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Lowertown
ISSUE AREA: LEADERSHIP
City: St. Paul, MN
Economic Development - Public/Private Partnership - Downtown
Contact:
Weiming Lu
Executive Director
Lowertown Redevelopment Corporation
380 Jackson Street, Suite 750
St. Paul, MN 55101
Date Published: October 2006
"Everybody talks about public/private partnership - when it works very well, it is like a
group of cyclists that ride together beautifully. But more often, because of fighting for
territory or resources, it may end up a mess. It is a great challenge for any partnership,
when the boundaries are undefined, the responsibility isn’t clear. How do you develop
consensus, then marshal the resources to find a common goal, to get something done?" These
were the words of Weiming Lu, before the Second International Urban Design Forum in Yokohama,
Japan, 1998. As president of the Lowertown Redevelopment Corporation in St. Paul, Minnesota,
Lu has had years of experience in the coordination of public/private ventures. The Lowertown
Redevelopment Corporation is an organization focused on the revitalization of the Lowertown
area while at the same time helping to retain a sense of place for the community.
When former St. Paul mayor George Latimer set aside $10 million in 1979 for program-related
investments, he laid the foundation for the Lowertown Redevelopment Corporation (LRC), a
private organization with a public purpose. The eight-member board of directors, including
civic leaders, mayors, bankers, labor leaders, and neighborhood activists, undertook the
Herculean renovation of the Lowertown district of St. Paul. Lowertown covers eighteen blocks,
almost one-third the downtown St. Paul, which had become a labyrinth of abandoned warehouses,
factories, and run-down neighborhoods.
In the simplest terms, the Lowertown Redevelopment Corporation serves as a development bank.
The LRC portrays itself as a vehicle for public/private partnerships. For every dollar the
LRC invests in a project, it attracts $5 to $35 dollars in public and private money. The
results are inspiring. Investment in the area has jumped from an average of $22 million to
$210 million in each decade. One of the many results of the continued focus on redevelopment
has been the marked increase in the tax base from $850,000 in 1979 to almost $4 million in
1993.
The LRC’s commitment to investment in design, marketing and gap financing has led to its
successes. The corporation recognized the importance of fostering a sense of place. Old
warehouse and factories were not torn down but transformed into housing units.
The LRC’s investment depends on the provision of housing for people of all ages and economic
backgrounds. Today, 25 percent of Lowertown’s housing is dedicated to people with low and
moderate incomes. The LRC also has invested in adding amenities to the neighborhoods of
Lowertown, such as parks, farmer’s markets, a new police substation, and a swimming pool.
Lowertown boasts one of the highest concentrations of working artists in cities across the
nation - 500 and growing at last count. The LRC has fostered Lowertown’s creative atmosphere by
giving special attention to artists’ housing. Artists, in return, help with many LRC
projects, such as the park design. The LRC also tries to attract high-tech and cyberspace
industries to the area. Young entrepreneurs, lured by the redevelopment potential of
abandoned warehouses can receive ‘gap financing’ [with LRC making up for the "gap" between
public and private financing] as an incentive to remain in St. Paul. "With infrastructure,
amenities and affordable housing, we have been able to attract new people," asserts Weiming Lu.
The goal of Lowertown is to "create an environment where creativity is cherished and
entrepreneurship is supported; where one can fill the needs for community and provide and
outlet for a civic spirit."
Resources:
www.prosperitycampaign.com/index.html
www.hillsboroughcounty.org/hss/prosperity/ |
