BEMIDJI — The 90-year-old downtown Bemidji building that houses Masonic Lodge 233 could be nearing death’s door.
Massive water damage from leaky, aging pipes made the multistory building too expensive to repair, and heating costs made it too expensive to maintain. The Masonic temple is reportedly one of the few remaining buildings in the state that was built specifically for the Masons, but Lodge 233 is selling it for $125,000 into an uncertain future.
Dick Labraaten is the lodge’s education officer, and he also happens to be the real estate agent who listed the old building. Labraaten said the aging lodge, which sits across Bemidji Avenue from the also-troubled Carnegie Library, could possibly be razed. As of Wednesday, there were two different potential buyers, one of which may demolish the building, he said. However, the lodge hadn’t received any offers yet, he added.
full story http://www.bemidjipioneer.com/content/life-and-death-temple-masonic-lodge-233-finds-renewal-loss-their-historic-building
Massive water damage from leaky, aging pipes made the multistory building too expensive to repair, and heating costs made it too expensive to maintain. The Masonic temple is reportedly one of the few remaining buildings in the state that was built specifically for the Masons, but Lodge 233 is selling it for $125,000 into an uncertain future.
Dick Labraaten is the lodge’s education officer, and he also happens to be the real estate agent who listed the old building. Labraaten said the aging lodge, which sits across Bemidji Avenue from the also-troubled Carnegie Library, could possibly be razed. As of Wednesday, there were two different potential buyers, one of which may demolish the building, he said. However, the lodge hadn’t received any offers yet, he added.
full story http://www.bemidjipioneer.com/content/life-and-death-temple-masonic-lodge-233-finds-renewal-loss-their-historic-building