The Silos at Pier B to break ground next week

It's a project that has been in the planning phase for about four years now and it's one that has a lot of area residents and tourists alike pretty excited. We're talking about the redevelopment of Pier B on the scenic and iconic Duluth waterfront.

If you don't know already this is quite the ambitious development as it involves the redevelopment of a contaminated site and also water slip. Oh yes, in addition to that it also features a large cement silo. While the development has changed designs quite a few times over the years, even at one point being proposed as a 9 story building, it has always remained a question of not "if" but more so "when" this project would come to fruition.

Developers announced this week that financing for the project has been secured and that ground breaking is officially planned for first week of March (next week). It'll be the first commercial development on this side of the waterfront district in quite some time as the last development to take place over on this side of the waterfront was the creation of new Bayfront Festival Park in 2001. The land stretching past the park has remained almost entirely industrial for decades now. That is until now.

Designed by DSGW Architects of Duluth, The Silos at Pier B as the hotel is being called, will feature 140 guest rooms, a waterfront restaurant, banquet area, and a 20 boat slip marina. The development project will also extend the Lakewalk with the construction a slip bridge that will connect Pier B to Bayfront Festival Park. One important aspect of the project is the planned slip marina as it will be the first on this side of the bay.

Above you'll find the various designs of the project throughout the years.

The most recent design has had a few material changes to the exterior but remains largely unchanged from the designs that you can find on our PROJECT PAGE for the Silos at Pier B. We will update those renderings as soon as they become available.

Exactly what is planned for the silos on site has yet to be determined. Developers state that "there are endless possibilities" for the structure as it is stable and sound. Some ideas include a rock climbing center, hotel rooms on top or inside the silos, and even the idea for an indoor sky diving simulator.

Construction on The Silos at Pier B is set to begin next week with an opening planned for May 2016.

We're interested in your thoughts regarding this development and would greatly appreciate if you would comment below.