Without much fanfare, Ramsey County has quietly retired the Metro Square name and rebadged the downtown St. Paul complex as the Ramsey County Government Center, a shift that took effect March 1. The rebrand folds a slew of county offices and public-facing services under one banner in the heart of downtown, with the goal of making it simpler for residents to get help and for staff to work in sync.
In a county news release, officials described the building as “a service-focused hub” and said the new name simply catches up to how the space is already being used. According to Ramsey County, services and operations will stay put at the downtown site even as staff continue relocating into the complex.
What residents can find inside
On the skyway level, the Service Center gathers several high-demand functions under one roof: Navigator and Financial services, child-support assistance, document-scanning stations and a CareerForce office that offers job-search support and training. The county’s service listing also highlights public Wi‑Fi, computer workstations and a two-hour parking voucher for visitors, aimed at making in-person appointments less of a hassle. See the full lineup of offerings on the Ramsey County website.
East building put on the market
As part of the consolidation, the county has largely cleared out the Ramsey County East building at 160 East Kellogg Boulevard and put it up for redevelopment. Finance & Commerce reported that Ramsey County is working with CBRE to market the property, after closing it to the public in 2022 and planning phased staff moves into what was Metro Square.
Why the shuffle matters downtown
City planning documents and county briefings cast the move as a way to boost weekday foot traffic for downtown businesses and to unlock valuable riverfront land for private reuse. The City of Saint Paul has outlined a plan for roughly 1,000 county employees to be working out of the former Metro Square site in the first quarter of 2026. Officials say the consolidation is intended to sharpen customer service while shrinking the county’s overall operating footprint.
A century-old block gets a new role
The block that now carries the Ramsey County Government Center name traces its roots to an Emporium department store built in 1911, according to local place archives, and the structure has been reshaped multiple times as downtown’s needs shifted. Local histories and municipal records show that county purchases and renovations over the past decade positioned the old Metro Square complex to absorb large numbers of staff and public-facing services.
County officials say residents should not see any interruption in service throughout the transition and are urging people with questions to keep using the same phone numbers and online tools they rely on now to make appointments. The rebrand is the latest move in a years-long downtown strategy that pairs government consolidation with plans to redevelop underused county-owned real estate.
