Last November I wrote about the hole in the ground as 5th and Wall Street (yes that is right St. Paul has a Wall street) in downtown St. Paul. The hole was the begining of what was supposed to to the Farmers Market Lofts. They were to be built and ready for occuapncy in 2007 or 2008 but we all know what happened. The housing market crashed and there just wasn’t a market for the condos. Now a building is being built on the site and it will house 48 or so market rate apartments. The city of St. Paul is the developer and it would have cost the city money to fill in the hole which may have been a less expensive option but I want to be optimistic about housing and downtown.
I took this photo last November.
I took this photo on July 24, 2011
It is hard to even imagine and empty hole and it wouldn’t be a bad place to live. One block from light rail, across the street from the farmer’s market and I believe there will be an indoor market inside the building. Mears park is only a block away.
Also see
Yes We Are Open
[…] November of 2010 I wrote about the hole at 5th street and Wall and then last August I showed the progress as the Lofts at Farmers Market rose out […]