DULUTH – With little fanfare, an excavator clawed at the back brick walls of a downtown building Tuesday that has long been the center of legal drama.

The city of Duluth has begun demolition of the Pastoret Terrace, an 1887-era Romanesque Revival brownstone that has been fire-damaged and unstable for years, but mired in legal disputes between the city and a local preservationist.

A $2.1 million settlement between Dr. Eric Ringsred and the city was reached in late May, and enforced by a St. Louis County judge in December. Ringsred had earlier attempted to withdraw his offer to settle.

On Tuesday, just a few freezing bystanders and pigeons lining a roof ledge looked on as bricks tumbled to the ground.

The Duluth Economic Development Authority (DEDA), the economic arm of the city, has owned the building since 2016, when Ringsred lost it for failing to pay taxes.

DEDA's executive director, Tricia Hobbs, watched the demolition from a sidewalk. The city and DEDA are "excited for the reinvestment in the Duluth Commercial Historic District," she said as she snapped photos.

Kathryn A. Martin Library, University of Minnesota Duluth
Pastoret Terrace at 1st Street and 2nd Avenue E. in downtown Duluth in about 1900.

The terms of the settlement include $1.4 million for grants and loans to owners of buildings inside the historic district where the Pastoret sits, and $700,000 to Ringsred and preservation organization Respect Starts Here, for improvements to their properties within that district.

Ringsred did not return messages Tuesday.

The city has not yet released a cost for the demolition. Asbestos was abated in 2018.

The Pastoret and the adjoining Paul Robeson Ballroom at 1st Street and 2nd Avenue E. were most recently home to the Kozy Bar and apartments. The building was designed by renowned architect Oliver Traphagen and once housed luxury townhouses. The Kozy Bar was established in 1960, and 50 apartments had been constructed by the time a major fire occurred in 2010.