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40 CityBtaslness January 16,1998 P H AL E N - _ PHOTOS BY JOHN NOLTNER AND MAP BY JESPER GORANSSON tMRYLAND AVE 71 from page I :'. more than 100 acres of polluted industrial _ I PROPOSED ° a 6. land into thriving light-manufacturing ccn- ters. Other goals of the 10-year project include creating 2,000 industrial jobs on the east side,retaining 4,000 existing jobs,rein- Z m vesting in housing,and building a road that O ' F would provide transportation access to the new industrial parks. r in z It's a project that has received almost uni- versal support throughout St.Paul,a rarity in o r S. a time when virtually all publicly supported Z• - 4.. I development projects are under intense MINNEHAHA AVE E scrutiny.More than 60 groups have signed on as supporters,from 3M Co.to neighbor- = . hood community councils to labor unions. The Corridor project is also unusual because, despite the broad-based support 30 nv,_ -rte behind the project, it remains low-profile, SE and the eventual costs of the project to the public have not been tallied. Proponents acknowledge that the financing of the pro- y jest remains uncertain,but they contend that 94 =, the project must begin now. "If we don't do this now when we're on d94 • i an economic upswing,when in the world are , s going to do it?"said Curt Milburn,project V director of the Phalen Corridor Initiative. = St be east side has lost 2,000 jobs in the last - ST.PA 20 years,and if you look at the direction the 4 Y� 94 s community is going in,it's in the direction of the loss of economic opportunity." - E Although the Twin Cities' unemploy- manager for Cannon Conveyor."But simply for $10 million. ment rate—which is hovering below 2 per- from the standpoint that we're leaving the Another $l0 million cent—is the lowest of any urban area in the community, that pretty much ends our investment is expected country, unemployment on St. Paul's east involvement" from the businesses that move into the side is soaring at 17 percent.More than 40 St. Paul is still in the process of deter- industrial park.The site could accommodate ject will cost the city and state.At this point, percent of the families receiving public mining what will be done with the 27-acre four light-industrial manufacturers and is about$17 million has already been invested assistance from Ramsey County live on the Stroh Brewery site, with its 12 buildings expected to create 325 jobs, according to in the condor.The costs range from the$10 east side. bordered by Payne and Minnehaha avenues. Mike Strand, spokesman for the St. Paul million acquisition and cleanup of the In addition to taking on the expensive But the plans for the site will have an impact Port Authority. Williams Hill property to the $4.2 million task of rehabilitating acres of polluted land on the proposed route for the roadway,part A key part of the project,separate from wetlands restoration and$1.2 million for the to attract new business,the community has of which may go through the Stroh property, funding,is whether the industrial sites will Environmental Impact Statement under way to contend with holding onto manufacturers ihtilbum said. be attractive to manufacturers that have the to assess the effect of the roadway. that continue to flee to the suburbs as corpo-. The linchpin of the Phalen Corridor pro- choice of moving to outer-ring suburbs, Pollution cleanup costs alone could rations opt to consolidate and expand in the ject is Phalen Boulevard, a proposed two- where space is plentiful. exceed$100 million if the 10 polluted indus- suburbs or out of state. mile stretch of road that would run along the St.Paul developer Jerry Trooien said that trial sites are redeveloped.The bill for the While Minnesota's economy continued former Chicago-Northwestem railroad bed the Phalen Corridor Project has the dire w 1 roadway will depend on its route and length. to thrive in 1997,it was still a rough year for from Interstate 35E through the east side to labor shortage working in its favor. The project will continue to expand based on the east side. Both Stroh Brewery Co. and Prosperity Avenue at Maryland Avenue. Manufacturers will be attracted by access to the availability of city,state,federal and pri- Cannon Conveyor Systems decided to shut Phalen Boulevard is designed to connect to the local labor pool and downtown,he said, vate,commercial funding sources. down plants in the neighborhood, putting industrial sites that are now abandoned,pol- but they will have to be confident of the Aside from Williams Hill, organizers more than 500 people out of work. luted lots or auto junkyards. safety of the area. hope to redevelop 30 acres of scrapyard on Ironically, Stroh and Cannon Conveyor Organizers are hoping that 80 percent of "There's got to be an area to start a cam- the west end of the corridor that is now being were both active participants in the Phalen the funding for the$48 million roadway pro- pus" said Trooien. "To generate interest used as a waste transfer station by United Condor Initiative planning process.For the ject will come from federal Intermodal there has to be an area to scrape and develop Waste,which provides few jobs per square last two years,Stroh has funded the staff for Surface Transportation Efficiency Act —once it's cleaned up it will be more like- foot of land. But much of those plans will the project and co-chaired the (ISTEA)funds.A request for$38.6 million ly to elicit support." depend on the roadway,Milburn said. Environmental Impact Statement Task will be considered by Congress this March, Milburn said the industrial development If the Phalen Corridor Initiative succeeds, Force, while Cannon, owned by Milbum said, and is backed by Sen. Paul is avoiding falling into the trap of creating it could become a national model for urban Birmingham,England-based L'yII Corp.,was Wellstone, D-Minn., Sen. Rod Grams, R- sites that lack additional room for expansion. redevelopment. The project is designed to a member of the task force. Minn., Rep. Bruce Vento, D-Minn., and In terms of concerns about safety, he said break a cycle that has become typical of Although a spokeswoman for Stroh said Rep.lames Oberstar,D-Minn. that job creation is the solution to reduce urban areas everywhere by bringing back the the company plans to continue to be Proponents of the Phalen project hope to crime in the area. same kinds of companies that have left over involved with the project in some way, create 10 industrial sites along the roadway. "The No. 1 key factor is that there's an the past decades. Cannon concedes its role in the east-side At this point,Williams Hill is the only site available pool of labor,"said Milburn. "If "Whirlpool left the east side 20 years ago neighborhood revitalization project ended that is in the process of being developed and manufacturers chase low-crime statistics and other companies joined suit," said with its decision to move its jobs to its marketed by the St.Paul Port Authority, then when they get to an area where there's Milburn. "Those were good jobs, entry- Rosemount plant. Williams Hill is 25 acres of developable zero crime there are zero people and no one level, relatively low skill and high wage. "We were initially involved in the pro- land adjacent to Interstate 35E and to work for them." That's what we're trying to provide for the ject" said Bob Braatz, human resources University Avenue which the city acquired Also uncertain is how much the entire pro- Phalen Corridor." ■