Despite its well-documented challenges, some business advocates call reports of the fall of downtown St. Paul premature, if not entirely off base, given ongoing investment in office-to-residential building conversions, new eateries and other fresh offerings.
Construction is underway on the Avalon, a new event hall within the long-dormant James J. Hill Center overlooking Rice Park. The former business research center, which opened in 1921, closed in 2019 amid growing maintenance needs. The Avalon could throw open the doors to weddings, cultural events and musical performances amidst its 14 Romanesque interior columns by late fall, according to developer Peter Remes of First & First Creative Real Estate in Minneapolis.
“I was born and raised in St. Paul,” said Remes, who didn’t like at the idea of a century-old historic library sitting idle. “It was very important to me. Having this building shuttered was not a benefit to anyone.”
Remes, who is perhaps best known in St. Paul for reviving the Vandalia Tower business center, said it’s taken four years to obtain permitting, secure state and federal historic tax credits and work through other obstacles for the site, which is getting a $3.5 million upgrade. That includes new bathrooms and heating, air conditioning and ventilation systems, as well as a new interior stairway to a new basement egress door.
Despite the hefty price tag, “much of it is stuff that you won’t even see,” he acknowledged.
Despite the well-chronicled foreclosures and other property setbacks downtown associated with major property owner Madison Equities, “there’s a lot of great things happening here,” Remes said. “It’s not widely talked about. The bad news gets the attention. But there are people who are really dedicated to St. Paul.”
Bright spots elsewhere
On Wabasha Street, chef Terry John Zila has relaunched the former Gallery Kitchen in the basement of the Osborn 370 building into a softly-lit event center geared toward private gatherings, cooking classes and musical performances.
In addition to pop-up dinners to “test the waters” on his catering menus, Zila plans to expand his HepCat Coffee space on the ground level, reorienting it toward the lobby of the former Ecolab building with the help of a city STAR grant.
“People are still discovering us,” said Zila, who moved his catering operation and coffee shop into Osborn 370 in February 2022. “Two or three times a week, (customers) say, ‘I didn’t even know you were here.’”
Zila hopes to become a bit of a commissary for the 174 new market-rate apartments under construction next door within the Stella, the former Ecolab tower at Sixth and Wabasha streets.
Those apartments may be online by early next year, adding to the foot traffic already evident at Osborn 370, the former Ecolab Corporate Center, which has drawn a wide range of both young and established planning and financial firms, including Bridgewater Bank and the Greater MSP Partnership, since its repositioning under PAK Properties.
‘Coming soon’
Meanwhile, across downtown, a “Coming Soon!” sign advertises the imminent arrival of Six Mears, a new Sixth Street restaurant where Barrio once opened its doors onto Mears Park.
Another event center, Le Venere — a new addition to the A’Bulae event center — will host a Roaring 1920s-themed grand opening celebration toward the end of the month within the Gilbert Building on Wacouta Street.
Prince Coal Fired Pizza is expected to open in July within the former Black Sheep Pizza space at the Rossmor Building on Robert Street.
Palace Pub will be opening soon on Seventh Place in the space previously occupied by Wrecktangle Pizza’s Wrestaurant at the Palace.
Recent arrivals
Sherman Associates has completed its $80 million to $100 million conversion of Landmark Towers on St. Peter Street from a 26-story office building. It’s now home to 187 new luxury apartments, with each layout named after 1980s icons like “The Bruce” and “The Axl.” The converted structure welcomed its first new tenants around the start of May.
Phe Coffee opened within the Market House on Fifth Street in Lowertown this past January. SoYen Desserts, which opened in March 2024, continues to draw a sell-out crowd every weekend down the street in the Northwestern Building at 275 E. Fourth St.
The Union Depot’s retail spaces are now fully leased with the recent additions of Story Line Books and the 1881 Eating House, which debuted its new outdoor summer patio on Thursday.
Global Storage Partners, of Carlsbad, Calif., was unable to install mini-storage in the Allen Building so it recently purchased four of the six floors in the annex building to the Custom House Apartments on Kellogg Boulevard. They’ve installed Extra Space Storage as manager, with large illuminated signage that has irked some neighbors.
Relocations, reopenings and new acquisitions
On Wabasha Street, Afro Deli is moving across the street from its current location and prepping a new food counter where Slice Pizza briefly served up pies within Treasure Island Center, a former Macy’s department store.
In July, St. Paul Brewing and Can Can Wonderland plan to reopen the recently-shuttered Dark Horse bar on East Seventh Street, with a new chef, decor and menu.
The Town Square food court and skyway has drawn several former tenants from Alliance Bank Center, including B’s Barbershop, Greenwolf Hemp and Organics and Paul Hartquist Jewelers.
Other reopenings over the past year include Mickey’s Diner, Ruam Mit Thai and Alary’s — now home to Pete’s BBQ. Two temporarily-shuttered downtown storefronts — La Noire Bridal and Garso Mini-Mart — also plan to reopen in new downtown locations this summer.
In April, Exchange Ventures LLC of Lake Forest, Calif., purchased the Gallery Professional Building, a former medical office building at 17 W. Exchange St., from the Salvation Army for $199,000. Despite the rock-bottom sales price for the vacant eight-story structure, property taxes based on its assessed market value are high, as are maintenance costs, and parking is limited, said the buyer, who did not disclose his full name when reached by phone May 20. He said he’s hoping to get some leeway from the city and county before renovating, likely for office and retail uses, he said.
Parks
Following an $8 million planning and construction effort, the long-awaited Pedro Park will open by late summer at 10th and Robert streets.
Along Kellogg Boulevard, Kellogg Mall Park will soon host a publicly available restroom and a designated “park ambassador” to keep the park clean and amenities fresh, according to St. Paul Parks and Recreation. A full schedule of summer events is online at kelloggmallpark.com.
Osborn Plaza, the city-owned plaza along Wabasha Street, will be reconstructed this summer and fall.
St. Paul Parks and Rec will soon replace a retaining wall in Mears Park, a $98,000 project. The free summer concert series “Lowertown Sounds” returns this summer with the New Standards, Salsa Del Soul, Yam Haus, Kiss the Tiger and the Flamin’ Ohs. A complete schedule is online at LowertownSounds.com.
A downtown block party is scheduled at Mears Park from 5 to 7 p.m. May 30, with live music, as well as food and drinks provided by Barrel Theory, the Bulldog and Lost Fox.
Vandals uprooted 60 freshly-planted trees along Shepard Road last November. St. Paul Parks and Rec replanted them on May 16.
Not far outside downtown, the Victorian-style Irvine Park fountain has returned home following an eight-month, $120,000 restoration effort.
A full schedule of downtown park events is online at stpaul.gov/downtownparks.
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