Downtown Duluth Eyesore Finally Removed, What’s Next?
The eyesore on 2nd Avenue West is finally gone. It's been a long, slow project to remove the old Shoppers Auto parking ramp at 18 N 2nd Avenue West in Downtown Duluth. Demolition began in April of 2025 and finally wrapped up this October.
Demolition Of Shoppers Auto Park Downtown
The project was originally supposed to take 3.5 months. But it ended up taking about a year and a half. The difficulty was that the ramp was built into the adjacent historic New Garrik building. The city selected Carlton Companies as the contractor, and they had to demolish the ramp floor by floor and piece by piece so they wouldn't damage the historic building next door.
Abandoned Since 2019
The ramp closed 7 years ago because of its poor structural integrity. It was fenced off, boarded up, and remained an eyesore for years. It was a public safety concern because of the hazards of the building and because it was a place for squatters.
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The Duluth Economic Development Authority owns the property, and Mayor Roger Reinert says it's now ready for redevelopment. So far there's no word on what that redevelopment will look like, but at least for now the eyesore is gone.
$3 Million Dollar Project Goes Over Budget
The original cost was estimated at just under 1 million dollars. Earlier this year in April, the Duluth News Tribune reported that the cost of the project surpassed $3 million dollars. That's triple the original cost due to "urban fill" discovery.