The Bridges What is proposed?

The Bridges of Saint Paul

[Photo: Dave Dempsey, Summit Hill resident]

The Mississippi is the heart of our community. Development that respects its size, beauty and history deserves our support, but the Bridges project fails on all of these counts. Lets follow the West Side Flats master plan and generate sustainable new jobs with development thats in tune with the communitys vision and with the river.

Dave Dempsey, Summit-Hill resident and professional writer

[Photo: Aerial view of the proposed Bridges location.]

This aerial view shows the location of the proposed Bridges project.

Photo: USDA, Farm Services Agency (FSA)

A wider aerial view of the West Side Flats.

Photo: USDA, Farm Services Agency (FSA)

The Bridges of Saint Paul project is the wrong proposal at the wrong place at the wrong time for the Saint Paul community and the Mississippi River.

The Bridges of Saint Paul, as proposed by JLT Group, Inc. would situate 12- to 30-story buildings at an environmentally and historically significant location on the Mississippi River in conflict with existing development and a master plan for the West Side Flats developed through a public process. It would include 1,150 residential units, 250 deluxe hotel guest rooms, 82 luxury condominiums, and 400,000 square feet of retail space.

The Bridges of Saint Paul would cost city taxpayers millions, fundamentally change the character of the site for the worse, undermine nearby neighborhood businesses, reduce public access to the river and destroy the nationally-recognized view corridor of the river valley.

It is also in conflict with the City of Saint Pauls Comprehensive Plan and Critical Area Plan and the West Side Flats Master Plan, developed through a broad-based community process.

And thats just the start.

Proposal Status (last updated 13 September, 2007)

For the second time in less than a year, the Saint Paul Planning Commission on July 27 rejected the Bridges of Saint Paul project.

In a near repeat performance, opponents and proponents of the project filled the City Council chambers to make their case for or against the project during a five-hour public hearing of the planning commissions zoning committee. After all the arguments were stated (or restated), the proposal did not gain any traction compared with the Planning Commissions rejection of the proposal last fall. Although the zoning committee was split, the full planning commission sent a strong message when it denied the proposal by a 16-to-3 vote.

And on September 5, the Saint Paul City Council flatly denied the proposal by a 5-2 vote, following the planning commissions lead. Mayor Coleman also expressed his concurrence with the councils denial in a formal letter.