People have long wondered about the empty lot behind United and Children’s Hospital: Hotel? No hotel? Will the historic firehouse (St. Paul’s oldest standing municipal building ) be saved? Will this project die the way so many others have in the past?
The project is not dead. The empty lot will become a Marriott Hotel after all, and the firehouse will be saved from demolition.
More than just saved actually. It’s going to become a wine bar. The hotel, which originally wanted to have a restaurant/coffee shop of some sort of its own, will instead incorporate the old brick building into its designs, and have the wine bar (name not yet announced) to be of service to hotel guests.
Pictures below.
There was much discussion surrounding the firehouse, as, without historic designation it there was nothing keeping it from the wrecking ball. The neighborhood stepped in, petitioning a judge to block demolition while a plan for preservation was enacted.
To honor the history and importance of the Hope Engine #3 firehouse, built in 1872.
To not just tear down another historic building willy-nilly.
Thanks to a $500,000 forgivable loan from St. Paul’s Housing and Redevelopment Authority in 2016 the building was saved, but still unsure of what it would ultimately become. This is now the cherry on top, the signature on the dotted line, the final exhale after holding breath for so long.
Now we know what the next chapter entails.
And it’s a pretty cool.
This also adds something currently missing from the booming West 7th landscape: What might be fastest-growing corridor in the city has seen Bad Weather Brewing, Pajarito, New Bohemia (with opening-soon to be connected food hall), as well as upgrades for Patrick McGovern’s and Tom Reid’s. A new coffeeshop/cafe, Astoria Cafe opened across the street from the firehouse earlier this year. The brand new Oxbo apartment complex brings residents to the area closest to the Xcel Energy Center in ways the neighborhood hasn’t seen in decades.
With all of the places to get a beer, it’s nice that there will be a place for people to grab a glass of wine as well. A place for those visiting the hospital to commiserate, celebrate, or grab a bite and drink.
Or just an opportunity to hang out in an old firehouse.
Whatever you’re into.
