Building an Image

As shopping and services have gravitated farther from the center of town, many downtown areas like St. Cloud have faced a challenge in creating a new image. Ironically, their biggest draw is the historic ambiance.

Sam Dalluge is a new kind of commercial investor who is facilitating downtown revitalization. With a personal passion for historic restoration, Dalluge now co-owns two buildings in downtown St. Cloud, and acknowledges that this type of investment must take a longer view. However, the returns are just as valuable.“We had the ‘if you build it they will come’ mentality, which is kind of backwards,” says Dalluge who is a lawyer by day. His investment partner is a CPA, and they both work in an historic building they restored in Long Lake. “It’s not typically what a commercial investor does. And our wives sometimes think we’re crazy. But our goal is to have a nice property that people enjoy and we can sell when we retire or live off the income it generates.”

Dalluge’s first St. Cloud investment, the early 1900s-era Hunstiger Meat Building at 819 West St. Germain, is now filled by a new coffee shop with plans for artist studios on the second floor. In addition to restoring original wood floors and tin ceilings, the design replaced decorative brick corbelling and large glass windows shown in original storefront photos. The building recently won an Adaptive Reuse Award from the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota.

Since this building’s restoration, Dalluge and his partner have purchased and begun renovations on a second building at 713 West St. Germain in St. Cloud. Other investors who see the value in historic architecture for developing a unique shopping district downtown are beginning their own renovation projects.