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Upper Landing Urban Village:
3. Upper Landing Block 7 – Joseph’s Pointe Advantage Center
6. Blocks 2 & 3
7. Upper Landing - Block 1
Construction of the $170 million, seven-section project keeps moving along. Block 1, the closest to downtown, is still under design and may involve one or two towers of owner-occupied housing totaling 80 to 100 units. David Bernard/Rottlund is building for-sale units ranging from $900,000 to $1 million on Block 3. When that is completed, work will start on Block 2. Centex Homes is building townhomes on Block 4, and some residents moved in last fall. North American Partners will start work this summer on 350 market-rate rental units on Blocks 5 and 6. On Block 7, the one farthest from downtown, Shelter Corp. will start renting its 90 units of affordable housing by July. A small park at the west end of the project is on the Sam Morgan Trail along the Mississippi River. The park is owned by the Upper Landing Association but open for public use. It includes a water fountain for dogs.
12. Water Taxi System
15. Ramsey County
A team of developers led by Ryan Cos. U.S. Inc. have reached an agreement with Ramsey County officials to redevelop the former jail site on the banks of the Mississippi River in downtown St. Paul. Ryan, along with a partnership of Bloomington-based Welsh Cos. and Metroplains Development of St. Paul, plans to build 170 to 240 condominium units, new commercial space, a public plaza and public access to the Mississippi River.
16. Island Station
SpringPointe Development Inc. is redeveloping the old Island Station power plant into more than 200 condominium and townhome units. The existing power plant will be restored, and new buildings will be constructed that reflect the historic character of the site.
• Phase 1 of construction will include 70-75 loft-style condominium units in the reconfigured power plant, 16 two-story-plus townhomes and eight river walk units in the adjacent new buildings.
• Phase 2 of construction will involve building a new tower, which will connect to the power plant on the main level with a three-story atrium, and adjacent townhomes. The tower will contain approximately 122 condominium units; there will also be an additional 20 two-story-plus townhomes.
• The existing marina will be restored and 20 new slips will be added for Island Station residents. In addition, Island Station will feature two courtyards and a private beach. The development provides for a future public trail along the river’s edge.
21. The Lowry
Construction bids to convert the Lowry Professional Building into condominiums proved too expensive, so developers Richard Zehring and Richard Pakonen will upgrade the 12-story building at 350 St. Peter St. into offices again. Exact plans and a timetable are under development. The change will allow the city’s License, Inspections and Environmental Protection agency to stay on the third floor, but moving the office remains an option.
24. Department of Human Services & Fire Station #8
A new eight-story DHS building, 468-car parking structure and relocated Fire Station #8 is under construction with completion scheduled for Fall 2005. The building is being financed by the Saint Paul Port Authority and leased back to DHS.
27. 9th Street Lofts (completed)
Located in an historic warehouse building in downtown Saint Paul, 9th Street Lofts includes 49 loft-style condominiums. The renovation is the latest addition to Wacouta Commons, a progressive new urban village facing Wacouta Commons Park. Their downtown location affords all of the conveniences of urban living. Floor plans range from 984 to 1,853 sq. ft.
28. Lyon’s Court
Lyon’s Court, sixty new units of senior affordable housing are being constructed just north of the new 9th Street Lofts.
29. Printer’s Row
Printer’s Row offers 84 single-story urban homes in two newly-constructed contemporary buildings complementing the neighborhood’s architecture. Located on a site historically used for printing companies and now occupied by surface parking lots, Printer’s Row is the fourth phase of development in award-winning Wacouta Commons, a progressive new urban village surrounding the new Wacouta Commons park. The project broke ground in the Summer of 2004 and units are scheduled to be available Fall 2005. As part of the project Temperance Street was extended from 9th to 10th Street.
33. River Park Lofts
Developer Henry Zaidan is turning his 89-year-old Lowertown Business Center and an adjoining fire hall into 120 loft condominiums. The center is at Sixth and Wacouta streets. About 40 of the units, which cost $150,000 to $500,000, have been reserved. The city’s Historic Preservation Commission recently approved adding balconies to the rear side of the building.
35. Straus Building
Decorative cast iron details of the Straus Building arcade are now revealed, as work is complete on converting the building into 49 apartments and 8,000 sq ft of ground floor commercial space. The $13 million project which faces Mears Park, has 100% of the units as affordable housing.
41. Paul and Sheila Wellstone Center
The $25 million Paul and Sheila Wellstone Center for Community Building broke ground in September 2004. The 93,000 sq. ft. center will be the new home of the Neighborhood House, an organization that provides a safe and welcoming home for new immigrants and people in transition.
