Fremad, adjacent buildings demolished

By Tim Douglass

tdouglass@pctribune.com

Downtown Glenwood had a different look late Thursday as the historic Fremad and its adjacent buildings were demolished by Riley Brothers Construction.

The demolition work began on Tuesday, Sept. 5, but after a few hours work was halted by some intergovernmental glitches.  By Thursday morning, however, demolition resumed and the entire area was reduced to rubble by about 10:30 a.m.

The Fremad building has been a topic of local discussion since the building was forfeited for taxes in 2014.  First the county, which was given ownership of the property by the State of Minnesota, tried to sell the building intact.  The county even held auctions to sell the building at a minimal price.  

Meanwhile the Fremad building continued to deteriorate as it sat empty and private interest in renovating the building waned because of the financial costs involved.

Finally the county turned over the building to the Pope County HRA/EDA and that agency worked with the Minnesota Historical Society to get final approval to demolish the building, which was on the National Registry of Historic places.  Once that hurdle was cleared, the HRA/EDA purchased adjacent buildings and sought Tax Increment Financing (TIF) to demolish and redevelop the property, which is on the corner of Franklin Street and 1st Avenue just south of Eagle Bank in downtown Glenwood.

The demolition is the first step.  The property that once housed the historic Fremad and Law Office buildings will now be restored and its hoped a private developer will purchase the property and develop it, adding the new development to the city and county property tax base.

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