ROCHESTER — A once-promising downtown arts and cultural space is practically empty and Rochester officials want to know why.
The city of Rochester has once again issued a default notice to Castle Community on Thursday over ongoing issues at the Castle building.
Rochester officials say the Castle's vacancies and the fact that it's closed to the public violates a 2017 purchase agreement with the city to use the building for arts and cultural groups and events.
The notice doesn't give a deadline for the group to respond, but it asks owners to reach out to the city with information on new vendors or programming, as well as to potentially amend the agreement to take into account the amount of time the Castle has been out of compliance.
Rochester sold the building to its current owners in November 2017 for $250,000, well below the property's value of $675,000 at the time. City officials set up a tax-increment financing (TIF) district to recoup the $425,000 difference over time.
City spokeswoman Jenna Bowman said Castle Community had not responded to the notice as of Friday afternoon.
Castle Community President Scott Hoss could not be reached for comment despite multiple attempts. Calls to other Castle Community partners were not returned.
The building's current iteration started out as a potential arts and culture hub featuring studios, a book store and space on the second and third floors for events. Several vendors had to close down or relocate once the COVID-19 pandemic hit Minnesota. The building has struggled since then.
