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Hello friends,
Last week, the Alliance team spent four days at the International Downtown Association’s annual conference in Chicago among nearly 1,500 professionals who do the same work we do all over the world. We came back bolstered by the knowledge that we are not alone in our challenges, and full of inspiration for moving forward. Everyone is grappling with return-to-office trends and fluctuating commercial occupancy, improving public safety outcomes and perceptions, and attracting and retaining large employers, retail, and hospitality businesses that make our downtowns vibrant. The list goes on, but our peers are constantly piloting programs in their own cities and passing along lessons learned. We're incredibly proud that our own Grow Downtown program was recognized this year as a best practice program for spurring inclusive, economic growth.
I look forward to sharing more in the coming weeks, but one major takeaway was that downtowns working in partnership with the public sector to secure major public investments in their downtowns are seeing great success. This of course has me all the more excited and confident that we are on the verge of something great with our Downtown Investment Strategy work. We still anticipate that work being finished and released early in the new year and are eager to see it come together.
In other, more unfortunate news, it was announced this week that Holidazzle won't be happening in Minneapolis this year. We all know that downtown Saint Paul is at its most magical in the snow and under the twinkle lights, so we're happy to welcome folks across the river to enjoy another jam-packed Saint Paulidays season ahead, kicking off Nov. 10 with the Rice Park tree lighting. More to come on that as well but save the date!
Finally, go Wild! A big thanks to the team, Herbie's, Visit Saint Paul and the St. Paul Chamber for hosting some very fun pre-game festivities last night leading up to the home opener, including a chance for fans to meet their favorite players along the green carpet.
Whew! With that I'll sign off and wish you a happy Friday.
Take care,
-Joe
Oh, wait! One more thing. Be sure to check out the Your Place video series shared below. We partnered with Visit Saint Paul to feature local businesses (and music!), and we would love for you all to check it out and share with your friends.
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