Title
Partnering with and supporting the American Indian Family and Children's Services (AIFACS) to apply for a Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage Grant (Legacy) to structurally stabilize the historic Pattern Shop of the St. Paul, Minneapolis and Manitoba Railway Company Shops at 25 Empire Drive.
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WHEREAS, the Pattern Shop at 25 Empire Drive is one of three remaining 1882 limestone buildings that were part of a larger complex of shops built for the Saint Paul, Minneapolis and Manitoba Railway (aka Jackson Street Shops) under the direction of James J. Hill. The oldest railroad shops complex in Minnesota, it was from these shops that Mr. Hill, the "Empire Builder," equipped and maintained the railroad that became the largest system in the nation, the Great Northern Railway; and
WHEREAS, the Jackson Street Shops were designated a St. Paul Heritage Preservation Site in 1985 (Ordinance No. 17268) and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987 as part of a major (and controversial) redevelopment effort, by the St. Paul Port Authority and the City of Saint Paul. During that time the three buildings were rehabilitated in accordance with the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation; and
WHEREAS, the Pattern Shop was rehabilitated into office space and was purchased by the American Indian Family and Children's Services (AIFACS) in 1995, a nonprofit corporation established that year to coordinate and provide foster care services for American Indian children in Minnesota; and
WHEREAS, the roof of the Pattern Shop has been in a state of collapse since mid-November 2012, resulting from failure of all of the structure's trusses; and
WHEREAS, the City of Saint Paul has been working closely with the owner to stabilize and ultimately rehabilitate the structure without compromising the agency's mission to provide foster care and services; and
WHEREAS, the City contracted for the emergency shoring and stabilization of the building (completed one day before a record snowfall of two feet), committed to continue the rental of shoring equipment for 6 months, and applied for and received a $7,000 Legacy Grant to complete a structural analysis, cost estimate and work plan; and
WHEREAS, the completed structural assessment concluded that the roof condition is caused by deterioration of the ends of the wood trusses that rest on the limestone walls. The spaces between the wood trusses were filled with concrete, presumably during the 1980's rehabilitation, which allowed moisture to penetrate the wood truss ends but not dry out; and
WHEREAS, the Historic Preservation Chapter of the Saint Paul Comprehensive Plan recognizes that there are a finite number of irreplaceable resources in Saint Paul that are of prime importance to the community and by the earlier response of the City for emergency stabilization and a structural investigation, the City is fulfilling its role as a leader in the protection of designated sites (Strategy HP4); now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, that the Saint Paul City Council supports and partners with the American Indian Family and Children Services in applying for Legacy grant funds to permanently stabilize this significant historic resource and allow AIFACS to continue their important work within the Indian social service community.