Downtown Rochester Hotel Sues City Over “Major Water Leak”

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Rochester, MN (KROC AM News) - The owner of a downtown Rochester hotel is seeking damages from the city and a private company stemming from an expensive water leak.

The lawsuit was filed in Olmsted County Court by BGD5, the owner/operator of the Doubletree Hotel. It says a frozen sprinkler pipe in a skyway connected to the building ruptured, "causing a major water leak.”

The incident happened in February 2020.

The lawsuit says the Rochester Fire Dept. “had to divert the water down the stairs from the skyway into the Doubletree Hotel/Pescara restaurant properties.”

The lawsuit says the city had contracted with Lanier Parking to maintain the interior of the skyway. According to the lawsuit, “ BGD5 had multiple conversations with Lanier about the dangerously low temperature of the skyway in the weeks prior to the pipe freezing.” The lawsuit says Lanier told BGD5 the heating unit in the skyway needed to be replaced and that “it was hoping to get repairs completed before the upcoming cold snap.”

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BGD5 says the damage caused by the leak cost $48,000 to repair.