After 50 years, Duluth Art Institute could be leaving its home at historic Depot

DULUTH — The Duluth Art Institute is looking for a new home.

After living for nearly 50 years at the St. Louis County Depot, the institute may be forced to move after a committee recommended rejecting the institute's proposal for a lease extension.

The St. Louis County Board of Commissioners will hear public comment and vote on tenant proposals Tuesday at the St. Louis County Courthouse.

A selection committee, made up of commissioners and Depot staff, recommended accepting proposals from the historic train depot's other five tenants: the Depot Foundation, Minnesota Ballet, Lake Superior Railroad Museum, St. Louis County Historical Society and Duluth Superior Symphony Association.

In a letter to the county board, Depot director Mary Tennis cited several reasons for severing ties with the Art Institute. She wrote that the nature of the space doesn't align with the institute's needs, the rental rate the institute offered was insufficient, and the institute would need additional space to use for its exhibitions while capital improvement projects are in progress.

The Duluth Art Institute offered $3.61 per square foot per year; the Depot was asking for minimum of $4.97 from nonprofit organizations and $8.16 from for-profit businesses. The Depot pays the building's utilities.

"This was not an easy decision," Tennis said. "No one is taking it lightly."

No other business submitted a proposal for the Art Institute's current space, according to county spokeswoman Dana Kazel.

The Lake Superior Railroad Museum's lease proposal was accepted — but its request to take over Studio 4, a theater currently held by the ballet, was also nixed. Ken Buehler director of the museum, is interested in using the theater for a Seacrest model train display. The ballet has already put it to good use, Tennis said.

Last year, the county reverted to using a long-ignored Minnesota statute requiring a competitive bidding process for government properties. Depot tenants were asked to submit a proposal for a yearlong lease in 2023 — a short span of time because it wasn't clear how building upgrades would affect tenants. All of the tenants who were in the building were accepted.

Plans for the Depot, according to Tennis's letter, include moving toward a healthier and more stable financial state. Upgrades are planned for the HVAC, mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems. Ideally work would start by the spring of 2024, Tennis said.

The Duluth Art Institute has already begun looking for a new home for its gallery. Executive director Christina Woods started an online fundraising campaign with a goal of $50,000 to help make the move. Contributors include a who's who of local artists. The institute's leaders won't say yet where they are looking.

"From a business point of view, we're all thinking about the next step," said Robin Washington, president of the institute's board of directors. "We'd be fools to cross our fingers."

If the lease is not renewed, the Art Institute will need to be out of the Depot at the end of 2023 — midway through its already-planned Arrowhead Regional Biennial, an exhibition of works by artists from Minnesota, surrounding states and Ontario that runs from December to January.

The institute has additional space at an old Carnegie library in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. It is used for classes and workshops and has a ceramics studio — but no gallery space.

"The Lincoln Park building is wonderful, but it's used to the max," Washington said.