Ramsey County plans to move hundreds of workers from ex-West fa...

Wedged along the Mississippi River bluff below Kellogg Boulevard is an assemblage of buildings owned by Ramsey County, as viewed from the river.

[ABS]

Am I missing something here? The county is going to spend $40M to relocate 677 workers so that they can sell the current building for $10M. If that weren't peculiar enough, some quick division tells me that the cost to move these employees is $60,000 each!?! If these numbers are correct, the county ought to keep these folks in their current location for as long as possible.

[JAdams]

Let's save some money. Lay off the Regional Rail staff.

[Gloria D]

..And nowhere in the article does it state anything about utilizing the great wasteland of unoccupied space in nearly every building in downtown St. Paul. And they talk about "new construction". These people are idiots. Thank GOD I live in Hennepin County.

But the funniest line was where it said they moved Family Court back to the courthouse. That's where it was in the first place!

[Why Me]

You must not understand the vision here.

You see they are going to move the employees.

Clearer?

The plan here is to develop the building into something more than a place that houses 677 employees that bring money into downtown.

It is to spend a net $30mm for the possibility of bringing 678 jobs into downtown.

Tongue firmly in cheek.

I'm hoping the decision is based in better business logic than this article lets on.

ABS wrote:

Am I missing something here? The county is going to spend $40M to relocate 677 workers so that they can sell the current building for $10M. If that weren't peculiar enough, some quick division tells me that the cost to move these employees is $60,000 each!?! If these numbers are correct, the county ought to keep these folks in their current location for as long as possible.

[Rick]

Why on Earth would Ramsey County be moving workers out of downtown or considering building a new building when there's a 20+% vacancy rate downtown. Save money, use the existing space!!!

[Downtown Resident]

This location is just a few blocks upriver from the Depot Concourse. A few months before Ramsey County sold the West/Jail site to Opus for $10M, it purchased the Depot Concourse and surrounding land for $49.6M from the Federal government.

Yankee Traders? Maybe not.

[Abe Froman]

That's the Wabasha Street Bridge in the photo, you ninny, not the Lafayette bridge.

[Scott Simon]

St. Paul, be it City, County or State just never learns that SUBSIDY DOES NOT WORK!

[Paul]

Gloria D wrote:

..And nowhere in the article does it state anything about utilizing the great wasteland of unoccupied space in nearly every building in downtown St. Paul. And they talk about "new construction". These people are idiots. Thank GOD I live in Hennepin County.
But the funniest line was where it said they moved Family Court back to the courthouse. That's where it was in the first place!

That would be the county that is willing to give Carl Pholad money correct, which Ramsey wasn't? Yes you guys are so much more prudent with your money. Maybe Ramsey should build a nice government center like they did in Minneapolis.

And how does leasing office space from pivate parties that will charge the government a kings ransom make sense? Although that is one option being looked at.

Maybe the county should just immanent domain some of the empty office spaces. Would that make the penny pinching taxpayers happy?

[Get a Grip]

The fact that a property of that size is only worth $10M outta tell you something about the state of downtown St Paul.

In a normal thriving downtown you'd have multiple bidders for this LARGE prime riverfront property and the going rate would be 10 times this pitance.

Unfortunately all you "progressive" St Paulites long ago voted into office public servants who have done everything in their power to chase "evil" corporate America out of what used to be a thriving hub of commerce.

I work downtown at one of the three or four non-governmental businesses left here. It literally takes me two minutes to get out of town during rush hour.....why because no one is here anymore (except the perpetual and now much more prominent raft of panhandlers, wino's and ghetto transit riders...)

It's a cheap bet for OPUS....that's it. and my guess is that place sits empty for 10+ years....just like everything else.

Will the last business to leave St Paul please turn off the light-rail lights before you go....

[ABS]

I still can't get over the $60,000/each to relocate an employee. As an operations director for a private company, I can tell you that we spend a fraction of that to relocate employees. I'm not just talking about moving their office to a different location. I'm saying we spend far less than that to relocate them, their family, their cars, and all their household goods from another state! Someone has got to start questioning these numbers.

[Sharion Anderson]

St. Paul again Robbing Peter Check todays city Agenda found at http://sharon4council.blogspot.com
Greedy Grab for Federal Dollars must Bankrupt Ramsey County and City of St. Paul
When will it stopp???????? with High tech, the 600 persons should work at Home on Computers, saving building new projects.
We the People are paying Taxes to our Demise of Poverty......

[This makes sense]

Sell the building for 10 million move employees for 40 million. This only makes sense if you work for the government. I guess it is better than having them on welfare. If you can't work for the government then you pretty much unemployable

[Downtown Resident]

I have read a lot of comments lately about homeless and panhandlers. I have lived downtown for 24 years and while I do my fair share of complaining about the great downward slide, I would like to point out that the heyday of unsavory characters had to be in the Schiebel era.

That bonehead actually promoted their being Downtown. They roamed in packs and were very threating if you would not give them something. We have a long way to go before it is that bad again.

I have noted of late, however, that there is more agressive panhandling occuring Downtown. In late April I was over by Cossetta's and two clowns approached me and start off with the "lost wallet and need cash to get back to ______ WI pitch." Living Downtown, I have heard every panhandlers' line numerous times, so when I turned and walked away, he said loudly to his comrad "What a Pr**k!

I give a few bucks to the Catholic Charities each year, so I have no regrets about ignoring the panhandlers. If you don't like them, don't give them anything.

[St Paulite]

As someone who has moved back to the city, I think alot of people are giving things a bad rap. I used to live in a suburb in hennepin county and things actually feel more safe where I live now in downtown St.Paul than what my neighborhood was facing in what I thought was only urban pathologies. But then again that is hennepin county and the crooks and 'affordable housing' queens are branching out all the way to St.Cloud.

[Scott Simon]

St Paulite wrote:

As someone who has moved back to the city, I think alot of people are giving things a bad rap. I used to live in a suburb in hennepin county and things actually feel more safe where I live now in downtown St.Paul than what my neighborhood was facing in what I thought was only urban pathologies. But then again that is hennepin county and the crooks and 'affordable housing' queens are branching out all the way to St.Cloud.

So you moved from Brooklyn Park to St. Paul and now you're surprized to figure out that it is not much better. You need to be in a suburb where subsidy is frowned on and only used as a last resort. Giving money to people who are unwilling to work is not the answer. It is instead like adding fuel to the fire. You should read the discussion going on about Galtier Plaza. It tells a very ugly story of what has happened there and the author is a former security guard in the building.

St. Paul residents also tend to be content with lack of amenities and activities in the downtown area in exchange for cheap housing. But cheap housing eventually leads to the decay of the downtown neighborhood. You need to be located in a place where companies invest their OWN money because THEY WANT TO BE THERE and avoid the places where people AND COMPANIES are looking for handouts. Nothing good can come from this.