City-County Efforts Slated to Reshape St. Paul Riverfront

It looks as if St. Paul might be getting new office and retail space as well as additional parking and some new housing. That's all good news for the capital, which has been looking for a way to reshape the riverfront.

A new 5-star hotel may also be waiting in the wings, but details have not yet been released, and action by the Ramsey County Board awaits joint task force review of a single redevelopment proposal. 

Rising Costs

Demolition at the site was stalled early in 2016 by the need for extensive asbestos abatement. Planned costs also rose from $11.5 million to the currently projected $17 million. A county spokesman reports that the teardown is expected to be complete by August.

A single bidder, Phoenix developer Cardon Development, responded to a request for proposals about how to redevelop the property that once was home to the Ramsey County Adult Detention Center and West Publishing buildings. The site is adjacent to the bluffs between the Mississippi River and downtown St. Paul.

Long-Term Development Plans 

Cardon Development has a $120 million mixed-use development, Five South, underway in Bismark, and was chosen by the city of Williston, N.D. to oversee a 10-year redevelopment initiative termed Williston Reimagined. That project includes a major renovation of the old airport into a modern international facility that will become the Williston Basin International Airport. To date, the Arizona firm has completed no projects in Minnesota, although it lists a vice president with residence in St. Paul.

Founded in 2002, Cardon specializes in "transformative real estate projects" that bring together "the creativity of the private sector" and the "resources of public enterprise." The company has to its credit a $1.8 million City Scape redevelopment in Phoenix, completed in partnership with Red Development. In turn, Red Development was associated with The Opus Group of Minnetonka to develop Woodbury Lakes in 2005.