The St. Paul Port Authority has reached a deal to sell some land on the city's East Side to HealthEast Medical Transportation for a new headquarters.

It's about 4.5 acres of the 35-acre chunk of the former 3M Co. campus that the Port Authority bought last year.

HealthEast would pay $450,000 for the land and build a $5 million building that would house 120 workers, 50 ambulances and have space for training. The building, on the northwest corner of Arcade St. and Reaney Av., would be about 46,000 square feet and could be completed by fall 2010.

The Port Authority Board will vote on the purchase agreement at its Oct. 27 meeting.

"We're very excited about this opportunity, but we still need Port Authority Board approval and need to close on the acquisition of the land before this project becomes reality," said Port Authority president Louis Jambois.

The addition of 120 jobs, plus the opportunity of more, would be welcome news on the East Side, which has lost several major employers over the years.

"We're excited to become the first 'new neighbor' and first to occupy the redevelopment initiative that the Port Authority is spearheading in the former 3M site," said Brad Anderson, senior director of HealthEast Medical Transportation. The new facility will allow for expanded services in the metro area, he added.

Generally, the Port Authority buys and cleans industrial land with the goal of selling it for $1 to companies that promise to bring in high-paying jobs and significant tax revenue.

In this case, the agency is selling the land outright because it wasn't contaminated and had a strong market value.

The proceeds of the sale will go toward clean up and infrastructure development at the rest of the 3M site.