10 downtown St. Paul buildings ID’d as promising residential conversions

A recent study commissioned by the St. Paul Downtown Alliance identifies 10 buildings in the downtown area that could easily be converted from office space to residential units.

Since the release of an investment and revitalization plan for downtown St. Paul in March, leaders of city’s downtown area say the district is seeing improvements, but many still see concerns of low foot traffic and not enough amenities for residents. 

The 38-page study, completed by architecture and design firm Gensler and released earlier this month, noted in the report that out of 20 buildings within downtown St. Paul, half have been identified as likely spaces to convert from office space to residential units.  

Each building was graded on a 100-point scale, with ideal conversions scoring above 80 percent and those under 70 percent considered unlikely choices to add residential units. 

Buildings with the highest potential scores to have living space include the Empire Building at 360 Robert St. N, First National Bank building at 332 Minnesota St., Gallery Professional Building at 17 Exchange St., U.S. Bank Center at 101 Fifth St. E, and Park Square Court at 400 Sibley St. 

If all ideally-scored locations within the report were converted, that could provide nearly 4,000 new residential units for St. Paul’s downtown. The study also estimated these conversions would save 80,000-110,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually. 

Six other buildings scored below an optimal range for conversion, but could be converted if significant changes were made to become ideal candidates, such as facade updates or additional parking. The last four buildings on the list of 20 were considered unlikely to convert to residential use. 

Downtown revival progress taking time, but moving too slow for some

The conversion of office buildings to residential is part of a three-point plan from the downtown alliance to increase residents by 20,000, as well as increase employment in the district by 20,000 and boost visitors to the area by 20 percent.

“As a region, we have a housing shortage. And so when apartment buildings open in downtown St. Paul they’re filling up. They’re doing well,” said Joe Spencer, president of the downtown alliance.

Along with the investment strategy, the St. Paul City Council approved an expansion of the Downtown Improvement District to cover all of downtown starting on Jan. 1. The expansion will cover more properties east of Cedar Street and through the Lowertown neighborhood, and will provide more funds for safety downtown, like bike patrols, safety ambassadors and added skyway coverage.

At a recent downtown community meeting at Lost Fox, residents shared both good signs and pain points in the downtown area, including concerns of street drug use and loitering. 

Rochelle Westlund has lived downtown for seven years and feels that progress to revive a struggling downtown is too focused on long term plans rather than addressing concerns of safety and lack of amenities that downtown residents face today.  

With businesses like Barrio closing in recent months, and an announcement from grocer Lunds and Byerlys cutting hours in it’s downtown store in July, she worries it will be even harder to convince people to move to the downtown area. 

“We’ve come to the space where so many businesses have closed in St. Paul that none of the amenities that make the city livable are present,” Westlund said. “We bring all these people in town, or how are we going to get people to move here when the city doesn't have anything to offer them.”

Nicole Newton is a new downtown resident. She expressed hope, and added she’s interested in contributing to the revival efforts. 

“I can see things on the streets in St, Paul, that they’re improving, that it feels like the streets are cleaner,” Newton said. “The challenges, though, there aren’t people on the street. So I noticed that... this feels like such a big opportunity, with all of these empty buildings to make this into something great.”

Newton said as an empty nester, she and her husband realized they wanted to prepare for their next step in life after living in a house in the Macalester-Groveland neighborhood in St. Paul. She said they picked downtown as a kind of “gap year” as they decide what’s next. 

“What I loved about it is it gave us the access to public transportation. You start to determine what’s really important to you as we looked at other apartments. And the idea of having public transit was a big thing for us.”

But a lack of options to purchase and invest equity into a property keeps her from fully committing to living downtown. She’d rather put her money into an investment instead of renting.

The downtown alliance plans to hold more informational meetings and social events for the community, but no events are currently set on the calendar through the rest of 2024. If you’re interested in staying informed with downtown development news, the alliance offers a newsletter sign-up on the its website.

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