Council approves facelift for Minnesota Street Market

by Cori Hilsgen

news@thenewsleaders.com

On May 4, the city council approved a facelift for the front of the Minnesota Street Market, Closet to Closet and Artisan Naan Bakery building located on Main Street in St. Joseph.

Jeff Engholm, who is coordinating the facelift, said the restoration includes cleaning up and painting the front of the store, replacing the old shakes, reconstructing the awning and adding a balcony.

New signs will be added and a change in placement of those signs will be done. The new signs will be more visible for pedestrians walking on the street and around the city.

Engholm said the building was built between 1857-59 and was one of the first buildings in town. The restoration design includes a balcony and decorative window that matches the original design of the building and also coordinates with other Main Street buildings with balconies.

Engholm said the restoration will cost about $36,000. Bob McCoy is the designer, and Michael Lang of Paragon Homes is the contractor for the project.

The project will be funded by the revolving-loan fund which is specifically designed to fund store-front improvements downtown, and a BFA $1,000 matching grant.

“The hope is this generates some excitement and gets people talking about the Minnesota Street Market,” Engholm said. “My primary motivation is to increase awareness of the businesses that are in that building now and to make downtown a brighter and happier place.”

Organizers hope to begin the project in June and have it completed before July 3 and 4 festivities.

Engholm and his wife, Stacie, have owned the Local Blend, which is also located on Main Street, for seven years.

Engholm is also a music teacher at St. John’s Prep School and plays bass and sings for two bands, Collective Unconscious and Blimp. They have one son, Sawyer, 13, who attends SJP.