The Fournet Building in downtown Crookston is nearing completion, a project that has spanned the past few years. Building owner and general contractor for the construction, Jeff Evers reported that they are installing a new elevator in the building that will be operational by the middle of June and plans to have the entire project completed and ready to have clients move in by the beginning of July.
The building is a three-floor project that has been in development since 2018 that will be used by multiple organizations in downtown Crookston. “The second floor will be for the Tri-Valley Opportunity Council. They’re taking the whole second floor. The third floor will be for the State of Minnesota for the Public Defenders around the atrium,” Fournet Building owner Jeff Evers explained. “Those will be the main tenants, and then we’ll try to fill the first floor once we get done with the construction.” Evers reported that the second floor is near competition, with most of the offices and hallways having carpeting they have installed refrigeration and cabinets for a break room at one end of the floor.
Evers said they recently completed the elevator shaft for the addition of an elevator built for them by the Schindler Elevator Corporation. While the elevator is not currently installed, Evers said it has been verified by Schindler to begin its installation and the timeline to have it completed and be operational is around June 14. Other than the elevator, Evers says there are other things they still have to finish around the building before they allow clients to begin moving in. “As far as completion, on the 3rd-floor, we have a lot of trim work and doors to do. There’s a bunch of doors to do in general,” Evers explained. “The back staircase still has to be finished, and the atrium area still has to get flooring and be finished with the railing, so the list is getting quite short compared to when we started.”
While the completion of the building has been delayed several times over the past few years, Evers says he hopes to have it done soon. “We’ve had quite a few delays, but the goal now is to be done here by the end of June or July 1st,” Evers explained. “We should be there if isn’t any other delays or we can’t get supplies or if something is on backorder for another three months, but that’s the goal now.” Evers says that when the building is completed, tours will be available for a few days to show the public the inside of the building to see the completed structure.
Pictures of the elevator and other parts of the building can be seen below,
