Friends,

Earlier this week the legislative session wrapped up with several positive outcomes for Saint Paul and downtown, including capital investment dollars for a number of key infrastructure projects and the extension of the downtown TIF district. We were also very happy to see that the bill we have been working on with our partners in Minneapolis, Rochester and Duluth with the support of the League of Minnesota Cities passed. Special thanks to Representative Maria Isa Perez-Vega, Senator Sandy Pappas, and Senator Erin Murphy for their leadership! The bill amends state law to allow for residential multifamily housing properties to be included in special service districts (or downtown improvement districts). Amending this law is a critical step toward providing Saint Paul Downtown Improvement District services in all of downtown in the future. We're looking forward to sharing more about how this progresses in the months to come.

If you're staying in town this weekend there are some great events happening downtown. The Saints are playing at home and have Memorial Day activities scheduled for each game; it's the closing weekend for The Defeat of Jesse James at the History Theatre; and the largest festival in the country celebrating Thai food and culture — the Minnesota Songkran Festival — is happening Saturday and Sunday at the Capitol grounds. And next week gets even busier with the official kickoff to summer: Lowertown Sounds returns Thursday evening!

Finally, congrats to Saint Paul Parks and Recreation Director Andy Rodriguez and the entire team on being named the number two parks system in the country (again!). Downtown is fortunate to benefit every day from all your hard work.

Take care and enjoy the long weekend!

-Joe

Saint Paul ranks second nationwide for parks

Saint Paul Parks and Recreation again has been recognized as the nation's second-best park system by the Trust for Public Land, while the Minneapolis park system rose to the No. 3 spot after slipping to fifth place last year.

Saint Paul boosted its ParkScore ranking by opening three new dog parks — Uŋčí Makhá in the Highland Bridge development, Lilydale and Lower Landing — while Minneapolis moved up after opening new park space, including Bridal Veil Gardens in the Prospect Park neighborhood.

"This annual ranking serves as both a cause to celebrate our achievements to date and a reminder of the investments that are still needed to achieve equitable access to parkland and amenities within our city," said Saint Paul Parks Director Andy Rodriguez.

See the full story from the Star Tribune.

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Free summer concert series brings local artists together to celebrate community, help Twin Cities small businesses

If you love live music, then Saint Paul is where you'll want to be this summer. Lowertown Sounds, a free concert series, returns to Mears Park on most Thursday nights starting June 1.

What sets Lowertown Sounds apart from your average concert series is it features all local bands and performers from a mix of genres.

"Every week there’s something different," explained Clint Roberts, founder of Lowertown Sounds. "So, we have people who show up because they love the event, they love the show, they don’t know what the music is going to be, but they’re there to explore. They’re there to find the adventure sonically if you will."

Watch the story from KARE 11 News.

Meet the guy who keeps St. Paul Saints fans smiling

Lee Adams might have the best job in the world: He's the public address announcer for the St. Paul Saints.

His background is in theater and comedy. He also grew up a Boston Red Sox fan. So when the Saints came calling more than a decade ago, seeking to jazz up what can be a ho-hum gig, he jumped at it.

See the full story from the Star Tribune.

Sears site near State Capitol sells for $7M

The former Sears store on Rice Street — a high-profile redevelopment candidate near the State Capitol in Saint Paul — has sold for $7 million, but the new owners say plans for the property are still to be determined.

Pacifica Saint Paul LLC of Aurora, Illinois, purchased the property at 425 Rice St. from New York-based Seritage SRC Finance LLC, an asset related to Seritage Growth Properties, according to a certificate of real estate value made public this week.

See the full story from Finance and Commerce.

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!

May 26-28	The Defeat of Jesse James	History Theatre
May 26-28	Saints vs Omaha	CHS Field
May 27-28	Minnesota Songkran Festival	Capitol Grounds
May 27-29	Gangsterland Walking Tour	Rice Park
May 30	Janet Jackson	Xcel Energy Center
June 1	Riffs, Rails and Cocktails	Station 81
June 1	Lowertown Sounds	Mears Park
June 2-3	Grand Re-Opening	Landmark Jewelers
June 2-3	Official Grand Opening	DG Pilot
June 2-3	Flint Hills Family Festival	Rice Park

FYI - Food Truck Wednesdays - No event next week, May 31

With the shortened holiday week there will be no Food Truck Wednesday on May 31.

We'll be back on June 7! More details on which trucks and musicians will be announced in next week's newsletter.

2023 Flint Hills Family Festival kicks off next week!

Kick off your summer in Saint Paul at this affordable, fun-filled family event on June 2-3. The 23^rd annual festival offers many exciting outdoor and indoor performances, music, interactive artmaking activities, food, and more.

Highlights include:

Strings and Salsa Night – Friday, June 2, from 6-10 p.m.: The nationally renowned musical group The String Queens will perform in the Ordway Concert Hall at 7 p.m., and in Rice Park, there will be a free salsa dance party at 7 p.m. with Salsa del Soul performing from 8-10 p.m.

Arts and Culture Day – Saturday, June 3, from 9 a.m.-4 p.m.: Enjoy free performances and interactive artmaking activities in Rice Park and Landmark Plaza all day. The event will close with an exciting performance from KOO KOO KANGA ROO at 3:15 p.m.

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This festival is made possible through a partnership between the Ordway and Flint Hills Resources, which began in 2001 with one shared vision: Making the performing arts accessible to all. We encourage you to engage with the festival in the following ways:

Plan your festival experience.

Visit Ordway.org/festival for the festival schedule, parking tips and free Metro Transit passes.

Get tickets to an indoor show.

Tickets are still available for the festival’s performances inside the Ordway. Book your tickets here!

Tell others about the festival.

Engage with festival content on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Share this video. Use the #FHFamilyFestival hashtag, and encourage the people in your network to join in the fun!

Are you following the Alliance on Facebook? What about Instagram?

Event season is in full swing! 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

Have questions?

Drop us a line!

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