TOWER — Residents driving through Tower this week finally saw something many had nearly stopped expecting: heavy equipment moving dirt at the harbor development site.
After more than two decades of proposals, setbacks, and shifting plans, construction activity is now underway on what local officials hope will become a new mixed-use hub at the city’s harbor entrance.
“Well, I would say that, in a way, I still can’t believe it,” said Marshall Helmberger, executive director of the Tower Economic Development Association. “It’s been 25 years since the city really earnestly started working on this, and to see it actually finally happening, it’s a little hard to believe.”
Yet actual construction at the site is now expected to begin early next month, with the project’s first phase expected to include five twin homes, creating ten housing units.
Future phases are planned to add additional residential units, both twin homes and apartments, along with roughly 7,000 square feet of commercial space overlooking the harbor.
The development is intended to create a more active and inviting gateway into the city, something community leaders have envisioned since the harbor itself was first developed.
“When you’d drive into town, you’d see this interesting arrangement of activity with lots of people walking around. That was the vision,” Helmberger said.
Over the years, the project moved through several different development concepts. At various points, proposals ranged from a hotel project to an entirely residential development. Helmberger said the current proposal came closest to matching the city’s long-term goal of blending commercial activity with housing.
“We said we want to have that mix,” he said. “We want to have commercial, and we want to have residential.”
The current project is being developed by Cole Newman of Eagle Ridge Estates and developer Larry Gensmer.
Helmberger said TEDA checked references with officials in Pine City, where Newman has completed several successful projects, including redevelopment work involving environmental cleanup.
Helmberger said the developers have worked closely with TEDA throughout the planning process.
“I’ve come to really like these guys,” he said. “They’re easy to work with and just really down to earth. So, it’s been good. I think we’ve made a good team.”
Construction activity is expected to increase steadily over the coming months.
Current work at the site involves soil mitigation needed before foundations can be poured. Helmberger said the mitigation phase should wrap up by the end of May, with foundation work expected to begin by early-to-mid-June. Sewer and water installation is also expected to begin around that time.
Additional funding is still being sought for portions of the remaining soil work connected to later phases of the development. Helmberger credited the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board with playing a major role in getting the project this far.
“I have to say that the IRRR has been incredibly supportive of this project,” he said. “It wouldn’t have been possible without their assistance.”
One of the biggest delays on harbor development emerged in 2017, when officials discovered a tangle of historic easements and property claims connected to the harbor land, some dating back more than a century. Untangling those issues took three years and slowed momentum on earlier proposals.
The COVID pandemic added further delays soon afterward.
Now, with construction finally underway, Helmberger said he has found himself thinking about some of the people who spent years trying to move the project forward, including the late former Tower Mayor Herb Lamppa and longtime city clerk-treasurer Tim Kotzian, who also died recently.
“One of my biggest disappointments,” Helmberger said, “is that he didn’t live to see this actually come to fruition.”
For now, though, residents can expect the harbor site to remain busy throughout the summer as crews continue soil work, install utilities, and begin construction on the project’s first housing units.
“People are going to see a lot of stuff going on,” Helmberger said. “I think we’re going to see a lot more traffic at the harbor as a result of this. It’s going to create that excitement and interest around there.”
Developer Cole Newman said the project has already generated strong local interest even before formal marketing efforts begin.
“Heck, it’ll be exciting,” Newman said. “It’ll be so great for the town and the businesses, getting some more commercial stuff in there.”