff. Matt Bosworth, who lives in the neighborhood, worried that automobile traffic in and of the complex would endanger children whose families live next door. There was concern that headlights from cars coming out of the parking section would beam across the street into people’s living rooms and bedrooms. The rezoning is not the final governmental decision on the project. Among remaining issues is conformity with city architectural rules, including building heights.