The Fournet building in downtown Crookston has seen many changes and renovations over the past two years. Most notably, the second level of the building holds all of the offices for the Tri-Valley Opportunity Council, while the third floor is where the Public Defenders are located. Yet, the lobby of the building is still vacant.
Owner of the Fournet building and landlord Jeff Evers announced to the Crookston Visitors Bureau that the lobby of the Fournet building is near the completion of renovations, and he plans to use the lobby space as a community area where Crookston residents and folks from out of town can learn about downtown Crookston.
“Right now, standing in the lobby, you will be able to see some stuff out of the window saying something like ‘visit this to see your downtown experience,’ said Evers, “There will be two videos going as well, the first video which will play closest to outside will be a video about the existing (Fournet) building, and it’s history.”
Visitors can watch a video about the history behind the historic Fournet building and see construction before and after photos of the renovation process. There will be another video playing in the lobby. This will be a five-minute video highlighting downtown businesses in Crookston. “The second video is more of an advertisement and a welcoming to downtown Crookston,” said Evers, “Four of the five minutes will be thirty-second advertisements of all of the fun things you can do in Crookston basically within a block of this building.”
Businesses that will be highlighted in the video are Widman’s Candy Shop, Wonderful Life Foods, Willow and Ivy Gift Shop, and others. Evers also explained that he has been working with the Sugar Beet Museum to promote how big of an impact the Sugar Beet industry has on the community and this region of the state.
“This will be more educational for people not from here,” said Evers, “It’s such a big part of the economy and a great thing. We want to try and show other people what it is and people from town who don’t know all the industry details.”
For those interested in seeing the second floor, stations will be set up in the Tri-Valley portion of the building, where content will be posted regarding architectural information on how the second floor was renovated. “If you’re interested in architectural aspects, you will be able to that type of content upstairs,” said Evers, “When you get done with that, make your way downtown and get the whole downtown experience.”
Evers believes this will be beneficial for the community to help direct people from out of town on where to go and what to do when visiting, and it will also help market the local businesses in downtown Crookston.
Many offices are open for lease on the first floor of the Fournet building. Evers stated the prices are reasonable, and he encourages individuals or businesses to fill those offices. “There’s a bunch of offices here available for lease,” said Evers, “There’s an opportunity for other placings. The prices are reasonable. The price is around $500-$600 a month, including everything. These offices are in a nice downtown location, and there’s also a new modern conference room.”
Moving forward in the renovations for the Fournet lobby, Evers stated they will place televisions with the downtown presentations after production is completed for the advertising videos. This process is estimated to be completed in early spring of 2024.
The lobby will be open Monday through Friday and on Saturdays during the summer for anybody interested in visiting. There is no cost to visit the Fournet lobby.
Evers also mentioned that this is a community project, and he invites community members and organizations to contribute to the Fournet Lobby project. If interested, contact Jeff Evers at 612-251-9611.
