The St. Paul Port Authority wants the City Council to sign off on a plan to issue $16 million worth of bonds for the purchase and redevelopment of the former 3M Co. headquarters on the city's East Side.
The Port Authority announced a deal Sept. 18 to buy the 45-acre site from the company in two stages. The first phase, 35 acres, will cost the port about $3.5 million.
It also has an option to buy the remaining 10 acres by 2011. About 1,000 3M employees will continue to work at the sight for now. A purchase price for that land hasn't been set. The deal still needs to be officially approved by the port and 3M boards.
The council will vote Wednesday on an ordinance to allow the port to issue the bonds.
The bonds will probably be issued in a couple of phases, according to a Sept. 18 letter from port officials to City Council President Kathy Lantry. Both the council and the Port Authority board need to approve the bond issuance, and the board is expected to vote in favor at its Oct. 28 meeting.
The port will need to issue about $8.2 million worth of bonds in December to pay for the first phase -- purchase and site work -- and the other bonds would be sold as needed, according to the letter.
The money beyond the purchase price will be used for such expenses as demolition and site cleanup, new roads, utilities and storm sewer improvements, said port spokesman Tom Collins. There's a proposal to extend Bush Avenue all the way through the 3M property, he added.
The industrial property, which sits next to the redeveloped Phalen Corridor, served as 3M's headquarters from 1910 to 1962. It was later used to make industrial and flexible printing tapes. A number of the buildings are empty now.
