In St. Paul’s Lowertown neighborhood, readying the former Christos restaurant space for a new bar and grill in the Union Depot transit hub will cost Ramsey County taxpayers almost double the initial projections.

Meeting as the Regional Rail Authority, Ramsey County commissioners Wednesday approved soliciting up to $2 million in improvements to the former Christos space for structural, mechanical and electrical upgrades, as well as some furniture and kitchen equipment.

Ramsey County project managers had once anticipated spending roughly $1 million to prep the space for Kaskaid Hospitality, which the county selected as its new tenant in August 2016.

Officials said the county’s design-build partner, Kalcon, found that bringing the space up to federal, state and local historic standards would be pricier than expected.

At 6,800 square feet, the new restaurant project has a different footprint from what Christos had, and will include part of the first-floor elevator to the mezzanine, which has been closed since a major depot renovation in 2012. The restaurant kitchen has not been significantly altered since 1983.

Kaskaid, which oversees Crave Catering, Union Bar and Grill-Minneapolis, Burger Burger and Rev Ultra Lounge in Minneapolis, plans to open the Union Bar and Grill-St. Paul in association with its Crave restaurant brand.