Opinion: Don't give up on West End

When the city of Cloquet was in its youth, the West End was the place to be. The area west of what is now Highway 33 — which didn’t exist then — was the heart of the city. Included in its many offerings were banks, myriad shops, a newspaper, railroad depot, City Hall and more. It was a busy place.

Times change.

City Hall moved east of Highway 33 sometime in the middle of the last century, moving the municipal center of the city. Other businesses followed. As well, the state built Highway 33 in the early 1960s, which meant traffic no longer flowed down Broadway Street, but at least there was still an exit to Dunlap Island and Broadway. That exit went away when the state later built the bridge high over the St. Louis River in 1995, which not only eliminated access but also the line of sight for the businesses still located there.

Now it’s the quiet end of downtown, and many of the storefronts are vacant.

Last spring, with much fanfare — for a city move, at least — the Cloquet Economic Development Authority launched the “Advance the West End” loan program, offering low-interest loans and grants to stimulate business owner-occupied storefronts in the West End. There is also funding available for people who want to work on leasehold renovations for businesses in buildings owned by landlords.

Cloquet community development director Holly Hansen compared the untapped potential in the West End to Duluth’s now blossoming Lincoln Park, with its breweries, restaurants, and artisan craft and manufacturing turning what was a sleepy, dilapidated area into the new cool place to go in Duluth.

But these things take time. It took years of concerted effort by private businesses and public-private partnerships before efforts started to snowball into what you see today.

We ask that the city of Cloquet do the same for the West End: help it grow, and give it time.

The Avenue C restaurant could have been a great start; we understand that it failed due to debt and management issues, not location.

Currently the Cloquet planning commission is considering changes to the city code, which has required that West End landlords keep the ground floor for commercial use and allows residential apartments on the upper stories.

Commission members were presented four options, including:

•Leaving the code as it currently reads

•Requiring landlords to leave a certain amount of space for commercial use on the street side of the ground floor, but allowing apartments in the back

•Allowing landlords to fill the ground floor with apartments but leave the street front with the appearance of a commercial business

•Allowing apartments everywhere, with no storefront conditions beyond keeping the historic nature of the building intact.

Arguments that landlords aren’t making money don’t hold water — for the majority, their cash flow is from their upstairs apartments — or maybe they are using it as a tax write-off. We don’t know, but consider this: How many of those buildings are displaying “for sale” or even “for rent” signs? Not many.

Additionally, every person who owns property in the West End had full knowledge of the restrictions on the buildings when they bought the property. There should have been no surprises.

Still, we argue for compromise. Allow apartments in the back of the ground floor, but require enough space be set aside up front for a respectable commercial enterprise.

At the same time, the city should step up enforcement and hold property owners accountable for the rundown appearance of some properties.

Baby steps.

The West End is the city’s only historical district, with many of the buildings dating from the years immediately following the 1918 fire. It is a gem, waiting for a little polish and admiration.

And those will come, given time.

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