Island Station Power Plant

Island Station Power Plant is a decommissioned coal power plant on the Mississippi River less than a mile up-river from downtown Saint Paul, Minnesota. St. Paul Gas & Light Company commissioned construction of the plant in 1921. In 1923, before construction was even complete, a more efficient technology for burning coal was developed, rendering the plant obsolete before it even opened.

The plant came online in 1926 and operated at three-fourths the intended capacity until 1943 when it was shifted to an off-peak use and only produced power 6-10 weeks per year. In 1975, Northern States Power Co. (who acquired the plant shortly after it was finished) decommissioned the plant and used it for storage.

In 1985 John Kerwin bought the plant and converted portions of the building into studio apartments for local artists. For a time a colony of a half-dozen to a dozen houseboat dwellers moored at the plant. In 2003 Island Station L.L.C. purchased the property for $1.5 million with the hope of turning it into a 235-unit condo with a 20-slip marina. The $80 million project started work and more than 100 units had even been reserved, the project seems to have stalled. As of June 2011 the project has been cancelled and the property is for sale.

Tour the Plant

• Set of exterior photos taken with permission and available on Flickr.

References

• Island Station Riverfront Condos web site, accessed July 27, 2007
• "Powerful players back power-plant condos" Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal - September 3, 2004 - by Sam Black - accessed July 27, 2007
• "Castaways" City Pages - March 17, 2004 - by Mike Mosedale - accessed July 28, 2007
• Island Station For Sale, accessed June 21, 2011