Hilltop housing development in Duluth is all about the view

DULUTH — Plans to redevelop the former Central High School into hundreds of townhomes and apartments, a park, perhaps a brewery and outdoor amphitheater have taken shape with the goal of capitalizing on the hilltop site's unrivaled vistas of Lake Superior and the sprawling city below.

The plan also notes an area that would be "an ideal location for a future sky tram station."

Saturday Properties presented a first look to the Duluth School Board this week, which entered into a purchase agreement for the site with the Twin Cities developer in July for $7.4 million.

The view is what made the site special to begin with, said David Stahl, of the project's architectural firm, Cuningham, an international firm which has a Minneapolis office. "It's a plan that makes the most of the site."

A mix of 443 townhomes and apartments, affordable and market rate, will spread across 55 acres, matching the contours of the land to keep views unobstructed. The school district's former vocational building likely will become a brewery or restaurant, with space for neighborhood amenities.

A trail to Canal Park is proposed, along with connections to existing trails such as the Duluth Traverse and a park-like area for trail users to take in the cityscape.

St. Louis Park-based Saturday Properties expects to close on portions of the project in five phases, with the first at the end of the year when it would break ground on five parcels. The same developer is working to renovate Historic Old Central High School.

The Duluth school district will maintain a back portion of the property for administrative buildings. Longtime school board member Rosie Loeffler-Kemp said she's happy the project includes a variety of housing types, ample green space and public access.

"This is a very special property, and I think Saturday Properties is being thoughtful about community access to this space," she said.

And with construction of housing near school district buildings, it might create a new neighborhood in the central part of Duluth, she said, "which is very exciting."

The city is working with the developer on regulatory aspects of the project and expects a community discussion on building and street layout and design, said Adam Fulton, deputy director of planning and development for Duluth.

The 800 E. Central Entrance site is close to another development — Skybridge Flats, a senior affordable housing project funded in large part by a state housing bond.

"What I think we will see over the next 3 to 5 years is a level of reinvestment in these sites that haven't been fully activated for quite some time," Fulton said. "It's going to create new housing opportunities and new opportunities for commerce."

With vacancy rates "at historic lows, there is a need for housing of all types," he said, and the Central project will use existing water and sewer infrastructure that's largely been dormant for more than a decade, when the school closed.

The former high school was an "important location with lots of community memories," Fulton said. "We will be able to reuse that investment made in the 1970s."

The 50-year-old centrally located school will be demolished. It was a victim of the district's long-range facilities plan, known as the Red Plan, which downsized schools and replaced decaying buildings.

The school was first on the market for $13.7 million. A $10 million deal with a Chicago-based developer fell through in 2015. In 2016, the K-8 Duluth Edison Charter Schools offered the district $14.2 million to turn Central into its own high school. The school board, which has a policy not to sell properties to competitors, essentially rejected the offer when it voted against waiving that policy. Chief concerns were fears of ongoing enrollment losses and the effect on the public school system.