Update: Temporary restraining order halts demolition – for now

A building that once was St. Paul’s first fire station is to be torn down to make way for a hotel, adding to the city’s needed lodging options.

Local developer David Brooks has plans to demolish the building at Leech Street and Grand Avenue near United and Children’s hospitals and replace it with a 109-room Marriott, according to Brooks. But some community members hope the project can be paused for further review given the facility’s history.

The city confirmed that Brooks applied for a demolition permit for the site but said no formal plans have been submitted for the property.

Brooks, who could not be reached for comment Friday, previously reported that construction on the facility is expected to start this summer.

The project joins two other hotel developments underway in or near downtown St. Paul.

Exeter Group is building a 149-room Hyatt Place hotel within Custom House, the redevelopment at the former Kellogg Boulevard post office tower, which opens in September. Also, a Vista Host hotel is under construction at the former Ace Seven Corners Hardware site on West Seventh Street.

Brooks and business partner Jim Kelly bought the property from Kraus-Anderson Construction Co., which annexed the former fire station into a warehouse built on the site years ago.

The city is expected to issue a demolition permit Monday, meaning wrecking balls could be coming soon, said Robert Humphrey, a spokesman for the city’s Department of Safety and Inspections.

Some community members are rallying to try to at least delay the process, according to Elyse Jensen, president of the Historic Irvine Park Association and a West Seventh neighborhood resident.

Jensen said a lawsuit seeking to block demolition of the building was filed Friday in Ramsey County District Court but had not yet been served on the developers.

“Our goal is not to just poo-poo anyone who wants to develop (around) West Seventh; we are thrilled about the excitement and energy (in the area),” Jensen said. “But this is a unique situation where one small component of a broader building is actually very historically significant, and we would like to at least see it studied further … or saved in some manner.”

The fire station — also the oldest standing building that once served a municipal purpose in St. Paul — was built in 1871 for the Hope Engine Company, a volunteer firefighting unit.

There was an attempt to get it registered with St. Paul’s Historic Preservation Commission in 1991, but for some reason it stalled out, said Amy Spong, a historic preservation specialist with the commission.

Spong said she wasn’t with the commission at the time and couldn’t comment on what happened.

Without such a designation, the city has no reason to deny the demolition permit, Humphrey said. He added that the permit has cleared Ramsey County’s review of any hazardous material concerns related to the demolition and the city’s Public Works Department for consideration of utility ramifications.

St. Paul City Council member Rebecca Noecker, who represents the ward where the building is located, said community members are exploring other options to stop or delay the project.

“There is a lot of community concern about this … It’s the oldest public building in the city,” Noecker said.

She added that she and her city council predecessor, Dave Thune, have plans to talk with Brooks on Monday to try to persuade him to save the fire station.

Brooks has a long history of preserving historic buildings in St. Paul, particularly in Lowertown.

“He has historically been very cognizant … of historic treasures like this and has been a great steward of history with his developments, so I am hopeful we can come to some sort of agreement,” Noecker said.

She added that an “agreement” wouldn’t mean leaving the building to continue to sit vacant.

“I think there is a balance between destroying history and moving forward with economic development … I think the compromise would be some sort of development that can happen within the existing structure,” Noecker said. “There are auto garages that have been turned into cafes or other firehouses that have been turned into restaurants. I think the community would be really open to solutions like that.”