Three proposed, withdrawn, fought over and politically charged stations along the Central Corridor light-rail line in St. Paul are now back in play.

Recent rule changes by the federal government now make two of the stations along University Avenue “likely” and a third station “possible,” Metropolitan Council Chair Peter Bell said Wednesday.

The development was welcome news for a number of local leaders, who expressed optimism that all three stations would be built at the same time as the rest of the proposed 11-mile line linking St. Paul and Minneapolis.

At issue are proposed stations at Hamline Avenue, Victoria Street and Western Avenue.

An array of neighborhood and business leaders — from elected officials to disability-access advocates — have long pushed for the stations to be included in the official project budget, noting that without them, gaps between stations could mean a half-mile walk between bus stops and train stations.

But a federal rule governing the obscure-but-powerful cost-effectiveness index (CEI) prevented the stations from being included in the project’s $941 million budget if the Federal Transit Administration were to pick up half the cost.

The city of St. Paul had committed $5.2 million to complete one of the stations — it was unclear which one — and “rough in” the other two. Bureaucrats and engineers have struggled to figure out how and when to navigate the federal rules to make even that happen. In an editorial piece published in Wednesday’s Pioneer Press, FTA Administrator Peter Rogoff called the situation “ludicrous.”

Bell said he’d confirmed with Rogoff that the changes to the index mean the FTA no longer will scorn the project if all three stations are included.

Moreover, the FTA would match such funds, meaning that the $5.2 million committed by St. Paul could effectively build two stations.

“If the local partners would pay another $2.6 million, the FTA would match that” and a third station could be built,” Bell said.

“It’s absolutely terrific,” said Anne White, chair of the District Councils Collaborative, one of the myriad neighborhood groups that have pushed for the three stations.

A number of elected officials who support the additional stations — St. Paul City Council members Russ Stark and Melvin Carter III and Ramsey County Commissioners Rafael Ortega and Toni Carter — all said Wednesday that they were optimistic the third station would be built. Ortega said he was confident the money could be funded through the project’s contingency fund, which is federally required to be 25 percent of the entire project budget.

“The challenge of $2.6 million is a challenge we welcome,” Toni Carter said.

Today, she, Melvin Carter and St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman are scheduled to meet with Rogoff in Washington, D.C.

Melvin Carter said the new developments have altered their strategy.

“We can now spend more time talking about parking, gentrification and other issues,” he said.

The three stations have been a flashpoint for a number of concerns along University Avenue that have especially resonated among minority and environmental justice groups, who allege the project will disproportionately hurt them.

A group of Asian business associations has filed a federal civil rights complaint, and on Tuesday, a group of African-American residents and business owners led by the NAACP filed a lawsuit in federal court.

While the inclusion of the three additional stations is one of the demands of the lawsuit, it’s not the only one, and the lawsuit isn’t going away, plaintiffs said Wednesday.

“These three stations represent our desire to share in the benefits of this project, but we also have to recognize there are adverse impacts that have to be mitigated,” said Veronica Burt, a leader of the Preserve and Benefit Historic Rondo Committee, a group involved in the suit.

Bell said Wednesday that the suit was “without merit” and emphasized, as have other supporters of the project, that plans are in the works to address a number of the concerns, such as reducing the risk of runaway property values, building affordable housing and assembling more parking to make up for the projected loss of most parking on University.

In other Central Corridor developments Wednesday:

The St. Paul City Council delayed approval of streetscape assessments to property owners along the route, and Stark said he believes the city will be able to defer those payments until 2014, when trains are projected to start rolling.

Central Corridor officials said the FTA put the kibosh on their plan to finalize a federal funding agreement in late spring, opting for a fall agreement instead. As a result, local governments will have to float early construction costs until the fall to keep the project on schedule.

