News
Funds for the demolition of
the Fergus Falls
Regional Treatment Center (RTC) have been included in Governor Tim
Pawlenty's bonding bill, at the request of the Department of Human
Services. Click
here for more info (PDF file). Action must be taken now to avoid
losing this historic landmark! See the "What
Can I Do?" section below for info on how you can help make your
voice heard.
Following are two recent
articles from the Fergus
Falls Daily Journal regarding the potential reuse of the RTC.
Both articles are reprinted with permission from the Fergus Falls Daily
Journal.
Three file RTC intent
Fergus Falls, Minnesota
Monday, December 22, 2003
By Lucien Holmes
The 100-year-old Kirkbride tower is the centerpiece of a complex of
buildings on the northern end of Union Street. Although it is majestic and
imposing, nobody seems to know what to do with it.
The state, which owns it, doesn't want it, and the Department of Human
Services, which operates it, can't afford it, so Fergus Falls has turned
to attorney Kent Mattson.
Mattson's office is accepting requests for proposals until Feb. 13, 2004
and asking developers who intend to submit a proposal to first send a
letter of intent.
That deadline passed on Thursday, and to date Mattson's office has
received three letters of intent; however, proposals will still be
accepted without a letter of intent.
"The important thing is that no decision has been made," said
Mattson.
One of the problems associated with the future of the Kirkbride tower and
surrounding buildings is that there are two separate issues.
"It's important to differentiate between the services and the
building. The building is our focus," said Heritage Preservation
Commission (HPC) member Wayne Hurley.
"We don't want to lose the jobs associated with the occupants of the
building. That's a vital part of the local economy," he said,
The buildings currently are in limited use. A few SPMI (Serious and
Persistent Mental Illness) patients are still housed at the facility. The
District #544 Area Learning Center, and some Otter Tail County services
are also located on the grounds.
There are concerns over the cost of maintaining the complex. Some
estimates approach $1,000,000 a year for heat, grounds keeping and
security. But the State of Minnesota, who declared the RTC "surplus
property," must develop a master plan for reuse, according to
Mattson.
"That might be terms of acquisition from a previous developer,
maintenance in hopes of future development, transferrance to the city, or
demolition," said Mattson.
The Department of Administration, Otter Tail County, local legislators,
and representatives of the City of Fergus Falls and the RTC -- the Reuse
Taskforce -- have been working to find a solution since 2002.
The task force consultant hired recommended a hotel and golf course. Other
informal suggestions have included a college, a corporate headquarters, a
shelter, or apartments.
Despite these exciting possibilities for reuse, the most practical may be
retail space. According to Hydukovich, there is more square footage in the
RTC than in all the shops on Lincoln Avenue.
It was also recently designated as a tax-free zone under the state's new
JOBZ initiative. City Planner Gordon Hydukovich said that means operators
of new businesses there will not pay property tax, state income tax, sales
tax or corporate tax. Even federal taxes are eased by a 20% tax credit and
a "facade easement," which would be two-thirds of a mile for the
RTC
The structural integrity of the complex should also draw interest.
"Realistically, there might be two small buildings you'd have to tear
down [here]...But the majority of the buildings -- including the tower --
are in good shape," Hydukovich said.
No matter what the future scenario, officials are concerned about the time
needed for a project of this magnitude.
"Beginning now, a developer has only twelve years to take advantage
of this. The clock is ticking," he said.
The clock is also ticking for organizations like the HPC. The Department
of Human Services requested $4,500,000 for demolition of "old,
non-functional buildings" in its 2004 preliminary capital budget
request.
Mattson said before anything happens there will be plenty of opportunity
for local input.
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Landmark has vital
link with history
(Editor's note: this is the second in a two-part series on the state of
the RTC.)
Fergus Falls, Minnesota
Monday, December 22, 2003
By Lucien Holmes
The Regional Treatment Center is an imposing complex, sitting on about 70
acres of land, with buildings that occupy nearly 900,000 square feet. But
the Fergus Falls landmark, so linked to the city's past, faces an
uncertain future. The state has declared it surplus property, and the city
is looking for proposals from developers.
Fergus Falls Heritage Preservation Commission member Wayne Hurley said
those buildings are important to the commission.
"Being on the National Register of Historic Places doesn't guarantee
anything," Hurley said. "What gets done to the property is up to
the owner."
"Fergus Falls fought so hard to get it in the 1880s. There were two
state hospitals before the Kirkbride, and when ours was built, it was
state of the art," said Hurley.
Indeed, it was one of the last ever built by architect Thomas Kirkbride
and reformer Dorothy Dix. They collaborated on building many of these
hospitals, whose long windows and surrounding fields were intended to
promote healing in the mentally ill.
City Planner Gordon Hydukovich said the building was much more than a
mental institution. Residents included tuberculosis patients, the
chemically dependent, and even women suffering from menopause.
"It was once a self-sufficient community: they farmed and cooked and
kept the grounds," said Hydukovich.
Communities in New York, Massachusetts, and Michigan have rallied to save
their hospitals when the state no longer found them viable, Hurley said.
