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GOLDFINE TO BUY DULUTH SPRING
Duluth News Tribune (MN) -
Friday, May 18, 2007
Author: JANE BRISSETT NEWS
TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
Duluth hotelier John Goldfine has inked a
deal to buy the last piece of industrial land in Canal Park, but the deal
won't be finalized soon.
Goldfine , president of ZMC Hotels, confirmed this week that
he recently put down earnest money for the Duluth Spring property at 300
Canal Park Drive. The transaction will close when the company finds a new
location, he said.
Owner Dave Tyacke said there are no plans for Duluth Spring to go out of
business. He and his family are considering what steps to take when it moves.
No future location has been identified. The relocation process could take a
year or more, he said.
The company has annual sales of $1 million to $1.5 million and employs five
people, Tyacke said.
"I think the time has come for the last smokestack to leave Canal
Park," Tyacke said.
What's now called Canal Park for many years was an industrial waterfront area
with bars, heavy manufacturing, warehouses and wholesalers, such as
Marshall-Wells Hardware Co.
Michael Paulucci began to change the makeup of the area by buying the Sand
Bar, gutting it and opening a new restaurant, Grandma's Saloon & Deli, in
1976. Other hospitality businesses followed.
In the past three decades, as Duluth's tourism industry has grown, Canal Park
has been cleaned up and beautified. Today, it is the site of shops, hotels,
restaurants and the Lakewalk. Visitors flock there, especially during the
summer, and many people thought Duluth Spring looked out of place in that
environment.
Goldfine said he doesn't know what he will do with the
property where Duluth Spring has operated since 1960. The land is narrow - 62
feet wide with a 12-foot easement - and is not suitable for a large
development.
Goldfine said he has thought about using it for parking for
the Inn on Lake Superior, owned by ZMC Hotels, or perhaps a restaurant.
"We're open to any ideas," he said. "We're just trying to
figure out what we can and can't do."
Duluth Spring makes 150- to 200-pound springs for agricultural tractors,
liquid fertilizer vehicles and special trucks that move semi-trailers at
seaports and airports.
For much of its history, the company made springs for mining trucks, but
eventually the vehicles became too big for the products Duluth Spring
manufactures. In recent years, the company's market has shrunk, Tyacke said.
Duluth Spring was founded by Tyacke's father, Bruce Tyacke, and uncle, Warren
Tyacke, in 1948. The business occupied the building that now houses the Club
Saratoga until 1960. That year, the Tyackes built the building Duluth Spring
is in today.
The Tyacke family also owns Zenith Spring, 3116 W. Michigan St.
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