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VINE project gets $150,000 grant

Basic rehabilitation of Nichols Building requires $1.7 million

February 1, 2012

By Dan Linehan, Mankato Free Press

MANKATO — The Otto Bremer Foundation is giv­ing $150,000 to VINE’s effort to convert the aban­doned Nichols Building into an adult community center.

It’s a matching grant, meaning VINE must raise an equal amount in the next year to get all of the money. The foundation owns a majority share in Bremer Bank.

Pam Determan, VINE’s executive director, said a grant officer from the foun­dation scrutinized their financial projections and said they had a good busi­ness plan.

She said VINE has now raised close to $1 million toward the project. The entire renovation costs an estimated $4.3 million, but the more relevant short­term figure is $1.7 million. That’s how much it will cost for the basic rehabilitation, and it’s how much Blue Earth County requires VINE to have raised before it gives them the building.

VINE has until the end of July to raise the $1.7 mil­lion, though the county could extend that deadline.

The foundation is the largest donation yet, and Determan hopes it will add to the legitimacy of the ambitious project. It’s planned to include a cafe, computer training room, a track and a shallow therapy pool. It’s geared for people 45 years or older.

VINE may rent out parts of the fourth and fifth floors to pay ongoing expenses.

Otto Bremer Foundation Makes a Major Contribution to VINE’s Capital Campaign

January 31, 2012

MANKATO, MN – We are pleased to announce that the Otto Bremer Foundation has made a $150,000 matching contribution to VINE’s Capital Campaign to repurpose the Nichols Building as an Adult Community Center. VINE has now received donations, pledges, in-kind contributions, and proceeds from commemorative brick sales totaling close to one million dollars.

Visit www.agingtothemax.com to learn more. You may also contact Pam Determan, VINE Executive Director, at (507) 387-1666 for additional information.

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About the Otto Bremer Foundation

Created in 1944, the Otto Bremer Foundation assists people in achieving full economic, civic, and social participation in and for the betterment of their communities. The Foundation’s work to help build and maintain vibrant communities is based on the vision and legacy of Otto Bremer, whose commitment to the Bremer Bank communities and to those working to make their lives better continues to guide the Foundation.

The Otto Bremer Foundation owns a majority share of Bremer Bank, and a portion of the bank’s profits comes to the Foundation as dividends, enabling the Foundation to invest back in the bank communities in the form of grants and program-related investments. In 2011, the Foundation provided approximately $30 million in grants and program-related investments.

Visit www.ottobremer.org for more information about the Foundation and its programs.

Thro Company Makes a Major Contribution to VINE’s Capital Campaign

August 21, 2011

MANKATO, MN – We are pleased to announce that the Thro Company has made a major contribution and will be naming a room at the new Adult Community Center. VINE’s Capital Campaign to repurpose the Nichols Building has now received donations, pledges, in-kind contributions and proceeds from commemorative brick sales totaling more than $700,000.

Visit www.agingtothemax.com to learn more. You may also contact Pam Determan, VINE Executive Director, at (507) 387-1666 for additional information.

VINE gets another year to raise money for Nichols building

The Free Press

July 26, 2011

MANKATO — VINE will get at least one more year to raise enough money to rehabilitate
the county-owned Nichols Office Building into a senior center, the Blue Earth County Board agreed Tuesday.

The nonprofit, which is trying to raise $4.3 million, has an agreement to buy the building from the county for $1.
There's one stipulation ‹ VINE needs to raise enough money (about $1.7 million) to fix the exterior of the
building before it can buy it.

Commissioner Vance Stuehrenberg asked a few questions about the deal, including who will pay for the
utilities in Nichols in the interim. (VINE will.)

The new agreement extends the original, first signed last December, until July 31, 2012.

VINE’S vision an ambitious one: Five-story senior center
would cost $ 4.3 million

By Dan Linehan
Mankato Free Press
May 6, 2011

MANKATO — VINE Faith in Action has launched an ambitious $ 4.3 million fundraising campaign to turn the Nichols Building into the next generation of senior centers. Except VINE isn’t using that term, as it conjures images of a quiet, fading­into­obsolescence sort of place. VINE executive director Pam Determan says the Nichols building reflects a changing view on retirement. Their plan for Nichols reflects the changing view of retirement, backed up by healthier and longer- living adults. The building’s target audience is adults 45 and older.

Traditional retirement leaves many people “ bored silly,” said Pam Determan, VINE’s executive director. Now retirees “can do things in this new phase of life they always wished they could.” An expansive vision, of course, means little with­out the money to back it up. There won’t be mem­berships to support the building afterward, either — the building will be free and open to the public, Determan said.

So, should donors have concerns about VINE’s ability to deliver on such a large project? Basic rehabilitation alone would cost $1.7 million. “Let us convince you of the tremendous return on investment,” Determan said to potential donors.

The first floor for the Nichols plan includes a computer training room, a cafe with wireless Internet and a shallow therapy pool. The second floor would house VINE’s offices, as well as an adult respite center. The center aims to give much-needed rest for people who care for elderly relatives, and it includes a shower and nap area. The third and fourth floors contain fitness amenities, like a track, that are increasingly important to older adults. Determan said VINE may rent out parts of the fourth and fifth floors to pay ongoing expenses.

Each of Nichol’s five floors is larger than the Summit Center, the South Fifth Street location used since 1979 as Mankato’s senior center. Nichols also has more than six times as many parking spaces, but just as important is the topography — visitors to the Summit Center have to walk up a slight incline to reach the door. VINE has an offer from Blue Earth County to buy the building for $1. The nonprofit has through Aug. 1 to buy the building, though it could apply for an extension.

The city of Mankato subsidizes the senior center’s operations by about $40,000 a year, and it seems likely the support would continue at a new location. Naming deal sought Nichols was named after professor Marvin A. Nichols, who came to the State Normal School in 1908 as a science instructor. He had two daughters and coached various football and basketball teams. He died Sept. 15, 1938, after a lab accident.

A donor could buy naming rights for the whole building or just a part of it, Determan said. VINE is also offering commemorative bricks.

One demographic shift works in the project’s favor. A baby born in 1946, the first year of the baby boom generation, turns 65 this year. The percentage of Minnesotans 65 and older is expected to double between 2000 and 2030 to 24 percent. Based on state projections made using 2005 data, the number of Blue Earth County residents aged 55 and older will grow from 12,860 in 2010 to 15,820 by 2020. Determan says the public has a responsibility to help seniors stay healthy and give them a venue to volunteer their skills.

VINE has had challenges and setbacks since its founding on Feb. 1, 1995, in office space donated by SS. Peter and Paul Catholic Church. The nonprofit raised money to buy its Third Avenue headquarters in 2000, then spent the next several years developing new programs. In 2008, VINE lost a $ 239,000 state grant that made up 24 percent of its budget. During the next month, VINE received $ 70,000 in donations. In early 2010, the state clarified a policy on how it pays for volunteer- provided rides to medical appointments. It would no longer reimburse for miles when the client was not in the vehicle, so- called “ no- load” miles. In response, VINE got a taxi license, which allows it to charge higher rates.