Downtown Duluth nonprofits face rent crunch, future in storefronts uncertain

Two adjacent storefront nonprofits on Lake Avenue are under enough rent pressure that their future downtown is now uncertain. The Nordic Center has all but decided to move, while Prøve Collective is leaning on a fundraiser, a combination that could leave a visible gap in one of downtown Duluth’s small but active arts corridors.

The stakes go beyond two leases. The building at 23 N. Lake Avenue was built in 1908 as the home of the Sons of Norway local lodge, and the Nordic Center, founded in 2011, says the property now holds both its own space and Prøve Gallery, with Superior Ballroom Dance Studio upstairs. If those uses break apart, the old lodge building would lose the layered, multi-tenant character that has helped keep it busy and public-facing.

The Nordic Center describes itself as a nonprofit cultural organization that shares Nordic culture through exhibitions, events, lectures, performances, language classes and community programming. It says it is a member of the Downtown Duluth Arts District and lists its address as 23 N. Lake Ave., Duluth, MN 55802. Prøve Collective, at 21 N. Lake Ave., Duluth, MN 55802, calls itself a contemporary and experimental art gallery and says it is an all-volunteer 501(c)(3) arts organization funded by community donations, regional and state grants, and volunteer labor. Its programming includes gallery shows, musical performances, spoken-word events, experimental work and community events.

That business model depends on a fragile mix of public support, private giving and donated effort. When rents rise faster than that mix can keep up, mission-driven tenants can be pushed toward the kind of fundraising campaigns that are meant to supplement programming, not replace the basic cost of staying open. In this case, the pressure is showing up in the calendar: the Nordic Center promoted a Nordic DeLights dessert auction fundraiser on May 8 at Norway Hall Event Center, 21 N. Lake Ave., and Prøve Collective promoted a Bug Ball fundraiser for May 30.

If both spaces lose their footing, the effect would reach past the two organizations themselves. Empty storefronts on Lake Avenue would mean fewer places for local artists, fewer community events and less day-to-day foot traffic in a downtown that has spent years trying to stay active beyond restaurants, bars and new development. The question now is whether downtown Duluth can keep affordable space for the nonprofits that help give the core its identity.