Glimmer of hope for vacant Alliance Bank Center as St. Paul nonprofit purchases bank note

A vacant skyscraper in downtown St. Paul could see a turnaround.

The St. Paul Downtown Development Corporation (SPDDC) — a nonprofit offshoot of the St. Paul Downtown Alliance — announced on Tuesday it had purchased the bank note for Alliance Bank Center.

The office building at the corner of Fifth and Cedar streets closed abruptly in March after the property owner, Madison Equities, declared it could no longer afford to keep the utilities running.

Several businesses were forced to find new homes, and the city had to close skyway access to the building due to safety reasons. The city has been providing basic emergency services to keep the building’s fire suppression and alarm systems online.

The SPDDC says it will soon petition to put Alliance Bank Center in receivership to ensure the building is properly maintained, with an eventual goal of taking control of the property in hopes of restoring or redeveloping it.

“There’s no greater example of the challenges and opportunities in downtown Saint Paul than the Alliance Bank Center site,” said SPDDC President Dave Higgins in a statement. “We can’t create a strong and vibrant downtown Saint Paul without creating a stable and robust core — and the Alliance Bank Center site is critical to making that happen.”

In a statement, St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter called the development “an important turning point.”

“With the Saint Paul Downtown Development Corporation’s leadership, we have a real opportunity to stabilize a key site and unlock its potential as part of a stronger, more resilient downtown,” Carter said.

The St. Paul Downtown Alliance created the SPDDC in February to spearhead large-scale investment in downtown.