St. Paul: City Officials Wary Of Developer's Ambitious Skyscraper Plans

Dean D. Johnson, one of St. Paul's native sons, is one of the most enigmatic developers aiming to make his mark in St. Paul. Now a developer in Belgium, he has set his sights on at least four downtown properties,including the now-razed Wabasha Court complex. Johnson's proposed tower would stretch about 40 stores and combine a five-star hotel with condos, an arts venue and offices. All this on a parking lot where past development dreams have crumbled. St. Paul powers-that-be are wondering if Johnson is for real and are sniffing out his track record of his around-the-world projects. Johnson can argue passionately the merits of St. Paul's downtown and why it deserves cutting-edge architecture. "It feels more like TriBeCa and SoHo than anything in Minneapolis," he said