(rshsdepot) Ashland, WI

["James Dent" <james.dent_@_itochu.com>]

-From the Duluth Tribune...

Ashland Depot to see new life
Nonprofit will raise funds to rebuild fire-damaged landmark

It's going to take some fast fund-raising, but the historic Soo Line Depot
in Ashland is on its way to being rebuilt.

At a news conference Tuesday in Ashland, the property was transferred from
private ownership to the nonprofit Ashland Area Development Corp. The
estimated cost of rebuilding the Depot is $3.6 million, project coordinator
Jim Ogilvie said.

The Depot, a fixture in Ashland since 1887, suffered extensive damage in a
fire on April 1, 2000. Several businesses, including two restaurants, were
forced to relocate.

Ogilvie said it's likely the rebuilt Depot will feature at least one
restaurant; other tenants could include a museum, technology businesses and
office space.

The project will be completed in two phases. Phase I actually began Monday
with the transfer of the property. Now the top priority, Ogilvie said, is to
stabilize the building.

"The building cannot and will not stand two winters without closure,''
Ogilvie said. "Phase I is to clear out the debris from the fire, stabilize
the building and put on a new roof, new interior walls and board up the
windows.''

Phase I work is expected to begin Sept. 1 and be completed by year's end.
Phase II, which will complete the project, is expected to be complete by the
end of 2003.

"We feel very good about it,'' said Leslie Hamp of the Depot Restoration
Committee.

About $1.5 million is needed for Phase I. Bids on the project go out in
August. Funding will come from the National Parks Service ($499,000),
$900,000 in state and federal historic tax credits, and $100,000 worth of
in-kind labor.

For Phase II, another $2.4 million is needed. The Mary H. Rice Foundation of
Bayfield has already contributed $150,000 to the project. Ogilvie said about
$500,000 in funds will have to be raised by the Ashland Area Development
Corporation. Another $1.1 million grant may come from the Wisconsin
Department of Transportation.

Since its initial restoration in 1987, the Soo Line Depot has been a major
part of the city's identity, something Ogilvie doesn't want the city to
lose.

"I've always had an interest in the project,'' said Ogilvie, a retired
banker who helped finance the 1987 remodeling. "It's a beautiful building, a
piece of Ashland history.''

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