What are 55 parking spots worth? A lot

The City of St. Paul is prepared to pay more than $400,000 to buy back a parking lot it sold for less than half that much just seven years ago.

The city is in the process of condemning the 55-space parking lot (highlighted in blue below,) because it needs the land to build a new ballpark for the St. Paul Saints.

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St. Paul is still negotiating with the condo association that owns the lot, but the city's appraisal puts the property value at $425,000, according to court documents.

The city used to own the half-acre lot, but sold it to the Market House Condominium Association in December of 2005 for $175,000.

It was less than four years later that the city zeroed in on Lowertown as its preferred site for the new ballpark. And by 2010, city documents show the lot was incorporated into the proposed ballpark site.

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