"There are people who would say you need to fight just as hard to
keep it viable, that you need to look at it as an asset, not a
problem," said Hurley.
Hydukovich is one of those people.
"Landmarks are important. They give us a sense of identity," he
said.
He points to a developer working with a Kirkbride structure in Traverse
City, Mich. That developer has begun a "mixed-use" project.
Like the Michigan property, the Fergus Falls RTC is tentatively zoned for
a mix of industry, commercial, and residential use. The residential zones
are on the edges and act as a buffer from the tower complex in the middle
and the industry to the northwest.
As Hydukovich said, this should preserve neighborhoods and be attractive
to potential developers, even though the site is "geographically
further out [than Traverse City] -- not on the edge of Battle Lake, not
next to the Cities in Anoka."
The commission makes recommendations to the city on preservation of
significant buildings or land. Attorney Kent Mattson, who has been hired
by the city to deal with proposals from developers, said that the city is
in the middle of a long process. He said there will be plenty of
opportunity for local input.
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Overview
The Fergus Falls
Regional Treatment Center (RTC) is a unique landmark in the City of Fergus Falls. It
served for many years as a state hospital for the insane, at one time housing upwards of
2,000 patients. As times have changed, the RTC has seen its patient numbers dwindle
as patients are moved into smaller facilites. The State of Minnesota has declared
the RTC campus surplus property. Currently the City of Fergus Falls is working with
the state to take over the RTC campus. A reuse study has been completed, but many
feel that the recommendations of the study would be difficult - not to mention very costly
- to implement.
Several organizations
have offices in buildings on the campus, such as Fergus Falls School District #544
(district offices and the Area Learning Center), The Western Area City/County
Co-Operative, and the West Central Minnesota Housing Partnership. However, as noted,
the State of Minnesota is in the process of abandoning the main Kirkbride building on
campus.
A recent, positive development is that
Otter Tail County has purchased and renovated one of the larger buildings on the RTC campus
for use as a county administration center.
The most unique feature on the RTC campus
is undoubtedly the Kirkbride-style main building. The Kirkbride building was
designed based on a model developed by Dr. Thomas Kirkbride, which featured curving or
staggered wings with natural light and windows in all patient rooms. In addition,
the beautifully landscaped grounds of the campus were used for outdoor recreation.
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History
The history that follows
was provided by Chris Schulke, Executive Director of the Otter Tail County
Historical Society, and from the book Building from the Past by
James Gray & Marjorie Barton, published by the Fergus Falls Heritage
Preservation Commission:
The main building of the Fergus
Falls State Hospital is the only remaining example of Kirkbride
architecture in Minnesota. The building was designed as a single
unit and followed the architectural concepts of Dr. Thomas S. Kirkbride, a
19th century Pennsylvania physician and pioneer in the mental health
field. Warren B. Dunnell, a Minneapolis architect, translated
Kirkbride's ideas into a building plan.
Kirkbride's concepts included
narrow widths in buildings so that every room had outside windows, and
construction was to be of fireproof materials. He recommended single
rooms and small wards for patients and believed there should be a minimum
of 100 acres of grounds for farming, gardening, exercise and privacy.
Kirkbride designed the center
section of his buildings to be higher than the wings. The center was
to serve as the administrative area of the facility and included kitchens,
offices, a reception area, visiting rooms, a lecture room, chapel and
staff apartments.
Construction began in 1888 with the west detached ward, the main complex
was completed in 1899, with the center section finished in 1906.
Constructed with elements of Roman Renaissance and Gothic influence, it is
built in the shape of a semi-circle, 1500 feet in length. Its cream
colored brick was manufactured in nearby Pelican Rapids. The
eight-story tower, described as somewhat Beaux Arts Classical, was never
intended for use, but was the culmination of an architectural statement
and was to serve as a landmark within the city.
From 1891 to 1969, the Fergus Falls State Hospital was a self contained
community. It consisted of a 637 acre farm which included orchards,
pasture, dairy and horse barns, 35 acres of gardens and 650 tillable
acres.
Placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986, the building
is being vacated by the State of Minnesota. The community of Fergus Falls
now faces the task of either finding alternate uses for the building or
allow it to face the wrecking ball.
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Links and
Info
See the links below for more information
about the Fergus Falls RTC and Kirkbride buildings. . .
- The
Village at Grand Traverse Commons
- Excellent example of a Kirkbride complex
that is being renovated for re-use in Traverse City, Michigan (a similar-sized community
to Fergus Falls). It CAN be done!!!
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What Can I
Do?
If you are
concerned about the fate of the Fergus Falls RTC, there are several things
you can do to help and make your voice heard. Write a letter, send an
email or call the elected officials listed below to let them know that you
oppose the demolition of the RTC, and that you support finding a reuse for
this unique, historic landmark that has helped shape the community of Fergus
Falls.
Unless there is
significant public effort to request more time to find a reuse for the RTC,
funds will be there for the wrecking ball to move in this July.
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