Good Development News in St. Paul, for a Change

[Condemned downtown skyway.]

In St. Paul, the default stance has long been glum resignation. Downtown is dead. Grand Avenue is vacant. The Midway is a wasteland. Nothing will ever be any better than it is right now. The best we can hope for is stasis. Can’t we just keep things as they are? Let’s reduce government to a holding pattern, defeating ambition in advance. 

To be fair, it’s a comfortable place to be. It's like giving on on the Twins season in early May; from that point on you’re playing with house money, and have nothing to lose. Positive developments of any kind can be filed under surprising aberration.

To be fair, the city has been in economic doldrums for quite a while, even by St. Paul’s historic standards. We’re taking about a city that’s been concerned about its “beta” status since at least 1890, where for decades the primary function of city government was to keep taxes from going up for any reason, which had the barely-functional “Commission System” of government until 1974. We’re talking about a city that only started organized trash collection in 2019. 

[This was in 2024, not long ago!]

In other words, critiques of its pace of change are entirely valid. But even by those standards, the last five years have been grim. 

One anecdote suffices: In 2024, former Mayor Melvin Carter ventured past the boarded up the windows of the abandoned (once luxurious) Lowry building, just across the street (!) from City Hall, and was amazed to see find people squatting inside. 

Elsewhere, a major downtown skyscraper was entirely condemned. [See photo at the top.] It’s not unusual to find a bucket in the middle of a skyway bridge catching drips in the middle of a vast patch of wet carpet. [See photo at the bottom.] The best thing to happen last year: an abandoned chain pharmacy store was demolished. 

But I am here to tell you, hope is on the way. The nadir has arrived. Here are some headlines from just the past month:

Florida investor with grand plans buys St. Paul’s historic First National Bank Building for a steep discount

Probably the most important existing downtown parcel, the First Bank complex, has a new owner who is going to fix it up. 

Rand said he plans to explore converting parts of First National Bank for other uses, including housing. But the first item on his agenda is installing new lights for the glowing red “1st” sign, a beloved feature of the city’s skyline.

...

The First National Bank Building occupies an entire downtown block between Fourth, Fifth, Minnesota and Robert streets. It consists of three interconnected buildings with more than a million square feet of space.

In particular, the new owner has pledged to refurbish and preserve the blinking “#1” neon sign atop our most iconic art-deco skyscraper. This is the key to the city’s identity, and must be done for St. Paul to thrive. If the light is lit and Mickey's Diner is open, downtown St. Paul is alive and well.

If you want, you can pause and ponder the fact that this huge skyscraper complex sold for a measly $3.8 million, but it is what it is. Someone not named Crockarell owning this building is good news, even if they're from Florida. [knocking furiously on wood]

Redevelopment of Former CVS Site to Advance in Saint Paul’s Midway Neighborhood

Here's the pertinent quote:

Development on the former CVS site is expected to bring market-rate apartments and new retail services to the neighborhood.

...

“This project will build on the historical importance of the Midway area and add to the vitality, excitement, and opportunity present in this diverse and important neighborhood,” said McGuire. “The CVS location sits on the high-profile Snelling Avenue corridor and is at the center of a vibrant community, directly across from the iconic sculpture The Calling, that so magnificently represents our state.”

An actual building is going to be erected at the site of the former CVS, and I trust McGuire (and his ego) enough to think it will be a good building, worthy of this important spot. It sure beats a CVS shell company owning the land! 

Evereve returning to Grand Avenue in St. Paul

Here's the key bit:

Under the newly signed lease, Evereve will occupy 6,000 of the former Pottery Barn’s massive 8,000 square feet. It’s unclear who will take over the remaining space. The Pottery Barn location closed in 2024. 

Site renovations are expected to begin this summer. Tamte plans to open up the store by Black Friday.

In other words, an actual Grand Avenue retail space, vacant for years thanks to the Ohio Teachers Pension Fund, is being leased to a national chain retailer and it’s not Spirit Halloween! 

Evereve is fine. People like it. I thought this day would never come.   

Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community investing in Grand Victoria project

Elsewhere up the street, actual new construction is happening on Grand Avenue. Again! 

Quote from the article:

The $40 million development features a 90-unit mixed-used apartment with more than 13,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space along Grand Avenue. The Grand Victoria — at the site currently occupied by Victoria Crossing East Mall — is expected to open in 2028.

Given the historic exigencies of Grand Avenue and the evacuation of financing thanks to recent rent stabilization history, do you know how many camels must pass through eyes of the needles for this to happen? This is something of a miracle.

Meanwhile, in downtown St. Paul...

Securian Financial invests $50M renovating its downtown St. Paul facilities

It’s a notable addition to Robert Street, which has been under reconstruction for months, and among the most public-facing emblems of Securian’s new $50 million investment in its 1 million-square-foot campus in downtown St. Paul. Securian employees have been called back to work in person at least three times per week, 

One of the last corporations left in downtown is investing in — rather than abandoning — its downtown headquarters building. 

And then...

Bigos Management asks city for TIF dollars to convert Galtier/Cray Plaza to housing

Half a mile away, a 1990s urban mall albatross might be converted to housing, and there’s an actual plan to do so. 

The building, which sits on the National Register of Historic Places, would benefit from a historic renovation that includes improvements to the skyway level and sidewalks.

The $56.3 million office-to-residential conversion would rely on $4.56 million from a tax increment financing pay-as-you-go note issued by the city over 26 years, as well as up to $650,000 from a forgivable loan backed by TIF dollars.

All of these things count as good news. Downtown might have a future. Grand Avenue might not be a lost cause. The Midway is not a zombie apocalypse. 

Sometimes you have to hit rock bottom before you can bounce back. St. Paul is like that right now, and we've received a lot of good news in a a short span of time. Let’s celebrate for a moment, and maybe put a pause on the civic doomerism.

[St. Paul skyway drip bucket.]