Ramsey County to lease an Art Deco landmark in St. Paul from Ecolab

The Ramsey County Board on Tuesday approved a deal to lease space for the County Attorney's Office in the former utility building in downtown St. Paul now owned by Ecolab Inc.

The move will allow the county to consolidate Attorney's Office employees in a single location near the Ramsey County Courthouse, which is in the same nearby building that's home to St. Paul City Hall.

The civil division of the Sheriff's Office would also move to the building at 360 Wabasha St. N., originally an office building for Northern States Power.

The building was built in 1930 and is known for its Art Deco bas-relief above its main entrance. It was once used as a film location in the 1996 movie "Jingle all the Way."

The agreement calls for the county to pay Ecolab $9.5 million over the life of the lease, which commences on Jan. 1.

The county estimates that it will cost $1.1 million to improve the space and projects being able to move in by the end of 2023.

The county's Property Management Office "identified several options" for new space, but its public filings don't show what other buildings were considered.

"Due to the pandemic-related working arrangements of our St. Paul office associates, the building has been largely vacant since early 2020," an Ecolab spokeswoman said.

The county also has an option to acquire the building for $3.95 million and has until the end of 2024 to notify Ecolab if it intends to make the purchase. The county would save money by buying the building because it would then not be paying rent.

The county estimates that operating costs would amount to $26.4 million over 15 years if it leased the building. If the county owned the building those costs would be trimmed to $18 million.

The county currently has County Attorney's Office staffers in the Metro Square and the Lowry Square buildings.

Ecolab acquired its current 17-story headquarters building, one of two owned by Travelers Cos., in 2015.