Demolition begins on new St. Paul Saints ballpark site

Despite funding concerns about the new Lowertown ballpark, Ryan Cos. is moving forward with the demolition of the old warehouse at the future site of the 7,000-seat stadium.

Ryan Cos. has hired Rachel Contracting to demolish the old Gillette/Diamond Products building, a massive 1969 warehouse off the corner of Fifth Street and Broadway. St. Michael, Minn.,-based Rachel Contracting planned to begin interior demolition Thursday and start tearing down the outside July 15. Work is expected to take four months.

The city has planned a community event July 13 to mark the demolition, with details to be announced later.

The St. Paul Saints, an independent league team, are expected to relocate from Midway Stadium on Energy Park Drive and throw out their first pitch at the city-owned Lowertown ballpark in Spring 2015.

In a statement, the St. Paul Department of Parks and Recreation said the contractor is performing an engineering survey and coordinating utility disconnections. The 2-1/2-story warehouse sits next to and extends 45 feet above the Central Corridor Operations and Maintenance facility, the so-called "train barn" for the 11-mile light-rail project. Protective panels will be placed on the roof of the train barn.

Rachel Contracting recently demolished the Brookdale Mall in Brooklyn Center and part of the former 3M campus in St. Paul.

Critics have questioned why the city would move forward with construction of the public ballpark when cost estimates have

St. Paul recently confirmed that environmental cleanup and basic construction would cost $8.8 million beyond the ballpark's $54 million budget. The project has budgeted about $2 million in construction contingency.

Officials with the St. Paul Port Authority, which acquired the warehouse site for the city in exchange for Midway Stadium, say any number of previous projects have encountered greater-than-expected environmental contamination during construction and moved forward without full funding in place.

The city is expected to contribute $17 million and the Saints are expected to pitch in $10 million, most of it from rents and event revenue. Minnesota is contributing $25 million in bond funds and $2 million in additional grants and loans from the Department of Employment and Economic Development.

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Demolition begins on new St. Paul Saints ballpark site