The demolition of the former home of the Ramsey County adult detention center and the West Publishing buildings will continue in downtown St. Paul, despite climbing costs.
The Ramsey County Board voted 6-1 Tuesday to increase the project’s budget by another $2 million to cover rising costs related to delays and unanticipated asbestos discovered at the site.
The increase brings the total cost of demolition to about $17 million. Initial estimates for the work back in 2014 were about $11.5 million.
The County Board voted then to raze the six-building former West Publishing complex and the former adult detention center on Kellogg Boulevard in an effort to make the parcel more attractive to developers.
The county had tried to sell the properties as-is for more than a decade but developers balked at the unknowns associated with taking down a mammoth building built into the Mississippi river bluff.
Before casting her no vote Tuesday, Janice Rettman expressed concern about the amount of due diligence done to ascertain the scope of the work before the county signed off on the demolition.
Other commissioners said that while they were disappointed in the rising costs, they knew this project might come with surprises because of the age of the buildings and their unique position along the bluff.
They added that the investment continues to be worth the return the county hopes to receive once the site is clear and ready for redevelopment by the private sector.
“When we made this decision, we knew there were risks,” Commissioner Toni Carter said. “We determined that … if no one in the development community would take those risks, we needed to take them so we could gain on the riverfront … and re-create (our vision) there… That is an economic boon for all of us.”
County officials have pointed to the possibility of drawing $150 million in private development, which would yield about $7 million in annual tax revenue, including $1.9 million for the county.
The site has been off the tax rolls since 1992, when West Publishing moved to Eagan and its river-bluff headquarters were later converted into government offices.
Demolition of the site is just over 30 percent complete. The county expects to have the site ready for redevelopment by August of 2017.