Council votes to save historic downtown building

The City of Albert Lea is acting to save the historic building at 137 E. Clark St. after the city council voted Aug. 28 to stabilize the structure.

Earlier this year, bricks started falling off the north wall of the former VFW building into the alley below, raising safety concerns. City inspectors gained access to the building and found that the back half of the roof was compromised and jeopardizing the integrity of the back-alley wall. The city then took emergency measures to secure the walls.

A private company called Clark Street East LLC of Apple Valley, Minn., bought the property in 2021-2022 for redevelopment into housing, along with buildings at 125, 127 and 131 E. Clark St. After contacting the property owners, the city gained their voluntary cooperation in working to prevent further damage to the building and damage to neighboring properties

The city will assess the stabilization costs, which could reach $350,000, to the four properties owned by Clark Street East LLC.

The building contributes to Albert Lea’s historic downtown, the largest of its kind in Minnesota. Built in 1910, the building originally housed a clothing store and the Danish Brotherhood Society. It was the only building owned and occupied by a Danish Brotherhood Society in Minnesota.

As the society’s membership waned, the building changed ownership and was briefly known as the Club Royal. Following World War II, the VFW bought the building and extensively remodeled it for a meeting hall. The building served as the VFW Post 447 from 1949 to 1996. Various bars and restaurants then occupied the building, which has sat vacant in recent years.

The long-time deterioration of the VFW building represents an on-going challenge for the City of Albert Lea to encourage private development while determining when to intervene to save buildings. The city started the Broadway Ridge Renewal Grant program in 2016 to help property owners preserve historic downtown buildings. The city is also starting other programs to preserve buildings before they deteriorate to the point of demolition.

Bricks falling off the north wall of the VFW building into the alley below raised safety concerns this summer, leading to the city stabilizing the historic structure.

The City of Albert Lea took emergency measures to stabilize the former VFW building at 137 E. Clark St. after finding that the roof was failing.

The former VFW building was built in 1910 and offers unique and historic features, including these stained-glass windows installed by the VFW in the 1940s.

The building at the corner of East Clark Street and Newton Avenue originally housed the Danish Brotherhood Society in the early 1900s. The VFW occupied the building from 1949 to 1996. Various bars and restaurants then used the building, which has sat vacant in recent years. The City of Albert Lea is working to preserve the historic building.