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Council approves TIF plan and paves way for St. Joseph’s site redevelopment
Summary
The council adopted a tax‑increment financing plan and related authorizations to prepare about 5.5 acres of the former St. Joseph’s Hospital campus for redevelopment, including up to $6 million in temporary bonds to reimburse demolition and remediation costs; the Port Authority and Fairview will partner on site preparation and marketing.
The Saint Paul City Council voted to establish a tax‑increment financing (TIF) district and authorized related financing steps to prepare roughly 5.5 acres of the former St. Joseph’s Hospital site for redevelopment.
Mike Solomon, chief financial officer for the Saint Paul Port Authority, told the council the Port Authority and Fairview have formed a partnership in which Fairview will pay demolition and remediation costs up front and be reimbursed for eligible costs. Solomon said the Port Authority may issue up to $6 million in temporary general‑obligation geo bonds to reimburse those costs and that Fairview will pay the debt service until the site is sold or up to ten years, which “reduces the amount of public resources necessary to support the redevelopment.”
Solomon said the Port Authority’s redevelopment model projects a market value scenario of about $60 million with roughly $1.5 million in annual property tax revenue for the city once development is complete. He described the work as decoupling the operating wellness hub from vacant buildings, demolishing obsolete structures, and conducting environmental remediation so the site is marketable to future developers.
Council members who spoke praised the Port Authority and Fairview for the partnership. The council adopted the TIF plan and related resolution on a recorded vote; the motion carried without recorded opposition.
The Port Authority will oversee demolition and remediation design reviews, acquire the site upon project completion for $1 and work with city planning and economic development staff to market the parcel for private redevelopment. Council members emphasized the public‑benefit aim of returning vacant land to productive use and stressed ongoing oversight as planning, demolition permits and remediation move forward.
Next steps: the council laid related bond and ordinance steps on the agenda for subsequent public hearings and will receive implementation details as the Port Authority advances project design and reimbursement requests.
