St. Paul isn’t looking to unload its Kellogg Boulevard convention center parking ramp anytime soon — just the air above it.
On Wednesday, the city of St. Paul put out a call for proposals from developers who might be interested in building one of the city’s more unusual “Opportunity Zone” projects: the “air rights” above the RiverCentre parking ramp, which sits along the downtown bluffs between Kellogg Boulevard and Shepard Road.
As such, there’s plenty of room for construction directly above the city-owned ramp, and the city is courting private sector involvement.
The St. Paul Housing and Redevelopment Authority issued a solicitation for private development proposals for the “RiverCentre Ramp Opportunity Site.” It overlooks the Mississippi River and sits across from the RiverCentre convention center and the Xcel Energy Center.
There’s also some available adjacent land that could be developed, and the city has interest in hearing from developers how a long-envisioned elevated riverwalk, or balcony, might fit into their plans.
The solicitation states that “the HRA seeks innovative development proposals that maximize the potential of this key downtown St. Paul site and that complement and/or support nearby facilities.”
City staff will host a tour of the site at 10 a.m. Oct. 18. Proposals must be received by 4 p.m. Nov. 22.
The city will accept questions up to Nov. 15, and all questions and answers will be posted to the project website at StPaul.gov/RiverCentre.
The city wants construction to begin around the summer of 2021 to coincide with the closure and reconstruction of the eastbound side of the Kellogg bridge, the area immediately adjacent to the ramp above the bluffs. The goal is to have the ramp reopen by September 2023.
There’s no obvious mention in the application materials of the city’s plans for the existing eight-story, 1,600-stall parking ramp, which was shut down and reopened in stages over the course of six months in 2018 after a piece of ceiling material fell on a car. The city has asked the Legislature for funds to build a new ramp, without success.
Council Member Chris Tolbert said developers have mentioned a range of possibilities over the years, from tearing out the ramp and building a new one, to working with the existing ramp and constructing above it. The application leaves room for either outcome.
“We’ve heard a lot of different ideas, and this is putting it out there to see if people are serious about those ideas,” said Tolbert, who chairs the city’s Housing and Redevelopment Authority.
DOWNTOWN OPPORTUNITY ZONE
The site, which spans 3.4 acres at 150 W. Kellogg Blvd., is located near Interstate 94 and Interstate 35E. Green Line light rail and bus transit is within walking distance of the Union Depot, with its Amtrak and interstate bus services.
It sits within a seven-minute drive of Holman Field, the downtown municipal airport, and a 20-minute drive of Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
The site is located within a federal Opportunity Zone, which are designated census tracts that offer developers tax deferrals on capital gains.
Through the application process, the city would like developers to flesh out their development concept and include conceptual images, include resume and biographical information for key team members and the project lead; describe experience with up to five similar projects; and spell out experience working with the public sector.
The applications also asks for “a preliminary analysis and statement of market feasibility for the proposed development,” a proposed purchase price and conceptual development budget, and a description of the envisioned tenants, as well as the number of parking spaces required within the ramp.
“Include ideas for how the project will integrate the St. Paul River Balcony in the envisioned development,” states the application.
The website includes links to 11 previous studies, maps and plans, including the 2015 St. Paul Bicycle Plan, the 2017 River Balcony Master Plan, the 2005 Downtown Development Strategy and other reports.
