In downtown St. Paul, artists, dancers and nonprofits abandoned five levels of studio work spaces two years ago, and not by choice.

The exodus from the Jax Building — a staple of the Lowertown arts scene since 1977 — was followed by plans from new owners to turn the early-20th century grocery and factory building into 40 market-rate lofts and one-bedroom apartments over ground-level retail space.

Then came nothing. For two years, former tenants wondered what the hold-up could be.

Recently, Weis Builders created a safety perimeter around the site and began working on upper floors. A call to Forterra Capital Partners, half of the Minneapolis-based ownership group that bought the building for roughly $4 million in 2016, was not returned last week.

With some excitement, and in some cases, some anxiety, artists, residents and business owners in Lowertown have braced for the private developers to bring big changes to the neighborhood.

Changes have arrived, though in stops and starts and at a slower pace than many expected. In several cases, residences have filled in aged or vacant retail spaces, displacing rather than complementing existing businesses.

And so it begins. Work is underway on the Jax Building in Lowertown, former art studios that will soon become… pic.twitter.com/EOq7cKewc6 — FredMelo, Reporter (@FrederickMelo) September 13, 2018

The reinvention of the Jax Building at 249 Fourth St. E. isn’t the only sign of change in Lowertown, or even along the lower blocks of Fourth Street.

From the Oaks Union Depot apartments to the upcoming historic renovation of the Seestedt’s Carpet and Linoleum building, developers have shown no lack of interest in residential conversions.

Residential construction has been “huge,” said former St. Paul City Council Member Jerry Blakey, proprietor of Lowertown Wine and Spirits in the Lofts on 4th building at 262 Fourth St. E.

“The only downside I’ve seen with all the development is a lot of the artists have gotten pushed out. We’re kind of losing that vibe, and that’s what attracted us,” Blakey said.

Meanwhile, new restaurants and taprooms such as Urban Wok, the Union Depot Bar and Grill and Birch’s Lowertown are still settling in, though their pace has slowed a bit since the recent restaurant boom.

It hasn’t all been roses. At least two new arrivals — Pullman’s Pub and Biergarten Germania — closed within months of opening.

A cash-less counter restaurant with no silverware or dishes — 100% green. To-go containers and bamboo chopsticks. Fork users need not apply. 5 Insight craft beers, 4 wines. Opening Oct. 1 in former Pullman Pub space. #UrbanWok #MarkToth pic.twitter.com/LgDn0ECDn9 — FredMelo, Reporter (@FrederickMelo) September 13, 2018

PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS, MARKET-RATE APARTMENTS

Over the past six years, three publicly funded improvements have transformed Lowertown’s landscape.

There was the reopening of Ramsey County’s $243 million Union Depot as a transit hub in 2012, the arrival of Metro Transit’s $957 million Green Line light rail in 2014, and the opening of the $64 million, 7,200-seat CHS Field in 2015.

Within a year, the ground level of the Seestedt’s building will house a pet supply store and a doggie daycare — a far cry from existing uses.

After moving to the East Side, Seestedt’s will keep its existing employees “and hopefully expand service,” said longtime owner Pat Yeager. “We’re going to have easier access for our customers and better parking. Lowertown is just not conducive anymore for our type of retail.”

St. Paul City Council Member Rebecca Noecker said she’s excited to see the city add housing that it desperately needs during a rental crisis, and the private sector invest in St. Paul.

Noecker worries, however, that the city might be subsidizing projects that eliminate viable commercial spaces.

“We need more housing in St. Paul. But it’s really important for me that we balance the commercial and the residential development,” she said. “One of the things I’ve been working with the Department of Planning and Economic Development on is to categorize which buildings would be good candidates for conversion from commercial to residential buildings, and which buildings should remain commercial … We don’t want to give up on those properties.”

Noecker noted that the city has welcomed the conversion of 345 Cedar Street — the former home of the Pioneer Press — which will reopen as apartments by the end of the year.

“In some cases, though, we have (lower-grade) ‘Class C’ office space that is just outdated and no longer appealing as office space.”

OAKS UNION DEPOT

In April, Norman Bjornnes of Oaks Properties LLC threw open the doors on Oaks Union Depot, a pet-friendly, 70-unit market-rate apartment building constructed on what had been a vacant lot next to Fourth Street’s Union Depot transit hub.

The property is 90 percent leased, said Oaks Properties’ French.

The “Smart Apartments” are a far cry from simple art studio living. IOTAS technology allows tenants to control their lighting, thermostat and other energy features from anywhere in the world — wherever they can access the Internet.

There’s even an electric Chevrolet Bolt that serves as the building’s shared “Community Car” for free trips to the grocer and other errands.

“We are a transit-oriented development, being the first stop on the Green Line,” said French, noting the company has developed two similar properties along the Blue Line in Minneapolis. “We’re on the bus lines and the bike trails. We embrace that lifestyle. We estimate that the cost of owning a vehicle is $10,000 annually, that someone can save by living in our building.”

Otherwise, smart living isn’t necessarily budget living.

On Thursday, a one-bedroom at 244 Fourth St. E. was being advertised for a monthly rent of $1,455, as well as a pet rent of $35. Access to an underground parking garage — which has a waiting list — adds another $125 per month.

SEESTEDT’S RELOCATES TO EAST SIDE

After some 80 years in Lowertown, Seestedt’s Carpet and Linoleum is moving to St. Paul’s East Side, leaving room for the historic renovation of a downtown apartment building with the new pet clinic and pet supply store on the ground level.

Yeager was a representative of a carpet company 25 years ago when he bought Seestedt’s from the family of the same name. The three-story, 29,000-square-foot building dates back to the mid-1880s, according to Ramsey County property records.

Within two months, Yeager expects to move his dozen employees from 282 E. Sixth St. to a vacant Pawn America building on Suburban Avenue, where he hopes to someday expand.

“The building’s sale ($1.7 million) has already closed,” Yeager said. “We’ve got to be out by the end of November.”

Brian Farrell, a principal of the Minneapolis-based Northland Real Estate Group, said he is working with the Minneapolis-based Ackerberg Group to convert the ground level into retail.

Tenants would include Chuck and Don’s Pet Supplies and the WellHaven Pet Health clinic and doggie daycare. Two upstairs floors would be transformed into 26 market-rate apartments.

Work starts in November and is expected to take six to nine months.

“This is a historic renovation,” Farrell said. “We’re preserving the building and using (state and federal) historic tax credits for the project. We’re going to try to utilize as much as we can of the original brick building to retain that brick-and timber, lofty feel.”

Until now, those upper floors have mostly housed carpet remnants, Yeager said.