Nov. 2--When it was built in 1966, the Fiksdal Hotel cost $1 million.

Now 43 years later, its owners are spending almost as much -- about $750,000 -- for an extensive remodel and upgrade of the interior of the 53-room hotel across from Saint Marys Hospital on Second Street Southwest.

"Sometimes when you have an old look on the exterior, people think it is like that inside," said Blake Hoffman, a co-owner of Blue Mountain Development. "People like an 'old home feel,' but they don't to go back to 1960s. They want modern amenities."

Hoffman's group recently recommended to the owners of the Fiksdal, Blue Stem Capital of Sioux Fall, S.D., and Glen Fiksdal of Rochester, that they re-invest "a pretty good chunk of capital into it."

Blue Stem also owns the Staybridge Suites hotel next door to the Fiksdal.

When the green light for the renovation was given, work began with upgrading the hotel's heating-and-cooling system and roof as well as removing the dark tint film on the windows.

"The film was all bubbly," said Charmayne Cochran, the general manager and director of sales for the Fiksdal as well as the Staybridge Suites.

As workers on scaffoldings tackled that project outside, work started inside in early October. Starting with the sixth floor, each level is shut down for a week as about 20 workers swarm through the halls and rooms painting, replacing carpet and updating the decor to current standards.

The lobby is also getting a facelift, and the hotel's computer system is being upgraded from an antiquated DOS-based system.

Cochran and Hoffman point out that local contractors were hired and the financing was handled by a Rochester bank, Home Federal Bank.

While the inside of the hotel is moving forward in time, the exterior remains as a memorial to 1960s-style with the stylized logo and large turquoise blue panels.

Why not update the outside also?

"It's still in good shape. I don't know what they used, but the colors haven't faded," said Hoffman. "It gives the hotel some of its historic appeal. The look is pretty much its brand."

Cochran said everybody recognizes the logo and the "funky" color.

Age is not always a detriment for the iconic hotel.

"We have families that have stayed here for decades," Hoffman said.

While it does now sport modern amenities like wireless Internet, mini-refrigerators, microwaves and a complimentary breakfast, the most attractive feature of the Fiksdal is its price.

Hoffman said the hotel fills a niche needed by the $70-a-night customer.

The Fiksdal was built to last. Find out about it in Monday's print edition.

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