For sale, in whole or in part, with or without three levels of hotel rooms: the 15-story St. Paul Athletic Club building in downtown St. Paul, built in 1917, spanning 200,000-plus square feet.

Downtown developer John Rupp said Thursday it’s time for him to put one of his flagship properties on the market, and he’s hoping the century-old building will find a nonprofit buyer.

If so, that could open a new chapter for one of downtown’s most historic properties, which was founded as a social club by the city’s community leaders. Rupp says he hopes to revive that mission and return the building to its roots.

“It’s going on the market for sale, and my hope is that it become a nonprofit community center,” said Rupp, who has owned the site more than 20 years.

“I’ve used the example of the 92nd Street Y (in New York City) as a dramatic example,” Rupp said. “Everybody can use a community center. I’m willing to lease back parts of it to make the whole thing work. We’ll find out this year.”

The property is informally on the market currently, he said.

“We want to save this as a centerpiece of revitalizing the city, housing lots of nonprofit inside of it,” Rupp said.

The building spans 13 stories above grade and two stories below grade. Three levels are dedicated to the Hotel 340, a 56-room hotel that Rupp is a bit on the fence about parting with.

“I could keep it or I could sell it,” he said.

Taking a 15-story property off the city’s tax rolls might not go over well with all city officials, but downtown residents have long bemoaned the lack of community gathering spaces. City Passport, a HealthEast senior center located in the Alliance Bank Center skyway, closed in 2016.

On Dec. 10, Rupp presented his plans to the downtown Capitol River Council’s development committee, which was generally supportive of the idea of a new community space.

CapitolRiver Council Director Jon Fure said in an email: “In our community engagement activities, we have frequently heard the complaint that downtown lacks a community center. A community center that would serve children and youth, seniors, or people of all ages would be a tremendous asset for this neighborhood.”

Rupp’s history with the athletic club building has had its ups and downs. That and several nearby properties that Rupp owned at the time — the Lowry Square Apartments and a former bank building at Fifth and Wabasha streets — entered into Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in 2012.

The athletic club, which opened in 1917 and contains a swimming pool, was operated for several years by Lifetime Fitness. It closed for a few years before reopening under the Rupp family’s management several years ago.

Rupp said the property will officially hit the market later this year.

“There’s a lot of steps that have to be taken between the idea and executing it,” Rupp said. “I’ve had it for 23 years now, and I’m getting old. I’m 71, and it doesn’t work to own it for another 23 years.”

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St. Paul man threatened another man with a sword, charges say Outside of downtown, Rupp’s holdings include W.A. Frost & Co. at 374 Selby Ave., the University Club of St. Paul at 420 Summit Ave., and the Commodore Bar and Restaurant at 79 Western Ave., among several others.

He recently purchased the Church on a Hill on Summit Avenue to convert it into a performing arts center and music school. Also on Summit, Rupp last month opened the Davidson, a boutique hotel in a mansion estate that had once been home to the College of Visual Arts.