Friends,

With preseason hockey getting started next week, a busy calendar of concerts around the corner in Rocktober, pleasingly moderate temperatures and beautiful fall colors teasing their way into the landscape, this is my favorite time of year. As always, you can find upcoming event highlights below and the full calendar at growStPL.com.

I'm excited to share a really smart piece written by our friend and colleague, Jon Commers. While we are in the process of developing our Downtown Investment Strategy to create a roadmap for a more vibrant downtown reinvigorated by a more diverse and integrated mix of workers, residents and visitors, Jon smartly points out that this new vision is not so new at all. By looking back to the buildings and infrastructure created in the wake of the pandemic 100 years ago, we find some guidance for today. Jon’s a super smart guy and I strongly recommend you read his article, Latent Downtowns.

I want to extend my congratulations to our downtown partner and friend, D'Angelos Svenkeson from NEOO Partners, for being recognized as one of the year's most admired CEOs, a well-earned award and an unsurprising accolade to those who know him. Congratulations are also in order to District Energy St. Paul for celebrating 40 years in business this week! District Energy and Ever-Green Energy are not only one of downtown's most important assets but are also globally recognized leaders in sustainability and renewable energy, and we're fortunate to have them as part of our community. You can read more about them in the commendation Rep. Betty McCollum read on the floor of Congress earlier this week, linked below.

That’s it for now – see you around (down)town!

-Joe

Neighborhood identity survey now open!

If Saint Paul is a city of neighborhoods, perhaps it's not a surprise that we're a downtown of neighborhoods too. As downtown's residential population has continued to grow year over year and spread out from Lowertown, and as traditional work and retail trends have evolved, we've seen even more downtown neighborhoods emerge.

For as small as our downtown is, we know that there are countless unique characteristics and assets that vary as you make your way from pocket to pocket, and we’re excited to work on digging in more to discover and celebrate the different neighborhood personalities that co-exist here.

To help us learn more we've created a brief (5-10 minute) survey. We're hoping to hear from downtown workers and residents alike so please share with your coworkers and neighbors! As a thank you for taking the time to weigh in, we'll be giving away four $50 gift cards. Winners will be selected at random and will get to choose which downtown business they'd like their gift card from.

You can find the survey here.

Most Admired CEOs: NEOO Partners CEO D'Angelos Svenkeson leads with a people-first mindset

D’Angelos Svenkeson considers two values to be at the core of his leadership style: putting people first and applying empathy to others.

Such people-focused principles have been what has set his company — Saint Paul-based real estate consulting firm NEOO Partners Inc. — apart, he said.

“We ask our team members to find the value and see the value in other people and explore that in a very intentional way,” he said. “That gives us the power to build some relationships that are very authentic.”

Honoring Ever-Green Energy and District Energy St. Paul

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate two anniversary celebrations: This month, District Energy of St. Paul will mark its 40th anniversary and their subsidiary Ever-Green Energy will mark its 25th year of providing heating and cooling to downtown Saint Paul and the nearby West Side neighborhood. For years, these organizations have demonstrated a path to sustainable energy deployment by heating and cooling hundreds of buildings, from homes to hotels, offices to sports venues, and more.

Amsterdam Bar + Hall back open for lunch

There's another spot you can add to your lunch options list!

Amsterdam Bar + Hall, known for their famous Belgian-style frites and sandwiches, is once again serving lunch Monday-Thursday beginning at 11 a.m., so grab a friend and head over to enjoy lunch or happy hour on the patio while there's still time to enjoy the weather!

Check out the full menu here.

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!

Sept. 22-24	Oktoberfest	Waldman Brewery
Sept. 22-24	Saints vs Toledo	CHS Field
Sept. 22	Haunted History Tour	Union Depot
Sept. 22	Roller Skating GLOWSTICK NIGHT!	Rice Park
Sept. 22	Teddy Swims	Palace Theatre
Sept. 22	Honey I Shrunk the Kids - Omnitheatre Movie Night	Science Museum of Minnesota
Sept. 22	Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix \| FREE Movie Night	Union Depot
Sept. 22	Justin Willman MAGIC FOR HUMANS IN PERSON TOUR	Fitzgerald Theatre
Sept. 24	Colibrí Arts & Culture Market	Union Depot
Sept. 24	Top of the Tower Tour	Landmark Center
Sept. 27	The 370 Sets - Sarah Morris	Osborn370
Sept. 27	Lowertown Trivia Night @ Station 81	Union Depot
Sept. 27	Craft Circle	George Latimer Central Library
Sept. 27	The Midnight	Palace Theatre
Sept. 28	Downtown Live	Union Depot
Sept. 28	Talking Volumes with Ann Patchett	Fitzgerald Theatre

Downtown Live community event next Thursday

Thank you to everyone who responded to last week's informal poll gauging interest in a downtown sustainability market. The overwhelming takeaway was that yes, people would be interested in pursuing the idea further.

With that in mind, I'd like to encourage everyone interested to attend Downtown Live, next Thursday, Sept. 28 from 5-7 p.m. at Union Depot. In addition to talking more about this topic, there will be opportunities to learn more and weigh in on a variety of downtown topics like upcoming projects like the Pedro Park project, public safety strategies, new business openings and more.

Registration is optional, you can learn more here.

Downtown Construction Update

As constructions season rages on, we wanted to provide some updates on projects and road closures happening around downtown, to ensure a smooth trip whether you’re coming for dinner, the Farmer’s Market, a show, or work.

To view a larger version, click on the table.

Click the map to visit the City of Saint Paul road closure map.

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?

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