We've covered old churches that became homes. We've covered old fire stations that became homes. Hell, we've covered former Girl Scout lodges that became homes.
But 1106 88th Ave. W., located in West Duluth's Morgan Park neighborhood, is the first bank we've encountered to undergo the single-family transition. Listed last week for $499,000, the one-bedroom, five-bathroom, 2,530-square-foot piece of Twin Ports financial history is ready for its next life as a residential property.
Originally built in 1918, the structure served area residents as a—you guessed it—bank until the '70s, says listing agent Brian Rud with Messina & Associates Real Estate. By that time, Rust Belt-adjacent economies like Duluth's had begun reconsidering their futures amid deindustrialization. It remains an ongoing process.
"[The bank] functioned as the centerpiece of the community until the steel mill closed in the 1970s," Rud says. "The area changed—the school was converted to apartments, some of the commercial structures are no longer needed. The whole community is still trying to revitalize and figure out different ways to come back."
The current owners masterminded the recent reconstruction, and Rud says they intended to make the ex-bank their long-term home. Job relocation reportedly put the kibosh on those plans.
"They saw the potential, the uniqueness, and they have a lot of contractor skills," Rud says of the sellers, who bought the place for $205,000 in early 2022, according to country records. "They converted it to what it is now, and they never intended to flip it."
Several banky features still abound within 1106 88th Ave. W. Consider the walk-in vault, the perfect spot to recreate certain scenes from Oceans 11. (Rud says it'd also make a wonderful wine cellar.) Or the original, currently un-plumbed drinking fountain, which was relocated from outside. Or the safe located in the living room, which is now being used to house pantry items. Or the bullet-proof glass window located on one of the balconies. "You can imagine what the circular hole cut into it was meant for," the listing agent says.
Several banky construction realities created rehab challenges, he adds. The rock-solid concrete walls measure 20 inches thick, making rewiring and replumbing trickier than on shoddier new constructions.
The updates (electrical, plumbing, gas lines, appliances, wallcoverings, flooring, windows) are too numerous to rattle off here. "It's essentially a newly built house inside the beefy outer shell of a bank," the sellers write, adding that many of the furnishings are included in the sale. Other eye-catching features include the 750-square-foot heated tuck-under garage, the eight-camera surveillance system, and the workout room with a two-person jacuzzi tub.
So, in a real estate marketplace that favors greige sameness, what sort of specialized buyer does Rud anticipate for this highly specialized listing?
"This is such a unique property. You're looking at what the possibilities are for the next buyer, and how to market that—you don't have comps to rely on," he says. "If the city were to allowed a themed short-term rental, that's one of the current trends. But I think this has possibility for someone who's a financial planner and wants to have this as an office slash living space: What better cool marketing tool could you have?"
That 17,000-square-foot parking lot, which takes up several of the .6-acre lot's four city blocks, could be used for anything from Christmas tree lots to farmers markets, he adds.
Let's take a photo tour of the ol' bank/newish home, courtesy of Messina & Associates and Dan Jandl at Duluth Visuals.
