City seeks comments on environmental assessment worksheet for building demolition
City News August 18, 2025
The City of Albert Lea is proposing the demolition of the former Broadway Theater building at 338 Broadway Ave. South after engineers assessed its condition as structurally deficient, unsafe, and uninhabitable. The city recently acquired the vacant building to facilitate its removal this fall.
Built in 1902, the former Broadway Theater spans almost 9,000 square feet at the corner of Broadway Avenue and College Street. The building ceased being a movie theater in the 1990s. Since then, various owners have changed the exterior and interior, including removing the theaters on the first and second levels.
The building is a poor candidate for rehabilitation and reuse, according to an engineering assessment. The building is in severe disrepair and would require significant renovation with limited uses given the special constraints of the building, lack of ability to provide natural lighting, challenges in meeting current energy efficiency goals, and egress and accessibility codes and standards.
In 2023, engineers estimated that stabilizing the exterior structure would cost $750,000. This estimate, which excludes any interior work, could increase due to unknown structural conditions and costs that would be discovered in the repair process.
Because the building is within Albert Lea’s historic district, the state of Minnesota requires an Environmental Assessment Worksheet on the project. This worksheet summarizes the project’s potential environmental effects and helps decide if a more comprehensive review, called an Environmental Impact Statement, is necessary.
After demolition, the city’s short-term plan is to create a public greenspace at the site with the long-term goal of developing it and adjacent properties to the north. The Environmental Assessment Worksheet focuses on the demolition and initial conversion to greenspace.
The worksheet is available for public review on the city’s website: www.cityofalbertlea.org/public-notices/ and is open for public comment through Sept 18. Comments must be in writing to receive a response and become part of the review record. Submit comments to Wayne Sorensen, building and zoning official, at wsorensen@ci.albertlea.mn.us or Inspection Department, 221 E. Clark St., Albert Lea, MN 56007.
After the public comment period ends, the Albert Lea City Council will decide whether to pursue a more in-depth environmental review of the proposed demolition.
For immediate release
Aug. 18, 2025
Media contact: Building and Zoning Official Wayne Sorensen at 507-377-4340 or wsorensen@ci.albertlea.mn.us
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