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A local developer is nearing construction of an estimated $23 million to $24 million apartment building in North St. Paul’s historic downtown district, a project that aims to revitalize a blighted location once occupied in part by a suburban newspaper.

TJL Development plans to begin cleanup, demolition and construction activities this spring on the site at the intersection at Seventh Avenue East and Helen Street. The Lillie Suburban Newspapers occupied a portion of the site before the publisher of suburban weekly newspapers closed in 2019.

The 0.74-acre redevelopment site includes properties at 2503, 2509, 2515 and 2517 Seventh Ave. E. The development team plans to remove all existing structures and replace them with a four-story, mixed-used building, according to the city.

Included in the project are 75 market-rate apartments, seven market-rate “live-work” units, 1,575 square feet of commercial space for lease, and tenant amenities such as three outdoor patios with community rooms.

Jim LaValle of TJL Development Co. said in an interview Tuesday that the site is close to schools, restaurants, churches, museums, an 18-mile state trail and other attractions.

“It’s a charming little town. … It’s close to both downtowns. There’s a bus stop in front of the building. From my perspective, there’s a lot to like there,” he said.

Momentum Design Group is the project’s architect.

In keeping with the wishes of the neighborhood, the building’s design will “respect” surrounding buildings and “celebrate and complement the historic significance of this important place” as the center of historic North St. Paul, according to a city staff report.

The development team engaged with the community early in the process, LaValle said, adding that the architects put neighborhood-friendly design touches on the building’s façade.

A city staff report notes that the project “turns a current public liability on the site to an asset by reinvigorating the pedestrian realm” and aids in the “economic preservation of the North St. Paul’s downtown.”

“The city is extremely happy with the project that is proposed,” Brandy Howe, North St. Paul’s community development director, said Tuesday.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is reviewing a cleanup plan for the property, which housed a gas station in the 1930s. Besides the newspaper, other uses included a grocery store, offices, dry cleaner and paint sprayer assembly business.

Environmental investigations revealed the presence of asbestos, soil vapor and “petroleum impacted” soil and groundwater. With the city’s support, the development team is tapping into state, regional and county sources to clean up the property.

Sources include a Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development Contamination Cleanup Grant, a Metropolitan Council Tax Base Revitalization Account Cleanup Grant, and a Ramsey County Environmental Response Fund Grant.

The City Council also authorized a Tax Increment Financing Redevelopment District for the project.

The developer requested the TIF assistance to help finance “a portion of the extraordinary project costs” related to site acquisition, demolition, additional site development, infrastructure and other redevelopment costs, the city said.

LaValle said the redevelopment site is across the street from a new three-story, 89-unit apartment building designed and built by Amcon Construction. Known as The Sentinel Residences, the Amcon building includes 3,000 square feet of retail space.

The Amcon building opened in 2021 and has done well, LaValle said.

Erin Perdu, a North St. Paul planning consultant, told Finance & Commerce in 2019 that the 1.9-acre Amcon site had been a big redevelopment priority for years. The old city hall was torn down there in 2004.

“Certainly for downtown and the heart of downtown, this is going to be a transformational project,” Perdu said at the time.

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