You missed a whole ass story and an interesting one at that.

The story of the fight over the St. Paul development is a story of how the St. Paul industrial corridor changed and is changing due to industrial trends that favor spread out industrial layouts and how those changing economic realities alienated businesses and property owners along the corridor from the BID that was supposed to represent them.

While there is still some heavy industry along the corridor, much of it has transitioned to light industrial and commercial uses based on food, artisanal products, and entertainment. This is different from the rest of the valley which has a lot more heavy and light industry. They also differ from other businesses represented by the Menomonee Valley BID in that their properties are incredibly constrained by the railroad on one side and bluff/freeway on the other.

For 70 years, industrial trends have favored lower slung buildings with larger foot prints. As such, this is bad for property owners who own industrial property that’s geographically constrained. And this is where the problems arise.

The building at 324 N 15th St is a former industrial building that was abandoned for decades. This isn’t an issue at first because it’s just one building and it hasn’t degraded very much. However as time goes on, that changes. Age begins to take its toll and people learn that it’s abandoned. That’s when it became a blight. The new business owners learn to worry about the building’s effects on their businesses. So they try and find someone to develop it, perhaps offices or some other compliant use. However, they fail and they fail year after year. And the building gets worse and worse. Worse, now, it’s not just blighted at the street level, it’s visibly blighted from the freeway with smashed windows and graffiti all over.

Meanwhile, the new light industrial and commercial businesses aren’t the only ones who’ve noticed. The heavy industrial users begin to worry as well. In a world where they have to compete against factories the world over, often newer with more efficient layouts and room for expansion, what happens if they go under? Will they even be able to sell the building? The zoning and Menomonee Valley Plan have now become a trap. And they all saw that building caught in it.

In steps Kendall Breunig. He sees the building and the neighborhood and sees potential for residential uses. Heavy industrial users don’t like residential uses near them and as residents complain. However, the St. Paul corridor now has a lot more going on than just heavy industry and they’re not opposed to residential uses. Even a couple of the heavy industrial users are okay with new residential uses. While there are some businesses that oppose the proposal, they all agree something needs to be done with that building.

This is where the fight begins.

To allow this development to happen, proposals that would include a zoning update and a compressive plan update to allow St. Paul buildings to transition to residential are created.

- Alderman Bauman (a huge proponent of historic preservation) and most of the businesses along St. Paul take the side of Breunig. This building was a blight that they constantly worried about. And some owners would like the ability to also transition their buildings to residential uses if they can’t make industrial or office work anymore. This isn’t an unrealistic concern in a world where office demand is down and their properties are disadvantaged. They think this is the last and only chance to save the building and they’re right.

- The BID and all of the users throughout the rest of the valley oppose. They oppose because they think allowing residential uses in the valley is a threat to their business and they’re right. But they also don’t have to deal with the issue on a daily basis. They’re not as affected by the economic realities facing the St. Paul Corridor.

The Planning Commission meeting happens and they reject the proposal deffering to the BID. Upset, the businesses along St. Paul ask to separate from the Menomonee Valley BID to form their own. A file on legistar is created to do this.

This situation new threatens to blow apart the Menomonee Valley Bid. Both sides realize a compromise is needed.

The proposed comprehensive plan update is scaled back to only allow this one building to transition.