A decade of Success and failure

There was a lot of building in the last decade.  Some of the projects were a success and others were a failure.  The proposed “Bridges” project on the West side flats never got built, neither did the Penfield or the Farmers market lofts. The last two may be built one day but I don’t think we will see a project like West Side Flats in the next decade. 

The old power plant on the river was supposed to be upscale condos but that didn’t work out either.  The words “live here” that were painted on the building are starting to fade.  It was called Island Station and was going to be luxury condos with boat slips.

Victoria Park

One of the biggest disappointments to me is the failure of the Victoria Park project which was slated to be the biggest single housing development ever to be built in St. Paul.  Part of it got built and as a result we have senior housing and a Mississippi Market on West 7th where the old tank farm used to be and that is a good thing, but very little housing got built and what did is now rental townhouses sitting on a vast empty lot and it looks like they are not all occupied.   There will be a city park on part of the site and that is a good thing but a new St. Paul neighborhood would have been a better even better.

Spring Street

The River Park Upper Landing project was not a complete success but it all got built.  There are empty units down there and there are more rental units than origional  planned.  They are luxury rental units and every time I check  plenty of them available.   One of the best things about the project is that we have a beautiful park where there used to be roadway and concrete walls.  I enjoy the park and the Caribou coffee shop.   Shortly after or maybe even shortly before the project was completed new laws and rules were passed so that the housing we have along the river could not be built today. 

Last summer I attended  the Great River Park Master Planning Kick-Off on Harriet Island.  The park will have some additions and I for one would like to see some retail like a resturant or even a popcorn stand in the park.

The entire area along the river adjacent to downtown and along Harriet Island has seen a lot of imporvements over the last decade including the lovely park on Raspberry Island.  The river is a great natural resource and for many of us it is part of what makes St. Paul a great place to live.

There are other projects that are all but forgotten but there was a lot of new housing built in the last decade and some important infrastructure projects were completed too. 

There is a lot more housing in downtown St. Paul than there was at the beginning of the decade.  I remember people complaining about gentrification when affordable apartments were converted to condos.  Now we have come full circle and more rental units are being created and there is affordable housing most every where in the city.