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When the K.K. Berge Building holds its Grand Opening this Thursday, it will signify the end of a four year restoration effort led by the Granite Falls Riverfront Revitalization (GFRR) organization and powered by the community.
Now, the real fun begins.
Since the onset, the restoration of the K.K. Berge building has been driven by a desire to reinvigorate the community of Granite Falls in spite of the ubiquitous adversities that presently afflict small towns.
Because it was a mere twenty inches below the flood plain, the iconic 87-year-old structure was scheduled for demolition. Once gone, no building could be erected in its place.
Having said goodbye time and again to the historic homes of the flood the plain, old City Hall and other venerated structures on a rapidly shrinking main street, it appeared— for a few— to be the last straw.
Quest-ions were asked, suggestions were made and then an open-minded city council opened the door to an alternative that would make $150,000, that was set aside for demolition, available for flood proofing and restoration if a thorough list of criteria could be met.
The project catalyzed like-minds of the community and together they took on the task of saving the celebrated structure as a newly formed non-profit, GFRR.
Four years is enough to indicate that the project was no cake walk and on more than one occasion they stood at the precipice of defeat. The group pulled through thanks to stubbornness, a little luck and—above all else—the community.
It was the community, in the guise of Granite Falls Bank, that provided $175,000 loan and contingency fund. It was the community that made over $50,000 in donations. It was the community that encouraged Steve Ladner to offer his construction expertise.
In countless other ways, it was time and again, the community.
With construction nearing completion, the December 15 Grand Opening is the GFRR’s time to say ‘thanks’ and to show the community where their resources have gone.
“It is a thank you to the donors and all the of the people that helped us continue to believe that this was worth doing,“ said the GFRR’s Nancy Beasley.
The Grand Opening will feature local art and historical exhibits and holiday treats and refreshments. Above all, it will present the building itself.
Furniture is still being placed, but the interior is finished –– from the carpets to the newly installed windows offering the best walking bridge view in town.
The first floor will offer up a portion of its space as the new location of the Chamber of Commerce in the coming months. The Granite Falls Historical Society and Granite Arts Council will have a rotating art and historical display. It will also serve as a venue for events and speakers. And, of course, it is available to the community.
“Really, it's for everyone to enjoy,” Said GFRR member and Chamber of Commerce Director Nicole Zempel.
Upstairs still has work to be done, but expectations are that it will be wrapped up by the years end.
Intriguing occupants have already been found. Clean Up the River Environment (CURE) and the Minneapolis College of Art and Design will have a headquarters on the second floor and will begin renting in January.
Lastly, CURE intends to keep canoes and kayaks at the building’s riverfront location that can be checked out like books at a library and used to paddle the Minnesota River.
GFRR member Barb Benson gushes as she describes the nearly finished product.
“I just think it’s beautiful. You walk in there and its beautiful, it just makes me feel good,” she said.
That such a perception is not uncommon, makes it easy to see how the end of the past four years is truly just the beginning for something much greater.
Said Zempel, “We've always believed this building, in this location, will have the potential to act as a foundation and spring board for the many creative forces at play to begin to create the kind of community and main street environment that will help us not only to sustain ourselves, but to grow.
“I think that GFRR has shown people that if you believe in what you are doing, and you believe in a vision and do not give up on it, that it can become real.”
When the K.K. Berge Building holds its Grand Opening this Thursday, it will signify the end of a four year restoration effort led by the Granite Falls Riverfront Revitalization (GFRR) organization and powered by the community.
Now, the real fun begins.
Since the onset, the restoration of the K.K. Berge building has been driven by a desire to reinvigorate the community of Granite Falls in spite of the ubiquitous adversities that presently afflict small towns.
Because it was a mere twenty inches below the flood plain, the iconic 87-year-old structure was scheduled for demolition. Once gone, no building could be erected in its place.
Having said goodbye time and again to the historic homes of the flood the plain, old City Hall and other venerated structures on a rapidly shrinking main street, it appeared— for a few— to be the last straw.
Quest-ions were asked, suggestions were made and then an open-minded city council opened the door to an alternative that would make $150,000, that was set aside for demolition, available for flood proofing and restoration if a thorough list of criteria could be met.
The project catalyzed like-minds of the community and together they took on the task of saving the celebrated structure as a newly formed non-profit, GFRR.
Four years is enough to indicate that the project was no cake walk and on more than one occasion they stood at the precipice of defeat. The group pulled through thanks to stubbornness, a little luck and—above all else—the community.
It was the community, in the guise of Granite Falls Bank, that provided $175,000 loan and contingency fund. It was the community that made over $50,000 in donations. It was the community that encouraged Steve Ladner to offer his construction expertise.
In countless other ways, it was time and again, the community.
With construction nearing completion, the December 15 Grand Opening is the GFRR’s time to say ‘thanks’ and to show the community where their resources have gone.
“It is a thank you to the donors and all the of the people that helped us continue to believe that this was worth doing,“ said the GFRR’s Nancy Beasley.
The Grand Opening will feature local art and historical exhibits and holiday treats and refreshments. Above all, it will present the building itself.
Furniture is still being placed, but the interior is finished –– from the carpets to the newly installed windows offering the best walking bridge view in town.
The first floor will offer up a portion of its space as the new location of the Chamber of Commerce in the coming months. The Granite Falls Historical Society and Granite Arts Council will have a rotating art and historical display. It will also serve as a venue for events and speakers. And, of course, it is available to the community.
“Really, it's for everyone to enjoy,” Said GFRR member and Chamber of Commerce Director Nicole Zempel.
Upstairs still has work to be done, but expectations are that it will be wrapped up by the years end.
Intriguing occupants have already been found. Clean Up the River Environment (CURE) and the Minneapolis College of Art and Design will have a headquarters on the second floor and will begin renting in January.
Lastly, CURE intends to keep canoes and kayaks at the building’s riverfront location that can be checked out like books at a library and used to paddle the Minnesota River.
GFRR member Barb Benson gushes as she describes the nearly finished product.
“I just think it’s beautiful. You walk in there and its beautiful, it just makes me feel good,” she said.
That such a perception is not uncommon, makes it easy to see how the end of the past four years is truly just the beginning for something much greater.
Said Zempel, “We've always believed this building, in this location, will have the potential to act as a foundation and spring board for the many creative forces at play to begin to create the kind of community and main street environment that will help us not only to sustain ourselves, but to grow.
“I think that GFRR has shown people that if you believe in what you are doing, and you believe in a vision and do not give up on it, that it can become real.”
