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The city of St. Paul has decided it's going to put a big chunk of the $54 million Lowertown ballpark project out for bid, after a lawsuit challenged the decision by the administration of Mayor Chris Coleman to give the building work to Ryan Construction.

The city's now going to put the design-build work out for competitive bids, with requests for proposals going out Nov. 30.

Here's how the city's parks and recreation director Mike Hahm put it, "I think there's been a lot of interest in this, and in the interest of full transparency, Mayor Coleman thought it was best for the project, at a time when we could still make a move like this, to initiate a competitive selection process for the design builder."

Well, it turns out that the mayor might have gotten a little constituent pressure, as well. from over at 1006 Summit Ave. Coleman and Gov. Mark Dayton had a meeting of the minds yesterday about the ballpark project -- a project for which the Dayton administration recommended $25 million in state bonding money.

Coleman spokesman Joe Campbell confirmed the meeting, before the city's change of heart last night.

"I think both the governor and the mayor understand the importance of an open and transparent process," Campbell said.

Tim Nelson

Author

The city of St. Paul has decided it's going to put a big chunk of the $54 million Lowertown ballpark project out for bid, after a lawsuit challenged the decision by the administration of Mayor Chris Coleman to give the building work to Ryan Construction.


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