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photo by Brie Cohen
Rusty Besco, left, and Matt Petersen work on taking down layers of ceiling Wednesday, to get the Jacobson Apartments building back to the original ceiling during the demolition for the new Vitality Center in that space.
Open house to showcase Vitality Center, Jacobson building
Published Thursday, November 5, 2009
Photo by Brie Cohen
Christian Vokoun hammers sheet rock off the wall of the Jacobson Apartments building on Wednesday to get back to the original brick for the Vitality Center. People in the Sentence to Serve program were out at the building working on what will be the Vitality Center.
Photo by Brie Cohen
Members of the Sentence to Serve program were working on getting the walls back to the exposed brick Wednesday. Here, the layers to get to the brick are seen.
Photo by Brie Cohen
The original ceiling of the Jacobson Apartments building, with flowers painted on it, peeks through the layers over it.
A week from today, Albert Lea residents will have the chance to view the new Vitality Center before it is installed on the first floor of the historic Jacobson Apartments building in downtown Albert Lea.
During an open house from 5 to 8 p.m. Nov. 12, people can see what demolition work has already taken place in the space and look at a list of the specific items and services that will be needed to open the center by the first of the year.
Sketches and plans developed by historic restoration architect Pat Waddick will be available for review, and donated refreshments will be served.
Waddick will be on site to discuss the plans, and other project leaders will be able to explain what will take place at the Vitality Center, 211 S. Broadway Ave.
A special “Partners in Vitality” announcement will be made near the 6 p.m. hour.
Community Development Director Bob Graham said the center will be a space for the facilitation of new and ongoing vitality initiatives both on the local and national level.
It will also be a place where Blue Zones leaders can showcase Albert Lea as a living laboratory of vitality in the training of other communities and corporations.
Blue Zones information and merchandise will also be available at the center.
Graham said Blue Zones founder Dan Buettner will continue to work with local vitality team members for the Vitality Center and in getting people to come to Albert Lea to view it.
Plans for the Vitality Center were officially announced Oct. 13 at the celebration of the conclusion of the pilot Vitality Project.
The Albert Lea City Council approved the space for the center at its meeting Oct. 26, and demolition on the interior of the space began shortly after.
The project got a kick-start from two $10,000 donations, one from AARP and another from United Health Foundation.
“It’s very exciting,” Graham said. “And it’s certainly going to be a model for what people can do in downtown buildings for a fairly reasonable cost.”
Three weeks after the conclusion of the Vitality Project, local leaders are continuing to receive inquiries about the project from across the country, Graham said. He’s received a number of requests to make presentations, including at a national conference and a couple of state conferences. He’s also made a presentation on the Twin Cities public television show “Almanac.”
These requests come in addition to the national media coverage received on the project, including in USA Today, “Good Morning America” and “Nightline” in recent weeks.
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Comments
Posted by allake (anonymous) on November 5, 2009 at 8:43 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I guess having over $2 million in this building is not enough.
Posted by Intheknow (anonymous) on November 5, 2009 at 10:33 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Bob Graham says "reasonable" cost. Wow. 2 million dollars is reasonable?
I guess a million isn't much - if it isn't your own money.
So much for the Vitality project not costing the city taxpayer.
Posted by SunMan (anonymous) on November 6, 2009 at 12:11 a.m. (Suggest removal)
What exactly is your point, allake? Are you suggesting that outcome does not matter, that once a price point is reached everything should stop, no matter how far progress is? or no matter what the outcome is? or no matter how it fits in with other pieces?
What exactly do you mean? and more importantly, WHAT EXACTLY DO YOU PROPOSE, oh bold leader of cynics, ye allake?
Posted by gone (anonymous) on November 6, 2009 at 6:31 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Renovation and restoration of lives, our bodies, and past works of quality and the opportunities therein often are overlooked by those focusing on fast-food value meals.
Posted by jeshuaerickson (Jeshua Erickson) on November 6, 2009 at 8:37 a.m. (Suggest removal)
A big thank-you to everyone who is contribution time and energy, either directly or indirectly toward getting this vitality center up and running.
Posted by Wolfie (anonymous) on November 6, 2009 at 1:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)
There is a old business adage "You have to spend money to make money". Yes its too bad that the various owners of the property never put any money into the building, as can be shown by the fact that the city took it away for non payment of taxes. But if the building had been allowed to fall down or had to be taken down it would be a property that would never again provide the city with property taxes. If you dont like how downtown looks than you need to come downtown spend some money at the stores and then the owners will have a few extra coins to use to upgrade what they have. Most likely not going to happen as everyone is too happy to send thier money to bentonville, so some hillbillies can buy overpriced art.
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