The Jorgenson Hotel in downtown Hutchinson may get a second life as an upscale hotel. The Hutchinson Economic Development Authority has approved assistance and is working with a possible buyer interested in redeveloping the historic building.
EDA Director Miles Seppelt confirmed Titanium Partners, the firm that constructed Cobblestone Hotel in 2018, was evaluating the feasibility of a project on the historic site. He stressed no purchase had been made and nothing was set in stone.
“It’s being explored,” he said. “I can say that much.”
The EDA has approved a redevelopment tax-increment finance district for redevelopment of the Jorgenson Hotel. The TIF doesn’t assure a project will happen, but helps to pave the way. It would allow the owner to pay property taxes as normal, but a portion of that money is captured to help pay for qualifying costs for development — new windows, for example. TIF districts have previously been approved for sites such as the State Theatre and Cornerstone Commons.
The proposal was briefly discussed at the Nov. 2 McLeod County Board meeting.
“The TIF plan proposes the redevelopment of the site as an upscale 40-room hotel,” Connie Kurtzweg, McLeod County Auditor-Treasurer, told board members. “The existing first floor of the office spaces would be retained and the top two floors of the current building would be renovated to create 10 hotel rooms on each level, and two additional floors created pending structural analysis.”
A reporter reached out to Titanium Partners but did not receive a response before deadline.
“The whole idea behind it is we have a good project, but it doesn’t work from a financial incentive unless we give it a little push,” Seppelt said. “In doing my research, I noted there was a redevelopment TIF district set up back in the late 1990s ... and the project fell apart and didn’t happen. So we’re going down the path now, but it’s far from a guarantee.”
A public hearing to discuss the TIF is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 14, at the Hutchinson City Council chambers.
The Jorgenson Hotel was constructed at the corner of Main Street and Washington Avenue in 1916 by brothers John A. and Arthur B. Jorgenson. The three-story brick building had 72 rooms and 20 bathrooms, according to the McLeod County Historical Society and Museum. Its forerunner was the Merchants Hotel, which I. B. Jorgenson purchased in 1884.
