Brussels, December, 2007-WingField Corporation N.V., a Belgian-based real estate development and investment company, has completed the acquisition of 415 Wabasha, a prime site in the Central Business District of St. Paul, Minnesota, where it plans to develop a luxury 40-story mixed-use tower of approximately 700,000 square feet.  A Letter-of-Intent has been signed with a major international hotel operator for the development of a five-star hotel and residences which will anchor the project.  WingField currently anticipates the start of construction to begin in third quarter 2008 with the hotel envisioned to open spring 2011.

The program for the Wabasha building is a combination of private and public spaces creating a destination that contributes to the emerging quality of urban life in downtown St. Paul.  Fundamental to creating a unique destination will be the exceptional architecture of Adjaye Associates, founded by David Adjaye. Primary uses will include a luxury hotel and 80 to 100 condominiums.  In addition, the current plans foresee approximately fifty thousand square feet of Class A office space and a cultural venue with limited retail in the base of the tower and at the skyway level. When completed, the project will form an important link in the existing skyway network and proposes to generate additional street level access and connectivity with its immediate surroundings.

WingField has actively engaged the arts community in St. Paul which has shown a strong interest in this exciting new development. The company is currently working directly with the Arts Partnership (the recently formed alliance of Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, The Minnesota Opera, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and The Schubert Club) to act as advisors to WingField in helping to determine a broad-based and diverse program for the proposed cultural venue.   WingField hopes that this affiliation with the leading arts organizations in St. Paul will open up many possible uses for the facility, including jazz, pop, dance, theatre and comedy.    Kevin Smith, president of the Arts Partnership, said "Just as we were able to use the platform of the Arts Partnership to reach out to over twenty local performing groups to help create the first annual Concrete & Grass Festival last fall, we view the opportunity to work with WingField to broaden and diversify cultural offerings in downtown St. Paul as part of our community responsibility as leaders in the cultural sector."

 “Despite the current weakness in the residential markets, our market studies demonstrate that there will be continuing demand in the coming years for luxury condominiums” explained Dean Johnson, principal of WingField.  “Due to the relatively small number of units and the additional attractiveness of luxury hotel amenities not currently available in St. Paul, we are confident that the residential component will be a success.” 

“Having been born and raised on the eastside of St. Paul,” Johnson added, “I have a strong emotional attachment to this city.  Downtown St. Paul distinguishes itself from Minneapolis in that it has a truly beautiful sense of place benefiting from the close proximity of offices as well as cultural and educational venues, with the growing residential presence anchored in the CBD’s core as opposed to the periphery. The Wabasha tower, by building upon the City’s urban fabric and existing infrastructure, seeks to make a significant contribution to the continuing renaissance of downtown St. Paul.”

This will be the first project of its scope in the Twin Cities setting a new standard for urban living and working as well as a destination for high-end business travel and tourism.

“In our discussions with various potential hotel operators for this project, we focused on luxury brands which would bring a high level of sophistication and capture both the atmosphere of the city and the quality of the location,” remarks Henk Habers, also a WingField principal. “The new five-star hotel will introduce to the Twin Cities’ market an elegant and design-driven luxury hotel brand which it sorely misses. We believe this hotel will draw on travelers throughout the Twin Cities’ area, attracting high-end business travelers as well as tourists visiting the Twin Cities for the rich cultural offerings.”

While still in its concept phase, the architecture of the project will be key to creating an exceptional new development.  The project is being designed by Adjaye Associates based in London, England and it’s New York office. David Adjaye is recognized as one of the leading architects of his generation. His firm has been awarded numerous prestigious awards and has completed an array of diverse projects including the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo, Norway, five public buildings in London between 2004 - 2007 and the Museum of Contemporary Art/Denver which opened last month.  The office is currently working on several projects worldwide.  BWBR Architects, located in St. Paul, will act as the local collaborating architects.

WingField Corporation is a real estate development and investment company with headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, and US offices in St. Paul and New York. The company has extensive experience in mixed-use real estate development and investments. The client and partner network for the company extends to corporate and public sector entities, international institutional investors, financial institutions, private investors and industry experts. Currently WingField has more than $1 billion in volume under development and predevelopment throughout the U.S, Europe and the Asia Pacific region. Current projects include the development of a Jumeirah-operated 120 key “five-star” plus resort in Mallorca, Spain, and the Marnix Building, a 74,000 square foot Class A office building located in central downtown Brussels, Belgium, which will house WingField’s new corporate headquarters.