Especially in the post-COVID economy, when workers are still not back in downtown office buildings, the Palace has been one of downtown’s big attractions. So far, the venue has been a financial success. And these kinds of investments don’t always work well Minneapolis’ “Block E” offers a good counterexample of a downtown economic development project gone wrong. The idea was to use city bonds to leverage other grants, rehab the theater into a concert venue and gradually pay back the debt with expected revenues.Īt the time, some members of the City Council saw it as overly risky, and placing too much emphasis on economic development for the downtown at the expense of the city’s many other neighborhoods. Led by then-Mayor Chris Coleman, the city pitched purchasing and rehabbing the building back in 2014, and used a one-time pot of around $9 million in city money to buy and rehab the building. Ten years ago, investing city money into the Palace was seen as a risky maneuver. In an era of uncertainty, the Palace has proven to be a relief for bars and restaurants, reliably bringing people into the heart of downtown. Like clockwork, the odd plaza along “7th Place” fills with rock music fans most weekends, and a corner of downtown St. One of downtown’s post-COVID bright spots is the historic Palace Theater, a 2,500-person rock venue operated by the First Avenue conglomerate. It was becoming a true statement: Office workers vanished overnight, a whole calendar year of events were canceled and downtown streets seemed post-apocalyptic.Įven stalwart landmark Mickey’s Diner shut its doors. (They’re still closed, by the way, though the owners are promising they might reopen sometime in the next few months.)

Paul and the thousands more who come downtown for work or events.īut then the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, and the joke wasn’t so funny. I’ve often pushed back, pointing to the thousands of people who live in downtown St. Paul is dead,” by which they mean it’s devoid of street life, with stores closing before 8 p.m. For years, I’ve heard people joke about how “downtown St.

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