ST PAUL, Minn. — The historic James J. Hill Center in St. Paul is looking for a buyer.
CBRE Group announced it was awarded the exclusive listing on Monday. A CBRE property listing and brochure describes the building as "ideal for meetings, weddings, corporate events, and various gatherings up to 300 people," and notes this is a "unique once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own a world class historic library."
The listing does not include a sale price for the 43,000 square-foot, three-level property.
“We are very excited to begin our team’s relationship with the James J. Hill Center and honored we were awarded this listing,” said Jerry Driessen of CBRE, in a statement. “This property is a historic institution in St. Paul and has never been for sale prior to this. This is truly a unique and once in a lifetime opportunity to own a world-class library.”
The James J. Hill Center is on the National Register of Historic Places. It originally opened as the James J. Hill Reference Library in 1921, funded through a gift from the estate of pioneering railroad executive James J. Hill. In recent years, the Center hosted numerous meetings, weddings, and special events.
The building closed to the public in July 2019, with the privately-funded non-profit in charge of the building citing financial circumstances.
"It has been a challenge ... to develop a financial model that will sustain the ongoing operating costs of the organization and capital investments needed in future years," the center wrote in a statement on its website. "Considering these challenges, there is a need to evaluate the sustainability of our mission in concert with our building."
The Center planned to continue to host all previously scheduled programs and events for the remainder of the year.
