Around (down)town: Metro Transit partnership kicks off Monday, new life for former pizza shop, conversion projects underway and more

Friends,

Beginning Monday, Downtown Improvement District (DID) Safety Ambassadors will be working seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. at the three downtown light rail stations and adjacent bus stops. We're excited to partner with Metro Transit as part of their ongoing efforts to provide a safe, more welcoming experience for all transit users. DID Ambassadors will be on the platforms each day providing assistance to riders, helping to uphold the transit Code of Conduct, and providing additional eyes and ears to public safety and law enforcement partners throughout downtown.

This partnership with Metro Transit, along with the expansion of the DID to cover all of downtown, adds up to a threefold increase in downtown safe and clean services compared to last year. Whether you live or work downtown, have been here for two decades or two months, feeling safe and comfortable downtown is paramount.

To that end, we want to make sure that everyone downtown knows how to use DID services. In the coming weeks we'll be hosting four events where we'll walk through how and when to connect with the Safety Communications Center to request assistance or report issues. More details on those events can be found below.

Keep reading for more of this week's news and events, including a look at three residential conversion projects coming online this year and the very exciting news about a new restaurant coming to Robert Street.

Take care and have a great weekend,

-Joe

p.s. Congrats to Downtown Alliance board member and NEOO Partners founder D'Angelos Svenkeson on being named a 2025 Top 40 Under 40 by the Business Journal!

Stella, Landmark Tower and Hamm Building conversions could bring 1,200 residents downtown

Developer Carl Kaeding is usually skeptical when marketers advertise new residential construction as “luxury,” but he might just make an exception for the eight penthouses he’s installing on the top floor of Stella, the former Ecolab tower, near Sixth and Wabasha streets in downtown Saint Paul.

Read more from Metro Transit

Here's a glance at what's happening downtown this week.

A full look at what's coming up can be found on our event calendar. Check it out!

Feb. 7-9 Feb. 13-16	The Root Beer Lady	History Theatre
Feb. 7-9 Feb. 13-16	The Gin Game	Park Square Theatre
Feb. 7	Landmark Jewelers 2nd Annual Goth Valentine's Ball	Landmark Jewelers
Feb. 8	Saturday Vibe: Family Storytime	George Latimer Central Library
Feb. 8, 13, 15, 16	The Snowy Day presented by the MN Opera	Ordway
Feb. 8	Minnesota Wild vs. New York Islanders	Xcel Energy Center
Feb. 11	Ballet Tuesdays at Landmark Center	Landmark Center
Feb. 12	Game Night	MetroNOME Brewery
Feb. 12	The Great Gatsby: Performance and Talk	George Latimer Central Library
Feb. 13	Romancing the Hamm	Hamm Building
Feb. 13	Dark Horse Final Toast	Dark Horse
Feb. 14-15	Broadway In Love	Park Square Theatre

Mark your calendars...

Upcoming Downtown Improvement District community meetings

All are invited to learn more about DID services and how to make the best use of them.

We're so excited that the DID's service area now covers all of downtown and Lowertown!

We're partnering with local businesses to provide four upcoming opportunities to come learn more about the Safety Communications Center and DID ambassador services like requesting an escort to your destination or a wellness check on a person in need; reporting graffiti, broken glass, or other unsafe or unsightly debris in the public realm; and more. This will be a great chance to familiarize yourself with the program, ask questions and meet members of the team.

Each event will cover the same information, so pick the time that works best for you!

Thursday, Feb. 20 – 9:30-10:30 a.m.

Wednesday, Feb. 26 – 5:30-6:30 p.m.

Monday, Mar. 3 – 9:30-10:30 a.m.

Tuesday, Mar. 11 – 5:30-6:30 p.m.

Locations will be announced in next week's newsletter.

Weekly construction updates are currently paused during the winter months. As any changes or updates arise, we will share them here.

More information on specific ongoing projects can be found below:

Robert Street

Utility work continues to progress on Robert Street. Crews anticipate work to continue through the end of the month between 7th Street and Kellogg Boulevard and through spring 2025 between 11th and 7th streets, in advance of the reconstruction project.

Minnesota Street

Over the next several weeks, Xcel is scheduled to be on site working on their existing utility vault next to the UBS Building on the west side of Minnesota Street. They will set up traffic control so please follow all posted signs. In the coming weeks, intermittent lane closures are anticipated to occur for private utility work.

Kellogg Boulevard: Bridge Closure

Kellogg-3rd Street bridge remains closed. Construction is anticipated to last approximately three years.

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

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