Statesman

Issue date: 3/10/10 Section: News

Media Credit: Joe Olivieri The Duluth Armory is located on London Road next to Super One Foods and other businesses.

Media Credit: Joe Olivieri The armory has gone unnoticed over the years.

One thing that Duluth seems to lack as a college town is a college "scene." Students living on campus feel a connection as they stroll from Lake Superior Hall to the coffee shop and to class, but there isn't a common "hang out" area like the Twin Cities' Dinkytown. This could very quickly change with the projected development of a Duluth landmark.

The Armory, located on London Road across from Leif Erickson Park could soon become the site of a Duluth Dinkytown, with high hopes from the Armory Arts and Music Group.

Picture this: a huge brick building, complete with apartments for around 300 students, some facing Lake Superior in the front of the building and some nearby in a tower north of the Armory. In the back of the building, a concert hall will fill the corridors with music and the smell of coffee and pastries from a small coffee shop. A short walk across the street will provide residents with their needs, from groceries to movie rentals.

"What we see is it being a great attraction for UMD, CSS and other local colleges," said Nate DeMars, a 2005 UMD graduate who is helping with the plans for the project. "We've always really thought it would be a great amenity for students."

The Armory Arts and Music Group currently owns the building, and they are the ones developing the plans for this project. DeMars is involved with the real estate side of the project, and as an alumus, he said that he wishes he'd had something like this when he was at UMD.

"There's a certain detachment from up on campus when you're living there from nightlife, the lake, etc. You could live at the Armory and walk to get your groceries from the plaza center," DeMars said. "There's a lot of things that could make it a really cool place for a student to live."


A competitor to UMD housing


The Arts and Music Group plans to work with the university during the process of advertising to students. They want to include music education at the new complex, which they think will be a draw for students who are currently enrolled at local colleges.

"A good next step now is to get back in touch with the university and see what their interest is in working together," DeMars said.

Joe Michela, director of Auxiliary Services at UMD, doesn't see the project as probable or profitable.

"Good luck," he said. "Anybody's free to build and compete for students, but where are all of these kids going to come from?"

According to Michela, the university is also planning on creating more housing. There will be another 280 beds available in a new dormitory at the end of Griggs Hall that will be finished at the same time that the Armory would be finished, fall of 2011. He also noted that enrollment is stagnant, and most likely decreasing in the next few years.

A recent survey done by the Arts and Music Group showed that 83 percent of students surveyed would consider living at the site.

"Off-campus markets differ so maybe there will be different demand," said Susan Philips, a member of the Armory Arts and Music Group. "I would assume that they probably are different markets, ages, etc."

DeMars asked students to check out the Facebook page, Historic Duluth Armory, to reach out to the group with suggestions or questions. There is also a video about the project at http://vimeo.com/9221327.


History of the Duluth Armory


The Duluth National Guard Armory was built in 1915 as a place for soldiers to enlist and train. It was dedicated as an armory for peace.

"It always had a great military history as well as a community history, from music to public figures," Philips said.

Duluth native Bob Dylan spoke of his inspiration from the Duluth National Guard Armory in his 1998 Grammy acceptance speech for Album of the Year. He saw Buddy Holly perform there three days before Holly's death.

The Beach Boys, Bono, Sonny and Cher, Johnny Cash, Duke Ellington, the Harlem Globetrotters, Buddy Holly, Eleanor Roosevelt, Roy Orbison and Harry Truman are among hundreds of others who have visited the armory.

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