Landmark undertaking

By BRIAN WALKER

Staff Writer

SPIRIT LAKE — A Spirit Lake landmark that has sat vacant in recent years and been on the market has new life.

The Spirit Lake Historical Society has signed letter of intent to buy and restore the former Catholic Church at Highway 41 and Jefferson.

"We're looking at turning the building into a cultural and event center for Spirit Lake," said Chris Robinson, a historical society member. "It could be a venue for weddings, movies and whatever we could rent it out for. It would keep the building usable for generations to come."

The nonprofit plans to purchase the building and a lot behind it that would be used for parking. It was listed at $120,000 by Michael Giannini and the final price is to be negotiated.

"It needs a lot of love, but we don't want to see it tore down," Robinson said. "We've lost so many other historical buildings in town that the group doesn't want to see another one come done."

Robinson said the historical society doesn't have any money for the purchase, but it has formed a sub-committee to focus on the project and start fundraising.

"We will seek grants and start a sponsorship program," Robinson said.

He said Giannini has been patient to work with the historical society on the purchase, but the nonprofit also realizes the current owner would like the sale to occur as soon as possible.

Giannini said he hasn't given the historical society a deadline to come up with enough funding to complete the purchase, but he feels comfortable that it is "very serious" about fundraising.

"My personal feeling is that there are no 'maybes' about it," he said.

He said members of the group even cleaned up the grounds recently even though the purchase hasn't been made.

Giannini said he's tickled that the historical society plans to purchase the building.

"My personal dream is to have the property resorted to its fullest beauty," he said. "Who is better to do that the historical society?"

The building hasn't been used by the Catholic Church for decades. It has been used by private individuals

Giannini said at one point the building drew buying interest from an Aryan Nation member. He said that when he bought the property about four years ago he later learned through a real estate agent that the person he was in a bidding war with over it was an Aryan.

Giannini drew curious passersby after he put up Israel's flag on the side of building.

He said the apparent one-time Aryan interest in the building was not the reason he put up the flag, but because he and his wife Genevieve are passionate about helping the country because it has Biblical roots and the technological advances that originated there.

Giannini said he recently took the flag down because it was starting to fade.

Robinson said an engineer estimated it could cost up to $500,000 to restore the building and bring it up to code after it is purchased. But after the Fireside Lodge in Spirit Lake was tore down a few years ago he said sparing the former Catholic Church became an idea of he and others involved in historic preservation.

"Everybody drives past the building," Robinson said. "It's an icon in Spirit Lake that needs to be saved."