(Spirit Lake)—A former bank building that’s also a longtime land mark in downtown Spirit Lake has a new owner.
It was announced today (Fri.) Rembrandt Enterprises, Incorporated has purchased the building that formerly housed Northwest Bank at the corner of Lake Street and Hill Avenue.
Dave Rettig, Co-Owner and President of Rembrandt Enterprises, tells KUOO news they plan to relocate their headquarters, currently located in Okoboji, to the downtown Spirit Lake location…(click here for comment.) “In Okoboji today we have approximately 70 employees here at our headquarters. We perform all of our headquarters functions up here…accounting, finance, purchasing, customer service and many other of the corporate functions. So yes, absolutely, office space is what it will be used for.”
Rettig says the location will also give the company an opportunity to grow…(click here for comment.) “We’ve I think over the last five or six years have gone from, we started up here in the Okoboji area five, six years or so ago. We’ve added 70 employees over that period of time and certainly we’re optimistic about the future, continued growth, and just being part of a larger vision for the continued revitalization of downtown. Certainly that’s been, I know, Northwest Bank’s vision, and to the extent that we can participate in that also and help spur that along, you know, I guess we’re hopeful that our participation in downtown could really create some other exciting things downtown.”
Rettig says the company plans to use a portion of the main floor and the entire second floor of the historic building… (click here for comment.) “We have been in initial discussions with an architectural firm that has a basis in historical architecture and Northwest has some great photographs of the bank of what it used to be like back in the 1920’s which we’re excited about. It’s certainly a beautiful bank today but if we can be part of a historical restoration process, and I know there’s been a number of folks downtown who have already done some of those things being part of the creation of a possible historical oriented district downtown would be an exciting vision, I think.”
A timeframe as to when Rembrandt Enterprises plans to move into the facility hasn’t been set yet…(click here for comment.) “We’ve just entered into the agreement so we’ve just started to engage contractors and architects and certainly, you know, as we get those plans back we’ll be wanting to keep you abreast of that. To make the offices into a location that’s amenable to things that we’re going to be doing, certainly the first floor has been used as an ongoing bank. But the second floor has not been used for many, many decades and it’s really remarkable to be up there. It’s a museum status up there. So we’re engaged with folks that have a background in the preservation of some of those attributes up there and of course to do that we want to be sensitive to the historical nature that’s up there and sometimes that takes a little time.”
Rettig says the second level of the structure has a history that’s nothing short of amazing…(click here for comment.) “It’s got a great history up there. An opera hall, it’s been a community dance center…obviously this goes back many, many years…back in the 20’s, 30’s and 40’s. We saw in the main ballroom, or what used to be considered the main ballroom, an area where ladies would sit to, what I was told, to get their dance cards filled out and proceed with the dance. So it’s really got a very unique history.”
Spirit Lake Mayor Blaine Andera tells KUOO news the city is very excited about today’s (Fri.) announcement, adding the project will bring a renewed vitality to the downtown area…(click here for comment.) “Obviously Steve this is something fantastic for downtown Spirit Lake. You know we were a little bit concerned when the bank closed up. It’s been a staple in downtown for so long and Northwest Bank assurred us that they were going to try really hard to get someone else in there and they certainly succeeded, so we’re excited about working with Rembrandt Foods and helping make the transition for them as smooth as possible.”
Officials with Northwest Bank and Rembrandt Enterprises say the purchase agreement is contingent on reserving sufficient employee parking and use of an existing downtown revitalization program. Andera it’s something city officials are already working on…(click here for comment.) “We’re just exploring some options. You know you bring 70 or 80 new jobs to a downtown area obviously parking is going to be a concern. We’ve done a parking study here recently and looking at some different things, Steve, and hopefully we can get that taken care of here in the near future, you bet.”
Rembrandt Enterprises, Incorporated has added over 470 jobs to the Iowa Lakes Corridor region since 2000.
A news release doesn’t a mention a timeframe as to when Rembrandt Enterprises plans to move to the downtown Spirit Lake location. Company officials say it will depend largely on how the building renovation goes and on getting the parking arrangements worked out.
