County awards planning grants for ‘critical corridors’

Proposed projects near the opposite ends of University Avenue are among those benefiting from Ramsey County’s Critical Corridors Program.

The program, which opened to St. Paul projects this year, supports efforts focused on community reinvestment, economic development and affordable housing. Creating walkable communities with increased density and efficient land use are other goals.

The Creative Enterprise Zone in West Midway was given a $50,000 planning grant. This will be used to develop a shared public-private vision for the 187-acre industrial area centered on the shuttered Smurfit Westrock paper plant at 2250 Wabash Ave.

The site is zoned for industrial use. It housed paper manufacturing and recycling efforts since about 1907, according to the Minnesota Historical Society. M.W. Waldorf, who had worked at a downtown printing and paper products manufacturer, established the Waldorf Box Board Company that year.

The company went through various mergers and ownership changes before it closed last year, eliminating about 190 jobs. Preserving it and other industrial sites for property tax base and jobs creation has been a focus for the St. Paul Port Authority. The Port Authority released a report earlier this year citing the higher value of industrially zoned land versus residential reuse.

All three of the county’s planning grants, which were awarded Oct. 20, went to St. Paul projects. Near the opposite end of University, the Rondo Community Land Trust was also awarded $50,000 for pre-development planning. That will focus on the 17.45-acre former Sears site at 425 Rice St. Long-term plans call for restoring the street grid and developing a mixed-use neighborhood.

Media reports from 1963 indicated that the department store opened with great fanfare. It closed in early 2019. Various residential and mixed use development proposals have been floated starting in 2013. The property has also changed hands several time.

The third planning grant of $49,988 went to the Downtown Saint Paul Skyway Infrastructure and Housing Initiative project, led by the University of Minnesota and Friends of the Skyway. Partners will build a 3D digital model of downtown’s 47-block, five-mile skyway network. It will help guide infrastructure and housing investment decisions that support downtown revitalization.

Ten of 17 projects were funded. County commissioners, acting as the Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) Board, approved $478,988 for the projects. All projects submitted totaled $82,988.

Critical Corridors began in 2022 but 2026 is the first year that St. Paul projects could compete, said Ella Mitchell, redevelopment manager for Community and Economic Development. The program ties into the Building Stronger Together city-county economic development initiative the County Board announced earlier this year.

St. Paul projects were added with the idea of complementing and not duplicating existing city programs. Mitchell said there were many strong candidates for funding.

Other St. Paul projects funded as Critical Corridors initiatives included Public Art St. Paul Skyway Wayfinding Framework and Public Realm Concept Plan ($29,000); CapitolRiver Council Downtown Commercial Corridor Incubator and Economic Vitality Hub ($50,000); St. Paul Downtown Alliance Downtown St. Paul Pedestrian Wayfinding Plan ($50,000); and St. Paul Downtown Development Corporation Fifth Street Public Realm Design Plan ($50,000).

Grants also went to projects in Little Canada, White Bear Lake, Vadnais Heights and Gem Lake. One suburban project includes three communities.