42. West Side Flats
The first residential building in the West Side Flats area is expected to break ground in Spring of 2005. Final design and unit count are still being refined.
43. Bridges of St. Paul
This is a massive billion-dollar-plus redevelopment on 75 acres of the West Side Flats bounded by Wabasha Street, U.S. 52 and Plato Boulevard. Developer Jerry Trooien envisions up to 4,000 homes, 600,000 square feet of retail space (three times that of the downtown Marshall Field’s), plus theaters and several public attractions. The whole area would have an “Old World’’ feeling with brick-and-stone construction. Years in the planning, the entire project would take six to 10 years to accomplish, but Trooien says some sort of groundbreaking will occur this year. As a base for other developments, the first phase likely would be a 5,000-stall, two-tier parking structure.
45. Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary
This 35-acre nature preserve is being developed on downtown’s eastern edge below Dayton’s Bluff. Contaminated soil is being removed from the area that housed a railroad shop and yard for nearly 100 years. The city has decided, for now at least, to seal the front of the historic Carver’s Cave to protect the site. Rough grading and wetland development began Fall 2004. Work is under way on a link from the Bruce Vento Trail to downtown along a separate path and streets.
46. Lowertown Bluffs
Lowertown Bluffs: This housing project is in redesign, according to developer Jeff Wallis. Original plans called for 25 or so condominiums in a 90-year-old building at 293 Commercial St., tucked away between Interstate 94 and the Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary. Wallis said the building may be razed, and the project changed to 100 units of new construction. The goal is to start building this summer, whatever the final design, he said.
Oxford Hill Condos
The Aberdeen Condos
Highland Point
Raspberry Island:
The city has an agreement with Minnesota Sports and Entertainment — parent company to the Minnesota Wild — to add an outdoor music venue to this small spit of land under the Wabasha Bridge. The island, home to the little-used Schubert Club bandstand, will host events for Grand Excursion 2004 and Taste of Minnesota. After that, work will continue on its upgrade. Twenty-seven slips for boats from the St. Paul Pool and Yacht marina will be added.
Zorbalas Project:
Developer Spiros Zorbalas is planning a $55 million, eight-story building with 260 condominiums and 8,000 square feet of retail space along Jackson Street between Ninth and 10th streets. The project includes 300 underground parking stalls and a 255-stall ramp between the building and the recently converted Rossmor True Lofts.
Wabasha Court, now 417 Wabasha St.:
The complex of vacant stores known as Wabasha Court was razed two years ago, leaving the vacant site to serve as a parking lot. Civic leaders are marketing the spot as “417 Wabasha.” Talk for the space has ranged from a hotel to an office or multi-use building, but it all remains talk. It is not the only under-used space in downtown, but its location and visibility along a main downtown thoroughfare make it important that a high-quality development land there.
Orville L. Freeman Office Building:
The $77 million Orville L. Freeman Office Building, at Columbus and Robert streets, to house the Agriculture and Health departments.
Agriculture and Health Laboratory Building:
An adjacent $60 million Agriculture and Health Laboratory Building at 12th and Robert streets.
Elmer L. Andersen Human Services Building:
The $101 million Elmer L. Andersen Human Services Building between Cedar and Minnesota streets. All are to open in 2005. St. Paul’s downtown fire station, which has been housed in the Public Safety Building since 1930, will move to the Andersen building.
St. Paul Hotel renovation:
The St. Paul Hotel, 350 Market St., is getting a multimillion-dollar freshening. The exact cost of the work has not been released. The interior remodeling will be the third for the 94-year-old hotel since 1983. The upgrade will include computer hookups in the rooms.
Despite several proposals for new downtown hotels over the past five years, none has been built. There are 1,200 rooms in the downtown market, a total considered adequate for most needs, but the rooms are widely scattered. That proved a problem earlier this year, when the National Hockey League held its All-Star Game at Xcel Energy Center but used a lot of Minneapolis hotel rooms because they were close together. That situation has spurred a new look at St. Paul’s long-range hotel needs.
St. Joseph’s Hospital:
HealthEast, which is committed to keeping St. Joseph’s Hospital in downtown, is working on a five- to 10-year expansion/ upgrade. HealthEast officials say the details and financing are yet to be worked out, but the goal is to have something started by early next year. They say that estimates of $100 million project price tag are purely speculative. HealthEast has about 15 acres to work with at the 69 W. Exchange St. site.
Plaza de Honor:
The Mexican American Veterans AMVET Post 5 is spearheading an effort to create a Plaza de Honor on Harriet Island to honor Mexican-Americans and all veterans. The plan has the support of the city administration and City Council.
Edited by NorthStar, 22 June 2005 - 01:20 PM.
