South St. Paul City Council
approves demolition of Armour Gates

South St. Paul City Council approves demolition of Armour Gates
By Jake Spitzack | Staff Writer | December 2025

In a stunning turn of events, the South St. Paul City Council has approved the demolition of the Armour Gates, which just last month were scheduled to be relocated within the city. RJ Ryan will complete the $13,200 demolition project and salvage up to five pallets of bricks and stone which may be distributed to interested residents or incorporated into a future public art installation. The demolition is making way for Bonfe Plumbing and Heating to acquire the long vacant site at Armour Avenue and Hardman Avenue South for $480,750 and build a 50,000-square-foot office and warehouse building, which is expected to generate between $143,000 and $175,000 in annual property taxes beginning in 2028, with $35,000-$46,500 going annually to the city and $28,500-$35,000 to Special School District 6. Demolition is expected to happen the first week in December.

The cost of demolition is significantly lower than the proposed relocation of $500,000 and comes at a time when the city is determining how to fund more than $60 million in pressing capital improvement projects, including a new water treatment plant, new public works building, new aquatic facility, road and park improvements, Fleming Field Airport upgrades and more.

The gatehouse structures are the last remnants of the Armour & Co. meatpacking plant, one of the largest in the country during World War II and a major driver of the city’s growth. Some residents have advocated over the years to save the gates in some capacity, while others are less than sentimental about the monuments because of Armour’s decision to close the South St. Paul plant in 1979, leaving thousands of local employees without a job. Several development proposals for the site fell through in the past decade, in part due to potential social backlash for any developer that planned to demolish the gates.

Potential developer found for old library building
Minneapolis Gymnastics, a family-owned business that has grown to a two-location, nearly $2 million business in just over five years, is considering purchasing the former South St. Paul Library building at 106 3rd Ave. N. and transforming it into a community-centered indoor play facility for youth. Much is yet to be ironed out, and the library repurposing study completed by a contractor on behalf of the city earlier this year indicates the city will need to address several costly issues to make the building ready for redevelopment but staff are eager to work with the business and hope to formalize preliminary agreements in future council sessions.