County to vote on revised deal for St. Paul riverfront

Last update: May 8, 2008 - 9:16 PM

Ramsey County commissioners will be voting Tuesday on an amended deal with the developer that wants to transform the county's downtown St. Paul riverfront property into a mix of office, hotel and condo space.

Opus Northwest canceled the original $10 million purchase agreement last month to retain $250,000 of earnest money. It hadn't found an anchor office tenant, a requirement to get the $200 million project moving, the developer said.

Under the amended purchase agreement, made public Thursday, Opus will give the county a $125,000 nonrefundable payment in exchange for a six-month extension to find an anchor tenant.

If Opus continues with the project, it would pay an additional $875,000. Should Opus end the agreement, it must give the county all reports and studies related to the property.

Also Tuesday, the commissioners will set a public hearing on their proposal to raise their salaries 3 percent in 2009. The increase would put the salary of a commissioner at $82,400 and the salary of the board chair at $84,975.

The hearing is expected to be at 9 a.m. June 3 in the third-floor Council Chambers of the Ramsey County Courthouse, 15 W. Kellogg Blvd.

The amount compares to two 1.5 percent raises for county employees, according to the proposed ordinance.

The increase is considerably lower than the 25 percent raise the board approved last year to put their salaries more in line with commissioners in Hennepin County.

CHRIS HAVENS