The Lowlands Event Venue, St. Paul’s newest premier event venue, is located at the junction of Wabasha and Plato Avenues in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The facility features two bars and two outdoor gathering spaces, and offers links to preferred caterers, photographers, entertainers, and other services.
“This is a great location for weddings, celebrations, corporate events, galas, or get-togethers of friends or work groups,” said Levi Stugelmeyer, the managing partner of the facility.
“The building had been owned by W. J. Haas Manufacturing from 1929 until we purchased it in 2017,” Levi continued. “It was a very cool building with lots of stylish architectural elements that we wanted to preserve. My partners and I didn’t really have a good plan for the facility initially, and it took a few years to figure out just how we could best use it.”
“Eventually we landed on the event center concept,” Levi explained. “We were ready to move forward when the pandemic hit in 2020; we had to put the brakes on everything. Finally, later in 2021, we rebooted the project.”
As they looked for financing, one of Levi’s partners suggested working with Josh Gehlen, Senior Vice President and Chief Credit Officer at Minnesota Lakes Bank. After shopping the market, the team chose to work with Josh.
“It wasn’t a slam dunk,” said Levi, “but once Josh began working with us, there were no curve balls. His belief in our concept never wavered. He was flexible and suggested different ways to use SBA loan funds to make the project work best, and things came together quickly.”
The facility opened in May 2023, and business has grown quickly. September and October are booked solidly, and Levi is already scheduling events in 2024 and 2025.
“My background is the music industry, so this whole project has been a major learning experience,” said Levi. “At various times in the past couple of years, especially when we were thrown one curve ball after another, my wife–one of the partners in the business–asked: ‘Should we just cut our losses and move on?’
“We haven’t done that, and we’re glad we stayed the course,” Levi continued. “We’re starting to see profitability, and that’s very encouraging.”