230 East Fifth Street Redevelopment

230 East Fifth Street, Saint Paul was originally the Powers Dry Goods store and the Fairbanks Morse scale company buildings. It was on the corner of 5th and Wacouta Streets, across from Mears Park (Smith Park at the time) and was sold to John McDonald owner of Ameritas, Inc., an Atlanta, Ga. development company in 1988. John Mannillo was both the broker for the sale and the new lease to the Minnesota Metropolitan Council. Mannillo then became the project manager for the redevelopment.

Ameritas was unable to sell the development tax credits prior to the Met Council’s required move in date. The Met Council’s move-in triggered an early placed-in-service date. This caused the owner to turn the property back to the Saint Paul Port Authority who held the bonds. Mannillo engaged Jack Hoeschler to represent his mechanic’s lien of $55,000 still owed, and eventually paid by the Port Authority.