Decades ago it was heralded as one of the largest indoor downtown winter gardens in North America.

Town Square Park was an enclosed city-owned park featuring 250 species of plants, a waterfall, and eventually the 1914-era Cafesjian’s Carousel, laid out for public use under the glass-panel roof of a downtown shopping mall.

When the city of St. Paul partnered with private developers to open the block-length Town Square project in 1980, city leaders saw fit to include a 2-acre park on the mall’s third floor.

It didn’t last.

The 1990s were especially difficult years for downtown St. Paul retailers.

FOOTNOTES IN CITY LORE

Town Square’s stores were gradually replaced by office tenants. The park — like the department store and assorted shops that operated on the floors beneath it — became footnotes in city lore.

After 20 years of dormancy, the prospect of reviving Town Square Park has piqued the interest of more than one civic leader and downtown property owner.

Business leaders close to owner Michael Wong say he has informally put it up for sale through word of mouth, and a formal listing is likely this year.

“I think he will find a buyer when he puts it on the market,” said John Rupp, a downtown property owner who has worked closely with Wong for decades. “Conversations have been had between him and me, the city council, and the St. Paul Port Authority. This could be a nonprofit community center-like project.”

A call to Minneapolis-based Events by Michael Wong was not returned last week.

COMPLICATED HISTORY

City leaders are cautiously optimistic about the future of the park site.

But given its complicated history, Parks and Rec officials say the likelihood of simply adding it to the city park system is slim at best.

“While it’s unlikely we will be involved in the future of Town Square Park, its success would be a benefit to the Lowertown neighborhood and beyond,” said Clare Cloyd, a spokeswoman for St. Paul Parks and Rec.

Port Authority President Lee Krueger said his organization could potentially help a future owner through its energy efficiency program, though the Port Authority itself would not be interested in buying the site.

“People have been calling us to take a look at it and see if we have any ideas,” Krueger said. “We’ve kind of been on the periphery. I don’t know of any role we’d have on it. It’s not our typical project, but we could maybe play matchmaker and bring a few people together. If we can help in any way, we will.”

30 WATER LEAKS AND A LEGAL FIGHT

Located at 444 Cedar Ave. near East Seventh Street, the public park drew proms and weddings until 2000, when the city abandoned the effort.

In 2002, it was sold “as is” for $101,000 to Wong, who had been leasing the space for extravagant Asian weddings, but his planned event center never opened.

Instead, Sentinel Property Management sued Wong and the city for allowing the glass roof to fall into disrepair, as well as 30 water leaks that spilled into the mall’s lower floors, including two leaks they deemed “catastrophic” in court papers.

In 2007, after five years of legal fights, a Ramsey County District Court jury determined the city should pay out $200,000 in damages, a narrow slice of the $4.5 million that Sentinel initially requested.

City officials at the time said they were relieved at the outcome and relegated the memory of Town Square Park to the proverbial archives of failed urban redevelopment efforts.

EXPECTED TO BE OFFERED FOR SALE SOON

The shuttered park sits between UBS Plaza and Bremer Tower, two office towers that were built as part of the Town Square project.

The park’s legacy, however, spins on, albeit in another corner of the city. In spring 2000, the 30-ton carousel, measuring 50 feet across and 54 feet at the upper rim, opened in a new copper roof pavilion in Como Park.

Rupp, who worked with Wong on financing when he leased the park as a banquet facility, recently spoke to the downtown Capitol River Council about the possibility of a park revival.

Wong continues to host events on occasion at the St. Paul Athletic Club, which Rupp owns.

Rupp hopes a new public or nonprofit owner will be able to obtain tax-exempt financing to reopen the site to the general public.

“I haven’t found anyone who doesn’t want to see that park reopen. I hope that happens,” said Rupp, while acknowledging the shuttered site will need considerable maintenance. “So does the owner. It will be formally offered for sale relatively soon.”

FUNDING OPTIONS

Unlike the 1980s and ’90s, eras when the city grew little more than a nudge, St. Paul has finally turned a corner on population growth, with downtown leading the way. That’s led to interest in new downtown amenities, including park space.

Maxfield Research and the Greater St. Paul Building Owners and Managers Association report downtown’s residential population to be 9,845 people last year, double the 4,862 residents tallied in 2010. The number of apartments has grown 70 percent.

It’s not clear how much it would cost to revive Town Square Park, but a nonprofit buyer might not have to go it alone.

Some downtown civic leaders have discussed the possibility of making the park revival a swan song for the Lowertown Future Fund, a neighborhood grant fund that has continued to operate years after its projected sunset date.

The fund was created from a $10 million McKnight Foundation grant, which seeded much of the downtown revitalization work in and around Mears Park. About $280,000 remains available.

“One of the current suggestions is to use the fund to challenge the city or others to create an indoor park above Town Square,” said Bill Hanley, a board member with the Future Fund. “Even though the park would be outside of Lowertown, there can be little question that it would be a substantial benefit to the folks in Lowertown, so it is likely to get serious consideration.”

Other funding options might include the city’s Cultural and Neighborhood STAR programs, which are funded by the city’s half-cent sales tax, or partnerships with downtown foundations and parks groups.

Energy efficiency programs, such as the St. Paul Port Authority’s PACE long-term financing initiative, could help cover the cost of window replacement, said the Port Authority’s Krueger. “That would be a key area where I think we would participate,” he said.

Ward 2 St. Paul City Council member Rebecca Noecker was equally optimistic.