Historic James J. Hill library
revived as Avalon Event Center

Historic James J. Hill library revived as Avalon Event Center
By Jake Spitzack | Staff Writer | August 2025

The once formal and sedate spaces of the former James J. Hill reference library on Rice Park will soon be teeming with activity for weddings, corporate events, cultural celebrations and other gatherings.

Peter Remes, CEO of Minneapolis-based First & First Creative Real Estate, acquired the property four years ago and has been navigating a mountain of red tape ever since to allow his vision for the historic property to come to life. Construction permits were finally approved this spring, and the Avalon Event Center is slated to reopen by the end of the year. The real estate company is perhaps best known in St. Paul for the 2014 transformation of the King Koil mattress factory on Vandalia Street into Vandalia Tower, a mixed-use development with about 40 tenants.

Major construction work has been underway to create the Avalon, including creating a new staircase in the southeast corner, cutting a new basement entryway, and adding new bathrooms on the lower level. However, most upgrades are behind the scenes, such as new HVAC, electrical and plumbing systems. Total cost is estimated at $4 million.

“The existing stairwells are very small,” said Remes. “We had to take that on, which is incredibly expensive and complicated, just because of the nature of the building. Nobody ever expected to make a major modification in the interior of the building, but we’re having to do that to meet code compliance requirements…. We’re learning things about the building every day. It’s a one-of-a-kind treasure that needs to be handled in the right manner.”

The main room on the first floor flaunts rows of stone columns and is large enough to host 300 for weddings and other events. The lower level will function as a smaller reception space, and the second-floor balcony overlooking the main room will be restricted for limited uses. Remes is pleased that the dozens of bookshelves brimming with old books and documents will remain, preserving the space’s grandeur and ambiance. Several public organizations, including the St. Paul Public Library and Ramsey County Historical Society, reviewed the massive collection and acquired pieces to be made available to the public.

The 38,000-square-foot building with Italian Renaissance style architecture was commissioned by railroad tycoon James J. Hill and opened in 1921 as a privately funded business research library. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975, in part for its Beaux Arts facade of Tennessee marble.

A nonprofit board of directors long operated the library through a multimillion-dollar endowment fund and briefly opened the space for private events before closing in 2019, citing maintenance costs. In 2020, the board transitioned from providing the free reference library into a grant-making foundation called the Mary T. and James J. Hill Library Foundation. The space adjoins the George Latimer Central Library, owned by the City of St. Paul.

Remes grew up in St. Paul and hopes that preserving this slice of city history will enhance both the building and the city’s future.

“I think it’ll be a very contributing building to the livelihood of downtown and Rice Park,” he said. “Downtown St. Paul has had some bumps and bruises over the last three, four years and we want to be a positive story…. There are a lot of passionate people that really care about the health and vitality of downtown St. Paul, and we want to be working with them to help keep things moving the right direction.”

For more information about the Avalon, visit avalonsaintpaul.com.

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