St. Paul city leaders are out with some new goals and strategies for bringing more vitality to downtown and improving the mix of people who work, visit, and live there.
It begins with drawing 20,000 more downtown residents, something President of the St. Paul Downtown Alliance Joe Spencer says is already in play as empty office buildings are transformed into apartments and condos.
"We actually have converted a number of previously commercial spaces into residential properties," Spencer says. "And that's a big part of the reason why population has doubled over the last 10 years or so."
Spencer says that population growth will in turn drive more amenities.
The plan drafted by dozens of civic and business leaders also involves better connecting downtown's parks and public spaces with new sidewalks and street configurations, and enhancing the downtown riverfront.
Spencer says much of what they want to do is already in play.
"We know that when we do these, when we make these kinds of investments, when we build the apartments, they fill up," says Spencer. "When we build the visitor destinations, they're successful. And we know that we're good at building public spaces."
They also want to add 20,000 more jobs, and a 20% increase in visitors downtown.
Funding sources would vary depending on the project.