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Arcadian Bank this week announced it is working to design a new building to take the place of its original 1912 structure in Hartland that was badly damaged by a tornado last December. 

Mark Heinemann, president and chief financial officer, said after recovering from the shock of the Dec. 15 tornado and the initial cleanup of the site, the company has been trying to put together ideas and plans for rebuilding. 

He said the insurance company declared that everything above the basement must come down, and leadership with the bank are exploring whether it makes sense to tear out everything including the foundation and take it down to a bare lot and start over, or to use a portion of the foundation for the new structure. The footprint of the new building has not yet been decided. 

Heinemann did not have a timeline on when plans would be ready or when the new building would be constructed. 

“The hardest part has been waiting on the insurance company and developmental plans … ” he said. 

In the meantime, customers who had banked in Hartland are encouraged to continue banking in Albert Lea or Freeborn. 

He said he appreciated people’s flexibility in doing so, and recognized that though it is a change in people’s normal routines, the bank is making an extra effort to take care of the Hartland people who were displaced. The bank has one employee from the Hartland site working at each location in Albert Lea and Freeborn, so these customers have familiar faces when they go into the sites. 

Heinemann thanked the community for its support the last few months and said that after the initial sorrow, support and offers of assistance, the next biggest question for people has been whether the bank will rebuild. 

He said they breathe a sigh of relief when they hear the bank, does indeed, plan to do so. 

“We look forward to following through in our commitment to rebuild,” Heinemann said. 

The building’s most extensive damage was to the exterior, mostly on the southwest side, with windows blown out and debris scattered inside. Some of the brickwork on the east side was also torn off.

The National Weather Service classified the Hartland tornado as an EF2. The fast-moving Hartland tornado reached wind speeds as high as 115 mph and was 55 yards wide. It damaged numerous buildings, trees and utility poles, with significant damage coming in the center of town to both residential and business structures. 

It was one of 60 tornadoes reported across multiple states. Before that day, Minnesota had never before had a tornado on the ground in December.