The St. Paul Housing and Redevelopment Authority approved public financing to support improvements to the Schmidt Brewery’s Keg House and Rathskeller buildings off West Seventh Street, as well as the Minnesota Museum of American Art in downtown St. Paul.

The brewery buildings date back to the 1930s but have sat mostly unused since 2002.

Developer Craig Cohen plans to use up to $1.7 million in tax increment financing proceeds to convert the 1930s-era Keg House into an open-air marketplace connected to a restaurant.

The West Seventh/Ford Road Federation has lined up five commercial tenants for the Rathskeller building, and has raised $4.8 million of the $6.15 million needed for the improvements.

On Wednesday, the HRA amended an existing tax increment financing district that funds street improvements around the old Koch-Mobil tank farm off Otto Avenue, which is now dotted by apartments and commercial uses. The amendment effectively loans the Rathskeller project up to $1.4 million from the Koch-Mobil TIF, established in 2004.

Located in the Pioneer-Endicott apartment building, the Museum of American Art plans to use $900,000 from an existing TIF district to help fund the $19 million renovation of 30,000 square feet of space on the first floor and create an entrance from the skyway.