ABOVE: Garrett Myren of Water’s Edge stands at the property he recently purchased at 1533 Albion Avenue in Fairmont. The former Hertzke Construction site will allow Myren’s business to expand and grow.

FAIRMONT– A small local business has big plans to grow now that it’s moving into a new space. Garrett Myren of Water’s Edge recently purchased the former Hertzke Construction site at 1533 Albion Avenue in Fairmont and is already thinking of ways to utilize the space, which is five acres deep.

Water’s Edge became an LLC in 2023 though Myren said he’s been working on lake banks since 2020.

To start, Myren was mainly building lake steps and then in 2023 he began doing dock installation and removal. Last year, after A & J Docks dissolved, Water’s Edge took over its lift installation and removal and along with that, PortaDock and ShoreStation franchise licensing.

In addition, Water’s Edge contracted with the city of Fairmont last year to do a Curly Leaf Pondweed (CLP) pick up and disposal service. He will be continuing the pick up and disposal service with the city this year.

When asked if he ever imagined having his own building for the business some day, Myren laughed and said, “No, I thought I’d be done with it after I was done with college and graduated but then things started falling into place and I realized this is what I wanted to do. I’ve kept working and growing and here we are now.”

He officially closed on the building on Thursday, Jan. 29. The space will allow him to grow even more.

“PortaDock has three different styles of dock and ShoreStation has one so I’ll have one of each on display,” Myren said, pointing to the lot in front of the building.

Also outside, he’ll have a full size ShoreStation boat lift complete with curtains and a canopy.

Inside, in the showroom, he plans to have a PortaDock jetski lift and a ShoreStation jetski lift on display. Also inside, there are plans to have on display and offer boat necessities, including tie downs, tow ropes, ski ropes, tubes and life jackets.

The building also includes office space and a meeting room, which Myren plans to use as he said the companies have software which allow you to build a dock and lift right in front of the customers.

Eventually, Myren plans to put a garage door back on the shop area so that he’ll be able to service boats in it, but called it a three to five year plan as he’ll need a mechanic on site. With that, he hopes to be able to sell boats in the near future, too.

Myren said when he found out the Hertzke site was going to be put up for sale he didn’t think much about it at first, but then realized what he wanted to get into so he reached out to Joe Rosol and while about a dozen people had looked at it, through a sealed bid, Myren got it.

Hertzke Construction was started in 1978 by Keith Hertzke and around 1980, the business moved into 1533 Albion Avenue, where it stayed up until it closed in 2025.

For the past few decades, Keith’s son-in-law, Joe Rosol, has run the business. Speaking to why the business closed, Rosol said it was mainly due to the fact that he and some of the employees were at retirement age.

“I had two guys that had been there longer than I was. I came back in 1984 and two of them started before I did. They were ready to retire and I had another guy who was ready to retire,” Rosol explained.

He did say they tried to sell the business, but couldn’t find anyone seriously interested.

“Trying to get young people back here and work was tough,” Rosol said.

While Rosol acknowledged there were other people interested in the location, he said most of them wanted to use it for storage or rent it out.

“I was happy to see that he (Garrett) got it. It keeps a business in town and gives them room to expand,” Rosol said. “We were there a long time and had a good run.”

Myren said the location is perfect for what he wants to do, being close to both Hall Lake and Budd Lake.

“We’re so close to Gomsrud if you ever need something,” Myren said.

Looking at all he can offer and plans to offer in the future, Myren said he does think it’s something that’s needed in the community.

“I think our lakes are our greatest asset,” he said. “Anything that can help for people who bring in their boats and launch their boat at Gomsrud and need another lifejacket or their tube has a hole in it, things like that. We’ll be open on Saturdays for that as well.”

As for what else is new, Myren said a website is coming, along with a sign for the building which will read Water’s Edge Lake Service. There will also be a new phone number for him with a 507 area code as he’s been using the same number tied to him from when he lived in Indiana.

“Some people didn’t think I was local,” he explained.

Other than that, he’s planning and preparing for spring right now. He plans to be at the Home Show April 10- 12 at the Martin County Arena. He will have a Grand Opening event on Friday, May 22.

“We’ve had a ton of community support and a lot of repeat customers. People that utilize our service and spread our name around are appreciated,” Myren said.