Community meeting to discuss options and next steps will be held on Monday, February 13
Mayor Chris Coleman today announced that the City will look into the potential reuse of the downtown Saint Paul police training facility, located at 100 10th St. E.
“Due to increased interest in the redevelopment of older buildings for modern office space, we are pressing pause on the initial demolition plan to fully explore the possibility of reuse,” said Mayor Chris Coleman. "We would be remiss to not consider commercial redevelopment of this building to support immediate job growth in downtown.”
The police training facility, previously known as the Public Safety Annex building, is being vacated by the Saint Paul Police Department near the end of 2017, as they move to their new facility located at 600 Lafayette Road.
The downtown core has seen recent private sector job growth of about 3.3 percent from 2013 to mid-2016. The City plans to accelerate that growth, with its 2016-2018 Economic Development Strategy calling for an increase in the overall number of jobs in Saint Paul by 3,000.
“The community has long been engaged in planning for the future of this block and this part of downtown," said Councilmember Rebecca Noecker. "Because of that involvement, I thought it was especially important to engage again as the Public Safety Annex nears the end of its current use. While our plans to-date have called for demolishing the building, given all the changes in downtown and in the area immediately surrounding the Public Safety Annex, it makes sense for us to pause and consider the highest and best use of this public asset.”
Previous plans had called for the demolition of the building and possible development of a larger park space on the block, including improvements to the existing Urban Flower Field site. No work is currently underway, but green space remains a priority for the City in this area.
“Establishing green space in this area remains a central part of the plan,” said Mike Hahm, Director of Saint Paul Parks and Recreation. “We recognize the extensive work of City staff, the community taskforce and the foundation laid out in the Fitzgerald Park Precinct Plan, and look forward to discussions in the year ahead around what form the open space will take.”
The community meeting will take place Monday, February 13, at Tin Whiskers Brewing, located at 125th E 9th St. #127, from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.