TOWER—After years of false starts, delays, and changes in direction, the city of Tower may finally be on the verge of bringing development to the city’s harbor.
The Tower Economic Development Authority, at its Feb. 13 special meeting, gave the go-ahead to draft a development agreement with Pine City-based developer Cole Newman, to construct a mixed-use project, including several townhomes, along with over 6,000 sq. ft. of ground floor commercial space with 14 apartments up above.
The mix of commercial and residential is in line with the original vision for the harbor, established back in the mid-2000s. Development of the harbor has been plagued for years by economic challenges, such as the fallout from the 2008 financial crash, which was followed by the discovery of title issues that delayed progress for another three years as conflicting claims were unwound. The site has been considered at various times for the development of town homes and, most recently, a hotel.
Back in 2023, TEDA had declined an earlier proposal from Newman and his occasional partner Larry Gensmer for townhomes in favor of a hotel proposal, but the TEDA board cooled to the hotel concept over the past few months, at least at the harbor location. The hotel developers had suggested they were leaning toward a five-acre site on Marina Drive as a better location for the hotel.
When Newman and architect Ron Hommerding proposed a new concept, with mixed development, the board took greater interest and notified the prospective hotel developers that the board was opting for a new direction at the harbor.
Newman was slated to be in Tower later this week, after the Timberjay’s Wednesday deadline, to discuss the project in more detail. He hopes to get the project underway this year.