Now part of the Beacon Bluff redevelopment project, Globe Building Materials, a century-old asphalt shingle and tar-paper manufacturing company along East Seventh Street in Saint Paul,  closed its doors, entered bankruptcy, and left the site vacant in 2001. The crumbling artifact of the historical boom-then-bust nature of heavy manufacturing in Saint Paul was one of the dirtiest sites in the Port Authority’s 75 history of brownfield cleanup. The six-acre site radiated economic and emotional decay throughout the surrounding East Side neighborhoods.

With the help of many public and private groups, the site is now ready for redevelopment. A fully redeveloped Globe site is expected to add 90,000 square feet of light industrial space. New businesses eventually occupying the space could employ more than 100 workers and pay at least $175,000 a year in new taxes.

Like the nearby Griffin site, we believe the Globe site is ideally situated for business because of its proximity to the interstate system by way of the new Phalen Boulevard.