City Council approves plan of re-purposing former Hamm’s Brewery site in St. Paul
The. St. Paul Housing and Redevelopment Authority has unanimously voted to repurpose the old Hamm’s Brewery site east of the downtown area.
JB Vang, a local developer, has a plan that calls for 259 family-friendly affordable housing units, 56,000 square feet of commercial space – including a marketplace inside the former brew house – as well as a green space, with a connecting path to Swede Hollow Park.
As previously reported by 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS, the site is located on Minnehaha Avenue East between Payne Avenue and Arcade Street.
The housing portion of the project is expected to cost more than $100 million.
“It’s housing – it’s economic development that will result in community wealth-building. Green space, bike-ped connections and the adaptive re-use of those beautiful old Hamm’s building,” said Jane Prince, a St. Paul City Council member. “It’s a multifaceted project that’s gonna do a lot of different things for the East side.”
A rendering of JB Vang's proposal for the Hamm's Brewery redevelopment. (JB Vang Partners, Inc. via the City of St. Paul)
As a minority-owned developer in St. Paul, Vang says he wants to give area businesses more opportunities to build equity and generational wealth.