As the holiday shows wrap up in our theaters, and the workforce reoccupies our office buildings after the holiday break, I am feeling incredibly optimistic about 2019 for downtown Saint Paul.
Over the holidays I noticed one theme that kept showing up in the news… our restaurant scene is red hot. The Star Tribune Taste section called Saint Paul the “
City of the Year,” for dining. In Bloom was
Restaurant of the Year in that same issue. USA Today named Keg and Case one of the best food halls in America. Yesterday Jess Fleming (Pioneer Press) wrote a great story on all of the
restaurants that migrated into Saint Paul and got better in the process. And the Remke family was feted for celebrating
20 years of the Black Dog anchoring the Lowertown portion of downtown. These stories aren’t just important for gastro-enthusiasts. We know that these kinds of amenities h
elp us attract employees (and thus, employers!). !). So help us spread the news of Saint Paul’s thriving food scene by sharing these stories on your social channels and in your circles this week – and be sure to take in some of our top-notch cuisine in your spare time!
See you all around (down)town,
Joe Spencer
President
The Saint Paul Downtown Alliance
Enjoying a sunny staff break at
Winterskate, open through February 3rd
Saint Paul praised for startup community
Saint Paul and Minneapolis recently ranked 21st of the 50 best cities to start a business. The list, from Inc magazine and Startup Genome, used seven key indicators to determine their rankings. The Twin Cities got top marks in net business creation thanks in no small part to our thriving community of incubators and accelerators like Lunar Startups and Techstars. While it comes as no surprise to us, it's always great to see national recognition for great work.
The City of Saint Paul released their list of legislative priorities for the coming year and among them are several key strategies that would benefit downtown and the surrounding area. For instance, the Third Street / Kellogg Boulevard bridge, which brings thousands of commuters into downtown every day, has been down to three lanes since 2014. The City is hoping for $48 million in state funding to repair structural cracks and get it back to full capacity. Other priorities for the City include the RiverCentre parking ramp, funding increases to transit and more.
Next Friday, January 11 at 8:30 a.m., the Saint Paul Planning Commission will hold a public hearing for the 2040 Comprehensive Plan. The meeting will be held in Room 40 (in the basement) of City Hall at 15 West Kellogg Boulevard. If you are unable to attend the meeting but would like to weigh in, comments can be submitted online leading up to the meeting.
