Parked Building Will Be Moved Back Around The Corner Soon
Ten months after it made a slow roll around the corner and onto the sidewalk along 2nd Avenue North, an old blacksmith structure will be moved back into the spot where it stood since the 1890s. Only this time, it will have a parking ramp beneath it.
The return move is scheduled for Saturday, October 22nd from approximately 9am-1pm. For those who missed the first one back in December, we have time-lapse video posted here.
Once it’s back in place, crews can start building the new sections of a complex that will include the West Hotel, along with a new restaurant from James Beard Award-winning chef Tim McKee featuring a Basque-inspired menu, plus new bars and retail spaces.
“We’re eager to expand into this vibrant city and collaborate with these amazing and talented partners,” said David Bowd, CEO of Salt Hotels which will operate The West Hotel. “We’re excited to be expanding here during a time when such transformational developments are taking place.”
The beloved Commutator Foundry building will also undergo a transformation in the coming months as part of this project.
Lobby bar/lounge
The dilapidated one-story structure on the south side will become a lobby bar/lounge for the boutique hotel, while parts of the historic three-story structure will be converted into hotel rooms. This building, by the way, started out as a hotel in the 1880s–the American House.
Hotel room in the historic portion
In all, The West will house 123 guest rooms, a fireside lounge, library, a stone cellar cocktail bar and rooftop bar with city views, communal work spaces, and the new Spanish restaurant.
Hotel room in the new section
Developers hope to have the project completed by the fall of 2023.
By Mike Binkley, North Loop volunteer