Ramsey County gets Postal Service OK to buy part of Union Depot

Last update: April 14, 2008 - 11:38 PM

Ramsey County got final approval from U.S. Postal Service officials to buy part of the Union Depot and adjacent land in downtown St. Paul.

County Manager David Twa said he received verbal confirmation about the Postal Service Board of Governors decision last week.

The nearly $50 million sale gives the county the depot's rear concourse and about 9 acres of land. The county has long envisioned the Union Depot as a regional transportation hub for rail, buses, bicycles and taxis. The depot lobby, or headhouse, is privately owned.

The depot is scheduled to reopen as a transit hub in 2012.

The purchase price of $49.6 million would drop to $45.2 million if all payments were made by Dec. 31, 2010, according to the purchase agreement. A closing date has not yet been set.

The Postal Service will keep the 16-story tower and building to the west of the Union Depot to maintain a downtown presence. Postal officials have said they're willing to move their downtown St. Paul headquarters -- and more than 1,000 workers -- to an expanded facility in Eagan by the end of 2010. Negotiations for that site are still in progress.

CHRIS HAVENS