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Friends,
Cushman & Wakefield recently released a report titled Reimagining Cities: Disrupting the Urban Doom Loop. The report studied walkable urban places (WalkUPs) in 208 urban centers across the country and includes several fascinating insights, including an exploration of the balance of real estate and land use within each destination. According to the report:
"There is an optimal real estate product portfolio for WalkUPs to optimize GDP and real estate valuations, which targets 31% living spaces (Live), 42% workplaces (Work), and 26% play spaces (Play)."
Naturally, this got me thinking about the mix in our own, very walkable, downtown. We reviewed the data and found that downtown Saint Paul's mix is currently approximately 28% live, 45% work, and 27% play. While these numbers initially appear ideal, we must remember that our downtown is heavily segmented by use, leaving us with distinct visitor, business, and residential districts, but lacking the necessary blend of uses within walking distance of each other. There is still plenty of work ahead to right-size our real estate market and strike the right balance of commercial and residential space. However, these numbers are certainly heartening and affirm that we’re on the right track by doubling down on our residential strengths. This is also a good reminder of the need to extend that residential growth throughout the central and western portions of downtown.
The report also emphasized the importance of "facilitating this balance by implementing policies such as expediting the entitlement process and offering incentives for adaptive reuse, particularly to encourage the conversion of over-supplied office space to Live and Play spaces." In other words, the first strategic priority identified in the Downtown Investment Strategy. So, as we continue our work in advancing these strategies, don’t be surprised if you hear me talk about how we'll be disrupting the urban doom loop right here.
Before heading out for the weekend, I also want to remind you that Councilmember Noecker, the CapitolRiver Council, and the Downtown Alliance are co-hosting a series of informational meetings for downtown residents and community members, beginning this Tuesday evening at 5 p.m. at MetroNOME. Additional details, along with the rest of the dates, can be found below.
Take care,
-Joe
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Amtrak's Borealis train line hits 100K riders in five months | |
Amtrak’s Borealis line running between Saint Paul’s Union Depot and downtown Chicago hit a milestone this week with 100,000 riders, a feat achieved in just 22 weeks since service began in May.
Original projections from Amtrak and the Minnesota Department of Transportation showed between 125,000 and 135,000 passengers would ride the train annually. Other projections showed as many as 232,000 riders annually.
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Saint Paul City Council again asks charter commission for right to impose administrative citations | |
On Wednesday, with the support of Saint Paul Mayor Melvin Carter, the seven members of the Saint Paul City Council jointly sponsored and approved a request to the charter commission to give the proposal another look. The request to amend the city charter to allow administrative citations does not spell out specific citations, though Council President Mitra Jalali noted several key areas where the council would like more authority to impose non-criminal penalties.
Among them, she said the city needs new powers to hold accountable errant landlords who collect rents without fixing up properties, as well as employers who violate wage rules by failing to provide sick leave and overtime. Jalali noted that Minneapolis and other cities already have such authority, but St. Paul does not.
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Minnesota Museum of American Art christens new wing, tripling gallery space | |
Years in the making, a wing with a painstakingly restored stained-glass tile ceiling now showcases local art and artists.
The new section at the Minnesota Museum of American Art, also known as the M, opened Thursday in downtown Saint Paul’s historic Pioneer Endicott Building. The wing took nearly 10 years and $14 million to complete and adds 6,531 square feet, tripling the museum’s gallery space, said Kylie Linh Hoang, the assistant curator of the M.
The new wing displays the exhibition “Here Now: Selections from the M’s Collection.”
An open house from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26, officially launches the show.
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New concept plans unveiled for Robert Street, from Kellogg Boulevard to Annapolis Street | |
The Minnesota Department of Transportation has unveiled plans to reconfigure Robert Street south of downtown Saint Paul, turning much of it into a three-lane road between Kellogg Boulevard and Annapolis Street, with one traffic lane in each direction and a center turn lane.
Informational meetings with business owners and the general community are planned Nov. 1 and Nov. 7, respectively.
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2024 best burgers list - Downtown Saint Paul is burger-topia | |
Each year the Pioneer Press releases its list of best burgers in the Twin Cities and while downtown has always had a great showing in their rankings this year you can find no less than 13 restaurants from around downtown between the following lists.
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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!
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🎃 Get ready for a scary-good Halloween weekend in Downtown Saint Paul! 🎃
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🍹 The Official Halloween Bar Crawl | October 26
🧟 Embrace your inner zombie and crawl along West 7th Street in your spookiest costume for a shot at winning $1,000! First 400 check-ins snag free drink tickets, a custom keychain lanyard, and a US Stadium Cup! 🍺
🎃 Halloween Spooktacular | October 27-28 | Children's Museum
👨👩👧 Bring the whole family for kid-friendly Halloween fun: trick-or-treating, a live DJ dance party, carnival games, activities and museum access!
🎨 BOOnion Depot | October 27 | Union Depot
🧙♀️ Craft your way through Halloween with face painting, live music, balloon artists, superheroes, Disney characters and more spooky fun!
🎃 Great Pumpkin Halloween Celebration | October 27 | Landmark Center
🎭 Enjoy crafts, treats, Halloween entertainment and join the costume parade with the whole family!
💀 Gangster Ghost Tour – Reinvented! | October 30 | Landmark Center
👻 Take a spine-chilling journey into the underworld of Saint Paul’s past—gangster ghosts and haunted tales await!
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Tickets now on sale for 2024 GLOW Holiday Festival | |
It's hard to believe it but the Saint Paulidays are just around the corner and this weeks tickets went on sale for one of downtown's signature holiday events - GLOW!
GLOW kicks off before Thanksgiving this year, it runs November 21, 2024 - January 5, 2025 at CHS Field.
Featuring over a million lights, the Enchanted Forest, Vixen's Zip Line, and Giant Slide, GLOW is a must-see experience.
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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 farmer’s market, a show or work. | |
The update as of October 25 is as follows, changes highlighted:
4th Street: Open to local traffic only between Sibley and Jackson streets.
5th Street: Lane restrictions between Sibley and Wacouta streets.
6th Street
- Traffic restrictions expected near the Robert Street intersection through early November.
- Reduced to one lane between Wabasha and Cedar streets.
7th Street: Reduced to one lane between Minnesota and Jackson streets.
9th Street
- The east side of the intersection will be closed to/from Robert Street starting the week of October 28.
- Robert Street will remain open to northbound and southbound traffic.
- Access to the west side of the intersection to/from Robert Street will remain open.
11th Street: Lane restrictions between Robert and Jackson streets.
Kellogg Boulevard: Bridge Closure
- Kellogg Boulevard will have periodic lane closures between Wabasha and Jackson streets, and around the Xcel Energy Center.
- Kellogg Boulevard/3rd Street bridge is closed between Broadway Street and Mounds Boulevard.
- Access to parking lots and businesses will be maintained.
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For more information and detailed access maps, visit the Kellogg-3rd Street bridge project website.
Minnesota Street: Closure
- Minnesota Street is closed to thru traffic between 9th Street and 7th Street.
- There are lane restrictions between 11th and 9th streets and between 6th Street and 7th Place.
- Access to local businesses will be maintained.
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For more information, visit the Minnesota Street reconstruction project website.
Robert Street: Robert Street is reduced to one lane in each direction between 11th Street and Kellogg Boulevard.
Sibley Street: Lane closures between 2nd Street and Shepard Road.
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.
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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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