ASCEND project breaks ground in Owatonna
Representatives of the Owatonna Chamber of Commerce and Tourism and Redline Development toss shovels full of muddy earth during Monday’s ceremonial groundbreaking for the ASCEND project in downtown Owatonna. Staff photo by Joni Hubred
While plenty of earth has already moved to make way for a massive riverfront development in Owatonna, business leaders and elected officials gathered Monday with developers to celebrate its ceremonial groundbreaking.
ASCEND is the city’s first mixed-use project, with 69 luxury apartments built above commercial/retail space at ground level. Partners with Redline Development have been working on it for more than a decade.
“The Riverfront development was a big point of discussion after we got our (new high) school,” said partner Darren Stadheim. “Nearly a decade ago, we actually bought the first property on the river front. It wasn’t that we were enamored with those buildings, we had a vision. We had a lot of plans.”
As Redline began looking for tenants to fill the space, Stadheim said, “I met a small group of guys who wanted to brew some beer. They wanted to get out of their garage.”
He found space for Mineral Springs Brewery (MSB) on Walnut Avenue six years ago. Their new home in ASCEND will give them three times their current space, with indoor seating and a patio for food trucks. But Bill Cronin said MSB will keep what has become the heart of success for him and partners Rod Baker and Mark Sebring.
“From the get-go for us, it’s about the community,” he said. “It’s the pillar, it’s the soul of what we bring at MSB. When we looked at this site and what we could do here, the biggest thing for us is to retain that soul. We want to have community, friends, fellowship and great beer, food truck model and great bands. We’re not changing a thing… we’re going to scale bigger.”
West Bank has also found a new home as part of the project. Stadheim said their decision to build on the former Owatonna Chamber of Commerce & Tourism site provide a “kick” that ASCEND needed.
Jason Eyberg, market president, said West Bank is over 130 years old and moved into the Owatonna market five years ago. Headquartered in West Des Moines, Iowa, the bank has put up new buildings in each of its communities over the past five years and will soon complete a new headquarters building in West Des Moines.
“One of the things that’s important to us is not just building a building but what can we do to also help the communities we’re in,” he said. Being part of the ASCEND project “is the kind of thing we do… not just build a building but help transform the community in some way.”
The most recently announced ASCEND tenant, Olmsted Medical Center, is new to Owatonna.
Rob Cunningham, chief operating officer, said OMC will bring a primary care clinic, surgical center, and several specialty services to the area.
The health care provider first opened in 1949 in Rochester and has since added 11 communities.
“We’ve heard from a lot of individuals that have moved to Owatonna through the years, they’ve missed the care we provided,” Cunningham said. “And so we wanted to bring that legacy of caring, patient-centered focus to Owatonna and to the Steele County area as well.”
The new development is further evidence that Owatonna is “on the move,” Chamber president Brad Meier said, with more than $100 million of investment in the community over the past four years.
Owatonna city administrator Kris Busse said all the businesses involved will provide a “convenient mix of services for our residents, commuters, and visitors.” She said the project “will bring new life to the area and accentuate Owatonna’s riverfront as a focal point for the downtown area.”