ST. PAUL, MN-The Ramsey County Regional Rail Authority is hiring Jones Lang LaSalle to manage and find retail tenants for the $243 million redevelopment of the St. Paul Union Depot. The new station is expected to total 270,000 square feet, and about 30% of that will be dedicated to retail, says Mark Hunter, SVP with the local JLL office.

The neoclassical, Greek column-front station was once the main train station in the city, but Amtrak moved the rail service to other facilities in the 1970s. The US Postal Service had been using the property as a truck staging area, but has moved that operation to a center in Eagan, MN. The authority bought the station in 2009 and plans to again use the facility for new light and high-speed rail, as well as other local and inter-city transportation, including bus lines.

Hunter says the contract with the authority should be complete by mid-July. Retail could be brought into the new station by late 2013, he tells GlobeSt.com. His firm will seek the usual fast food and sundry stores typical to rail stations and airports, he says.