Decades-old dreams for St. Paul's West Side riverfront slowly becoming reality
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The new Farwell-on-Water project (white building) could be a precursor of things to come on St. Paul's West Side. Photo: Nick Halter/Axios
As officials cut the ribbon on 284 new apartments near St. Paul's riverfront on Tuesday, they were already looking forward to what's next for the area just across the Mississippi from downtown.
Why it matters: The city's riverfront is woefully underutilized, but that might finally be changing.
What they're saying: "We haven't historically wrapped ourselves culturally, socially, and economically around our identity as a river city," Mayor Melvin Carter said Tuesday during the grand opening of the Farwell-on-Water development.
State of play: Investment is flowing in the area between Harriet Island and Robert Street, which some call West Side Flats.
- Farwell-on-Water, the new complex developed by Edina-based Buhl Investors, includes a market-rate building and a mixed-income building, as well as a renovation of the Farwell Ozmun Kirk warehouse, which is used by artists.
- Reuter Walton completed a 136-unit apartment building next door a few years ago.
- The Lowlands Event Center opened nearby on Wabasha Street last year and an alliance of nonprofits has requested bonding money for a Latino heritage museum to be built near Farwell-on-Water.
Catch up fast: Local politicians and developers have long had big dreams for the West Side riverfront, which has three key things going for it: large swaths of undeveloped or under-developed land, a short walk to downtown, and frontage on the Mighty Mississippi.
Buhl Investors principal Pete Deanovic told Axios that the area has been "largely underappreciated and certainly underinvested for many years."
- It had lacked a proper street grid and sewer infrastructure, but Deanovic said the city has spent several million to improve both, which he believes will spur even more development.
- He recently purchased a 3.3-acre warehouse site east of the new apartment complex, though he would not disclose plans.
Flashback: More than 20 years ago, developer Jerry Trooien wowed the public with a $1 billion plan to develop much of the riverfront across from downtown St. Paul.
- He eventually declared bankruptcy, but some of his vision came true, namely a new U.S. Bank office building on Robert Street and a couple of apartment buildings developed by Sherman Associates.
Yes, but: Much of the area has, however, remained vacant land, surface parking, and warehouses.
What we're watching: The biggest landowner in the neighborhood is Weidner Apartment Homes, which controls 14 acres and pitched a 700-unit apartment development back in 2017.
- Weidner, an active developer in the Twin Cities, has been silent on that project since but ceased building multifamily housing in St. Paul's Highland Bridge development after the city implemented rent control.
- The Kirkland, Wash.-based firm could not be reached for comment.