The Port is a redeveloper of polluted and underutilized land into homes for growing businesses. And we prepare workers for good jobs in these sites with an ultimate goal of improving the economic environment in Saint Paul and the East Metro.
To that end, our 19 fully developed business centers are generating about $30 million a year in property taxes. One of the more dramatic examples of the Port's impact on the East Metro area of Minnesota is the Williams Hill Business Center at Interstate 35E and University Avenue in Saint Paul.
Before the Port's intervention the area was a repository for city trash and construction debris. Companies on the site employed only 12 people and generated about $80,000 in property taxes each year.
The Port redeveloped the 27-acre site at Interstate 35E and University Avenue on Saint Paul's East Side into nearly 400,000 square feet of building space. Today, Williams Hill employs about 330 people and the center generates nearly $672,000 annually in tax increment. The Economic Development Association of Minnesota and the Consulting Engineers Council of Minnesota recognized Williams Hill for its design and success in attracting business.
But the Port through its activities in Saint Paul and the East Metro hasn't rested on its laurels. We are developing new business centers that help improve the city's economic climate. Since 2000, the Port has helped create or retain nearly 13,000 jobs in Saint Paul and the East Metro.
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