Around (down)town: 2025 Metro Transit safety ambassador partnership, small business shopping and more

Friends,

This week we're excited to announce our partnership with Metro Transit that will bring Downtown Improvement District safety ambassadors to each of our three light rail platform areas for two shifts per day, seven days a week in 2025. This program will deliver the same positive impacts on safety outcomes and perceptions by maintaining a sustained staff presence seen in other parts of the DID. This is a significant investment from Metro Transit and one of several new programs they are deploying across their system in the coming months to target public safety challenges on transit. We're grateful for their commitment and their collaboration on this effort.

When we look at this new program combined with the expansion of the existing DID to cover all of downtown, in 2025 we will be tripling safe and clean programming in downtown. We know that having a downtown that is first and foremost safe, clean and welcoming is foundational to all of our goals and I am incredibly proud of all of the work from partners in the private, public and nonprofit sectors that has gone into getting us to this point.

We'll be sharing more in the next few weeks as services begin to roll out into Lowertown and across downtown about how residents, workers and visitors can get involved and take advantage of these programs so keep an eye out for those announcements.

I also want to shout out the great story that Fred Melo and his team at the Pioneer Press ran in Sunday's newspaper that was the perfect follow up to last week's stories about the Grow Downtown program. If you didn't get a chance to see the front-page story it's linked below, take a look and learn more about many of the amazing small businesses that have participated.

Finally, speaking of small businesses - this week Lost Fox launched a really cool new program that rewards folks for exploring fellow Lowertown businesses and this weekend is the Hamm Building Holiday Crawl featuring treats and great shopping at all the amazing shops within the historic building. Read more about both below.

Take care and have a great weekend,

-Joe

Metro Transit safety plans include more fare inspectors, security officers, cleaners

Reported crimes are down year-over-year and ridership is up, according to Metro Transit.

The work includes a focus on the Green Line corridor. “Safety ambassadors” from the St. Paul Downtown Alliance will regularly spend time at downtown St. Paul light rail stations and adjacent bus stops beginning in January, according to Metro Transit.

The ambassadors’ focus is “addressing livability issues, anti-social behaviors,” and cleaning up trash and graffiti, said Joe Spencer, the alliance’s president.

Read more from the Pioneer Press

Grow Downtown: Low rent, big dreams draw 18 small businesses to vacant Saint Paul storefronts

As a business sector, startups are notorious for rarely getting too far off the ground, but the best blossom and turn heads. The Saint Paul Downtown Alliance launched the Grow Downtown program around May 2022 in hopes that at least a few new retailers will take seed, fill growing ground-level and skyway vacancies and draw needed foot traffic to downtown Saint Paul’s commercial buildings.

Not all the shops have stuck around, but organizers say the results have been even better than expected. Grow Downtown has matched 18 new businesses — almost all of them run by women and people of color — with property owners to date, filling more than 40,000 square feet of empty retail space.

Read more from the Pioneer Press

Here are the 2025 Winter Carnival buttons, designed by painter and snow sculptor Heather Friedli

Friedli also runs Friedli Gallery and Studio on West Seventh and is a member of an all-women Indigenous snow sculpting team.

Read more from the Pioneer Press

Red Bull Heavy Metal snowboarding competition returning to Saint Paul

Two Minnesota champions are expected to be among the participants of the snowboarding competition.

Read more from the Pioneer Press

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Lost Fox launches Positively 4th Street

Lowertown is full of amazing businesses and this week Lost Fox launched a new program to help you explore them all, and treat yourself at the same time!

Bring in your receipt from your trip to another Lowertown business store and they'll give you 10% off your order. Plus, every month they are highlighting a different business for 25% off. This month is Erta Ale Ethiopian.

Follow Lost Fox on Facebook or Instagram to stay up to date on the featured business of the month! Happy exploring!

The Saint Paulidays are here!

Find festive events linked in green.

Dec. 13-15, 19-22	GLOW Holiday Festival	CHS Field
Dec. 13-15, 19-22	I Am Betty	History Theatre
Dec. 13-15, 17-22	The Little Mermaid	Ordway
Dec. 13-15, 19-22	European Christmas Market	Union Depot
Dec. 13-15, 19-22	Best Christmas Pageant Ever	Park Square Theatre
Dec. 13-15	Holiday Hot Chocolate	Park Square Theatre
Dec. 13-15	North Pole Express	Union Depot
Dec. 13-15	An Evening (or three) with Wilco	Palace Theatre
Dec. 13-14	A Prairie Home Companion Christmas	Fitzgerald Theatre
Dec. 13-14	Christmas with the Champagne Drops	MetroNOME
Dec. 14-15	The SPCO - Bach’s “Brandenburg” Concertos	Ordway
Dec. 14	MN Roller Derby	Roy Wilkins Auditorium
Dec. 14	Minnesota Wild vs. Philadelphia	Xcel Energy Center
Dec. 14	Hamm Building Holiday Crawl	Hamm Building
Dec. 14	Holiday Bake Sale	Union Depot
Dec. 15	Sundays at Landmark: Santa’s Workshop	Landmark Center
Dec. 15	Minnesota Wild vs Vegas	Xcel Energy Center
Dec. 16	Josh Ritter	Fitzgerald Theatre
Dec. 18	An Evening with Boney James	Fitzgerald Theatre

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Hamm Building Holiday Small Business Crawl tomorrow!

The holidays are back and we've got the perfect place for you to shop, dine and explore.

Come shop local this holiday season in the Historic Hamm Building.

A coffee bar will be open from 10 a.m. til 2 p.m.

Pickup a Passport at any of the participating businesses and visit five businesses for your chance to win a gift basket!

Learn more

Construction season is underway, and each week we'll provide updates on projects and road closures happening around downtown to ensure a smooth trip whether you’re coming for dinner, the a Wild game, a show or work.

The update as of December 5 is as follows:

Ongoing activities on Robert Street

Utility work continues through spring 2025 on Robert Street between 11th and 7th streets and through December 2024 between 7th Street and Kellogg Boulevard in advance of the reconstruction project.

Please be aware of the following impacts:

Between 9th and 7th streets

Robert Street is closed to all traffic between 9th and 7th streets. This closure is needed for Xcel Energy and Xcel Gas to work on their utilities. Robert Street is anticipated to remain closed for up to four weeks, or until work is completed.

Between 9th and 11th streets

Robert Street is reduced to one lane in each direction between 11th and 9th Streets and between 7th Street and Fillmore Avenue.

6th Street

Reduced to one lane of traffic between Wabasha and Cedar streets.

9th Street

Parking and sidewalk restrictions will be in place between Minnesota and Robert streets. Please pay extra attention to signage and follow any posted pedestrian routes.

11th Street: Lane restrictions between Robert and Jackson streets.

Minnesota Street

Minnesota Street has lane restrictions between 9th and 11th Streets for utility work.
In the coming weeks, intermittent lane closures are anticipated to occur for private utility work.
For more information, visit the Minnesota Street reconstruction project website.

St. Peter Street: Lane restrictions between 5th Street and Kellogg Boulevard.

Pedro Park: No current traffic impacts are expected. For more information, please visit the Pedro Park project website.

NOTE: All construction activities and traffic impacts are weather and schedule permitting and subject to change.

Click this link to sign up for weekly updates directly from the City regarding all downtown road construction projects.

Are you following the Alliance on Facebook? What about Instagram?

Make sure you're following the Downtown Alliance on social media to stay up to date on all the latest downtown events and news. Plus, we do love giveaways, so you never know when you could end up with tickets, swag or other great downtown prizes.

@StPLdowntown

stpdowntownalliance.org

Have questions?

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