Mayor: St. Paul Macy’s building sale falls apart

St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman says a deal to redevelop the downtown St. Paul Macy's building has fallen apart.

In an interview Friday morning, Coleman blamed what he sees as the company's overly ambitious time table for closing the sale.

"The challenge has been Macy's has given a very compressed window for anybody that wants to buy the site to do their due diligence. This is a project that will take not just a matter of months," Coleman said. "To do it properly, to do it consistent with our vision, I think is going to take a year."

Macy's closed the store in March. City documents revealed last year that City Center Realty Partners, a San Francisco-based real estate investment group, was negotiating to buy the former department store building.

Coleman says Macy's scuttled the deal, because it didn't give the investors enough time to conduct a due diligence review.

Macy's didn't immediately return calls seeking comment, nor did City Center Realty Partners. The investors never disclosed their plan for the site.

Coleman says he'd like to see property redeveloped into high-end office space with retail and restaurants on the first floor.

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