In downtown St. Paul, the online auction of the 25-story U.S. Bank Center that was scheduled to begin Monday has again been delayed, this time to mid-January.
The skyway-connected property, located at 101 E. Fifth St., faces the Green Line light rail corridor’s Central Station and was recently listed as 26% occupied. It fell into foreclosure a year ago, and was initially listed to be up for auction Nov. 10 through Nov. 12.
“Some of the title work and some of the other things weren’t ready,” explained John McCarthy, a listing broker with Colliers International, on Monday. “We had to have seven days for all bidders to look at it. It’s just been so challenging with it being a foreclosed property. … It’s been really challenging to get the property on the market.”
The office tower, previously owned by Madison Equities, has been put up for auction by First Interstate Bank, with a minimum advertised starting bid of $1 million. The minimum bid could yet be lowered closer to the auction date, McCarthy said.
He said he was happy to see 170 interested parties had signed non-disclosure agreements, a first step toward reviewing tenant information and other details in an online data room. McCarthy said “five or six” parties had signed up to be live bidders, which requires proof of funds. That number could still grow by Jan. 12.
Meanwhile, near Mears Park, the Ramsey County Sheriff’s office has posted notice it is seizing another former Madison Equities property, the vacant Park Square Court building at 400 Sibley St., on behalf of a lender.
In October 2024, Merchants Bank filed legal action against Rosemary A. Kortgard, widow of former Madison Equities principal James Crockarell, as well as the Park Square Court Building LLC, the Grotto Group and Momentum Design Group LLC, over two unpaid loans totaling $5.7 million and $2.7 million in principal.
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The foreclosure was approved by the courts in February. In November, attorneys for the bank requested that the Ramsey County Court Administrator issue a “writ of execution,” or court action directing the Ramsey County Sheriff to seize the property in its entirety. A notice was posted on the building Friday.
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