FARGO — A downtown skyline landmark here will be knocked down and, combined with a building project planned just to its east, the two moves could significantly reshape Fargo's eastern gateway for those entering the city from Moorhead.

The Lashkowitz High Rise, 101 2nd St. S., can't be fixed and will be torn down, Steve Eickhoff, capital improvement coordinator for the Fargo Housing and Redevelopment Authority, told the city's Planning Commission on Tuesday, April 2.

There is no timeline for demolition of the 22-story building, but federal officials have finally determined the 48-year-old High Rise is not worth fixing, Eickhoff said. The building has had many structural issues over the years and was damaged by a fire this past winter.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which oversees the building, "wants protection for the tenants so that they have somewhere to go and we aren't just putting 248 people out on the street," said Eickhoff. Most of the High Rise tenants are elderly or disabled.

He said High Rise residents are gradually moving out of the building, which at one time HUD had considered selling to a developer.

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That dynamic is also why Fargo's Housing and Redevelopment Authority is one of three entities interested in developing a city-owned piece of property at the intersection of Main Avenue and Second Street, which was cleared of a large apartment complex in recent years to allow room for a flood-control project along Second Street. That area is just east of the High Rise.

The other two parties interested in developing that newly opened land are the nonprofit Beyond Shelter Inc. and a private company called Enclave.

All three development proposals for the site along Main Avenue and Second Street call for a mixed-use building with residential and commercial space.

The city of Fargo put out a request for proposals in February for that 54,000-square-foot parcel of land, formerly home to Park East apartments.

Jim Gilmour, director of strategic planning for the city, told planning commissioners Tuesday that the city's finance committee and Renaissance Zone Authority will be looking at the proposals, too, before they are brought to the City Commission.

He said the staff and other officials would be examining the quality of the projects, when they can get completed and their financing.

City Commissioner Tony Grindberg said at the meeting he wanted planning commissioners to be informed about the proposals. He said officials want to make sure any project at that spot will tie into other work that needs to be done on the southeast side of downtown. Those other projects involve the nearby former Mid-America Steel land along the river and the proposed plaza in the area surrounding the new City Hall.

Grindberg said the process might have to slow down until those other pieces of the puzzle can be further defined.

The housing authority's plan was the least detailed of the three proposals for the piece of land along Main Avenue and Second Street, but initially calls for a five-story structure with 40 to 60 apartments and commercial space on the main floor.

Eickhoff said it would be mixed-income tenants as is the trend in public housing today.

He said the housing authority works with Beyond Shelter, a Fargo-based developer of affordable housing, which submitted a plan for a $29 million senior housing development that would also include 10 higher-end apartments and seven condos and lofts, with commercial space on the main floor.

The third proposal was from Enclave Development of Fargo, which would tie the structure into the neighboring strip mall that houses businesses and the Fryn' Pan Family Restaurant. The development and construction firm is proposing a $20 million, five-story structure that would include commercial space and housing for 122 residents, along with underground parking.