Almanac show on Friday night and Mayor Coleman briefly mentioned future plans
for the closed Macy's store on Wabasha Street. He mentioned that demolition
of the building was cost prohibitive at this time. The building is currently
owned by the St. Paul Port Authority which paid Macy's $3 million for the
building in January of 2014.
The Port Authority estimated it would cost $13 million to raze the building at
396 Wabasha St. and turn it into a shovel-ready site.
http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/blog/real_estate/2014/08/demolition-costs-mean-st-paul-is-stuck-with-its.html
I think getting some development going at this building should be a top
priority for the city right now. hopes were high that once the Green Line was
running this would be a hot piece of downtown real estate but that doesn't
seem to be the case right now. This vacant building and the "skyway to
nowhere" which juts out from the building and looms over Wabasha St. is
becoming an eyesore for the image of downtown St. Paul in my opinion. I
assume someone is making money off the parking ramp revenue. does anyone know
if the Port Authority receives that revenue? Does the Port Authority pay
property taxes on the building?