BRIDGES110206

Trooien rethinking Bridges project

Council Member Dave Thune coordinated an agreement between community groups and Jerry Trooien on his St. Paul riverfront plan.

By Myron P. Medcalf, Star Tribune

Last update: November 16, 2006 - 11:33 AM

Despite three years of controversy, Jerry Trooien hasn't wavered from his vision for a $1.5 billion project bringing towering condos, retailers and hotels to St. Paul's West Side river flats.

But in a surprising move Wednesday, the developer withdrew a critical rezoning request for the Bridges of St. Paul project and agreed to meet with community groups to discuss their concerns, in hopes of gaining enough support to win city approval for the project.

"This is, I think, the required next step," Trooien said. "We can't be afraid to be challenged by anyone."

Mayor Chris Coleman quickly called a news conference to urge Trooien to come back with a plan that lines up with more traditional mixed-use developments on the West Side. He said he was eager to work with Trooien on the project. "It's a great opportunity for development on that side of the river," he said.

Coleman said Trooien's decision showed he recognized that the plan didn't have the political backing it needed to succeed.

But Trooien said Wednesday he's not convinced that he doesn't have political support or "community buy-in" for his plan.

Trooien agreed to rethink his Bridges proposal and sit down with community groups in response to a suggestion by Council Member Dave Thune, who represents the city's West Side. Thune said Wednesday that the politicians should back off and let the developer and citizens decide which plan works best for the West Side flats.

Now three community councils -- the West Side Citizens Organization, West 7th Street Federation and CapitolRiver Council -- will review Trooien's plan before the developer goes back to the city for approval.

"The primary stakeholders are neighbors," Thune said. "We should just let them all go into a room and work together."

Coleman said that developers won't be discouraged from investing in the city based on Trooien's experience. Patrick Seeb, executive director of the St. Paul Riverfront Corporation, called the Bridges process "an affirmation in St. Paul that there is a pathway and vision and set of priorities for the city."

Trooien said he's willing to listen to community members. However, he wouldn't speculate about what he would do if forced to scale back some of the buildings to fit within the 75-foot height limits under the current zoning codes.

"I'm not sure what that project will look like," he said. "Maybe someone's got an idea we don't know about."

'Not giving up'

Trooien says he has already spent millions to promote his plan to build more than 400,000 square feet of retail space, 1,100 condos, a movie theater, cultural center and hotel. He and other planners for the project have said that the height of the buildings would be necessary to provide ample access to the river.

The height of the proposed Bridges structures, some of which would rise nearly 400 feet, became the focal point for opponents who argued that the buildings would block views of the river bluffs.

Hundreds expressed support for Trooien a few weeks ago during a public hearing in front of the city's zoning committee, which approved the rezoning request before the Planning Commission reversed the decision a week later.

He said he's already taken hundreds of reservations -- although no one has put any money down -- for his proposed condos and retail space, and he has condo and hotel-room models on the eighth floor of his office building overlooking the river.

Trooien said he doesn't intend to slow promotion of his concept. His agreement to collaborate, he said, will serve as a catalyst for the plan because the final idea will be created based on community input.

"This is all part of a process of not giving up," he said.

Myron P. Medcalf • 651-298-1546 • mmedcalf@startribune.com