The Crookston Times building on the corner of South Broadway and West Fletcher Street is currently undergoing renovations, and a change in ownership after Robin Steinbrink of Steinbrink Enterprises purchased it in July.
Steinbrink has demoed the outside of the building after age and weather conditions have caused many parts of the building to rot. Steinbrink removed the exterior off the front of the building and has been hiring contractors to replace and repair the building’s exterior.
“Everybody’s been stopping about the corner and the corner post. I knew that was there when I purchased it, and that was my vision when I purchased it, and that was kind of my vision when I purchased it to bring it back to life and some of the old character that to me looks a whole lot better to what was on there before,” said Steinbrink. “I just want to give it a little bit of a facelift. My intentions are to sandblast the whole exterior of the building, and then we’ll inspect the tuckpointing, which will determine what the finish is going to be, and we have windows to replace.”
The contractors have already removed some of the old and withered shingles and plywood that had been falling off of the roof overhang and have begun sandblasting the building. Steinbrink has since released bids for windows and working with designers on creating a redesign for the building, but he still has much to do to complete the project.
“The tuckpointing can’t start until the weather’s fit. I’ve been dragging my feet on demoing any walls in the area that is available only because I’m not sure what the occupancy is going to be. If somebody comes in and says, “Hey, this will work, then we’ll leave the wall,” or “No, I need more space, so we can take more space, so take out the wall,” and just letting it grow that way. As of right now, we’re fixing all of the obvious things that need to be fixed outside, then we’ll move forward, and it will all evolve.”
The Crookston Times is still working in the building but has now leased it rather than owning it after suffering employment problems during the COVID-19 pandemic. It does not use the whole building like before, as Steinbrink plans to turn it into one similar to the Valley Tech Park.
“I’m currently renting to the Crookston Times; they are still here. Like everyone, they’re fighting with help problems, but they’re still here under lease. They have a portion of the building, and there’s still probably 3,000+ square feet of space available,” said Steinbrink. “If somebody is interested or has a vision of opening a business or doing something, we have a green space on the side. I think that could be huge, and we talked about adding a handicap ramp coming off the green space to make the building accessible and a positive for the downtown.”
Other sections of the building are still open for any new businesses to lease to start their business. You can contact Robin Steinbrink at 218-289-7582 to set up a meeting or get help finding another area to start your business.
Pictures of the inside and outside of the building can be seen below-
