Minneapolis-based Hempel Cos. and the St. Paul Port Authority expect to name six more tenants as early as next week for the redeveloped Macy’s store in St. Paul.

The tenants have signed letters of intent to occupy the building, currently called the Wabasha Center, at 400 Wabasha St. N., said Port Authority President Lee Krueger.

This week, the St. Paul City Council approved a lease for a unit of the city’s Police Department.

A craft brewery will also be among the tenants when the development opens in fall 2017, Krueger said Friday. He declined to identify the brewery. But Looney Bin has said on Twitter it’s the one.

The brewery will join the Minnesota Wild hockey team at the 529,000-square-foot building.

The Port Authority is partnering with Minneapolis-based developer Hempel on the redevelopment.

The Police Department is the latest entity to confirm its intention to lease at Wabasha Center. A special investigations unit will occupy about 10,000 square feet on the lower level of the building, Krueger said. According to City Council documents, the Police Department has agreed to a 15-year lease at the site, with a move-in date shortly after completion of the complex this fall.

Altogether, the city has promised to pay $5.7 million for rent and parking over the lease term, plus an undisclosed one-time contribution for a build-out.

The Police Department’s space, which sits on the Cedar Street side of the building, will be home to a special investigations unit, said police spokesman Steve Linders. He would not specify which special unit would make the move, or how many employees might work there.

The unit will be coming from the Public Safety Annex, at 100 10th St. E., which was slated for demolition. The city has since decided to explore possible commercial uses for the building. Linders said the Wabasha Center was attractive because of its location in the center of downtown St. Paul, not far from interstate access points.

For its part, the Port Authority is pleased to find a tenant that complemented the space, Krueger said. The Macy’s building sits on a considerable slope, which makes the lower level’s configuration on the Cedar Avenue side awkward. Parts of it are 1 to 4 feet higher than the sidewalk, making steps necessary and limiting accessibility.

That portion of the building is also difficult to modify or expand, given that it is hemmed in by the Green Line light rail tracks.

Because of these constraints, the spot was not well-suited for commercial enterprise, Krueger said, though the Wabasha side offers 16-foot sidewalks and a grade that makes it ideal for outdoor dining or a brewery.

“It was a challenging space to market,” Krueger said.

In any case, it’s another score for the partnership, known as Go Wild LLC, which is seeking a total of 12 to 16 tenants for the complex. The Wild in December announced that the team had signed for practice space including a full-size ice rink on the rooftop level.

In addition to the police and the brewery, another lease for a two-level Walgreens store is in the works. The partners hope to sign an agreement with the drugstore chain within the next week or so, said Hempel Principal Randy McKay.

The complex will have about 209,000 square feet of space for rent, Krueger said, though he cautioned that this number could be subject to change.

“The numbers are written in pencil at this point,” Krueger said.

Some of that square footage could still be allotted to parking, hallways and other uses, depending on the needs of future tenants.

Besides the six new tenants, most of the remaining spaces are at least subject to proposals, McKay added in an email exchange. He and Krueger hope to have 90 percent of the space leased out by March.

By Krueger’s estimate, the total cost of redeveloping the Macy’s building will top out at about $70 million.

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