Site of former jail in St. Paul being eyed for upscale hotel after $17M teardown

The site where inmates used to be jailed along the riverfront in downtown St. Paul may be transformed into a five-star hotel, according to recently submitted plans.

Cardon Development Group of Phoenix was the only developer to submit ideas to Ramsey County for a makeover of the nearly 5 acres of land at the intersection of Wabasha Street and Kellogg Boulevard, overlooking the Mississippi River.

The proposal has several elements, including offices, a five-star hotel, housing, event space, retail and restaurant space, and parking, said Ramsey County Director of Property Management Bruce Thompson.

In the summer of 2015, Ramsey County began tearing down seven buildings that made up the former Ramsey County jail and headquarters of West Publishing, a legal publications firm that is now part of Thomson Reuters.

The deconstruction, which is estimated to cost $17 million, is now about 80 percent complete and expected to be done by August.

The deconstruction project entails removal and disposal of hazardous waste, demolishing the buildings, salvaging some materials for reuse and building a concrete retaining wall for long-term erosion control along the bluffs.

A task force made up of county and city staff as well as civic and business leaders are reviewing the proposal and will meet with Cardon in the next few weeks. The task force will make a recommendation to the Ramsey County Board on whether to proceed with Cardon's proposal.