Castle Proposal Picked for Rochester Armory Sale
Rochester, MN (KROC AM News) - A local proposal has beat out one from the Twin Cities for a repurposing of the Rochester Armory building.
The City Council reached that consensus during its Monday committee meeting.
The proposal that won the council’s support is called Castle Community. It calls for a public/private project that will include public space, a restaurant and bookstore.
The other proposal was from the group that runs the Fine Line in Minneapolis. It proposed renovating the building to bring back its original look. It focused on live entertainment and other events.
Councilmembers Ed Hruska and Annalissa Johnson were the only ones to voice support for this proposal. One of the reasons given by other councilmembers who supported the Castle proposal was that it will offer ongoing activity, rather than the event-driven concept offered by Fine Line.
A formal vote is expected in a few weeks after staff works out a purchase agreement.