Latest news with #MadisonEquities
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
St. Paul may be ailing, but the city has sharply reduced gun violence
At the insistance of St. Paul mayor Melvin Carter, pictured here at an affordable housing event, Saint Paul police have successfully reduced non-fatal shootings and homicides. (Photo by Nicole Neri/Minnesota Reformer) Saint Paul is a mess these days. Hannibal Buress once joked about St. Paul at a Turf Club show by saying, 'fraternal twins,' i.e., there's Minneapolis and then its runtier, sleepier, duller twin. We've lost our only grocery store downtown, which is looking like a modern day Dickens novel since the pandemic. Most of the downtown real estate is owned by a zombie outfit called Madison Equities, whose neglect of its own buildings has eroded downtown property values. A failed rent control policy hamstrung development that might have increased housing options and bring more life — and taxpayers — to the city. Our dysfunctional city government — featuring a council that struggles to make it to their own meetings — had to declare an emergency just to get the trash picked up. No doubt you've driven the roads of our glittering state capital, so you know what that's like. We also have the highest sales tax in the state and among the highest property taxes. But you know what we don't have much of anymore? Shootings. We've had just two homicides this year, compared to eight last year at this time, and neither from gunfire. The Pioneer Press' Mara Gottfried has been covering this remarkable story. One key to this success is that St. Paul police are solving non-fatal shootings. St. Paul Police Chief Axel Henry credits Mayor Melvin Carter — whose father was among St. Paul's first Black police officers — with asking this question: 'How is it that the clearance rate for murders — when 'your best witness is dead' — is so much better than cases where there is a surviving witness?' This question has bothered me for more than a decade, when I wrote about a different police department's lackadaisical attitude toward non-fatal shootings. More recently, Reformer reporters tracked the problem in 2021 in Minnesota and particularly Minneapolis, with this headline: 'If you shoot someone, you'll probably get away with it.' Think about it: The perpetrator of a non-fatal shooting is a wannabe murderer who is a bad shot, so why are we allowing so many of them — 90% in some communities — to roam free, especially when shootings often set off multiple rounds of violent retribution? Carter also delivered resources, which allowed SPPD to devote nine officers to investigating non-fatal shootings. What do you know: The clearance rate on non-fatals shot up, from 27% to 71% between 2022 and 2024, Gottfried reports. And as the risk of getting caught has gone up, the shootings have declined: As of early April, eight people had beeen injured in shootings, compared to 26 at the same time last year. Once you take the failed murderers off the street, you see a sharp reduction in murders. The city also created the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Project PEACE, which they credit with employing what we might call soft power to dissuade specific at-risk young people from going down the wrong path. Collective safety is the first responsibility of government, and St. Paul is making progress on this front. (Minneapolis has also made strides.) Consider how this reduction in violence will change lives, families, entire neighborhoods. Imagine what it's like to go to bed without hearing gunshots, or living without the fear that your kids will catch a stray bullet or get caught up in a cycle of retributive violence. This governing success has other important implications. Some people will always believe crime hysteria, but many fair-minded Minnesotans will happily visit the cities or even move here if they know it's safe. The Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party is dominant in the cities, which means that urban governance plays an outsized role in how the party is perceived everywhere else. If the cities are plagued by gunfire, the DFL will own it, and it will drag down the brand, such as it is. Although the Minnesota DFL held their urban margins in 2024, Democrats in other major cities across the country lost ground in the face of urban disorder, including among Black and immigrant voters. If the cities can reduce gun violence, however, undecided Minnesotans may find new confidence in the DFL's ability to solve problems. This is why it's so important for local and state elected officials to prioritize tangible problems that can be solved with proven, local solutions. A counterexample: St. Paul could spend a billion dollars and have no measurable impact on climate change. But we can make the city safer and more vibrant. So, congrats, St. Paul. Let's start a bonfire in the parking lot of the abandoned CVS on Snelling and have a party. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
St. Paul condemns, closes downtown Capital City Plaza parking ramp
The city of St. Paul has condemned the downtown Capital City Plaza parking ramp by the troubled Alliance Bank Center, shuttering another Madison Equities property and its skyway connection. A notice of immediate condemnation was posted following an inspection on April 2. The notice orders all drivers and vehicles to vacate the premises. The mayor's office publicly announced the condemnation and closure of the ramp at 50 Fourth St. in a statement on Monday, noting a lack of maintenance and long-term non-compliance with code enforcement 'threaten the public health and safety of guests and neighboring properties.' Among areas of concern, city inspectors found blocked exits, exposed electrical circuits, inoperable equipment and water leaks. The city also noted that Madison Equities failed to routinely test its fire suppression systems, the structural integrity of the ramp and the water backflow prevention system, which separates contaminated water from clean water. The lack of testing, according to the city, poses a risk to the shared potable water supply for all nearby properties. The closure of the skyway connection will begin at Fourth Street and end at the Press House at Fifth Street, according to the statement from the mayor's office. The intersecting skyway to the Ramsey County Sheriff's office on Cedar Street also will be closed. There are no businesses or direct street access routes within the two connections and residents of nearby towers will not be impacted, it reads. St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter noted in the statement that Madison Equities, previously considered downtown's largest property owner, has lost or neglected a number of properties in recent months, and 'their chronic neglect has caused serious harm that will impact our city for years.' The Capital City Plaza ramp is located near the Alliance Bank Center, which Madison Equities continues to own but stopped maintaining last month. Without a property owner paying for maintenance, utilities and security, all tenants have relocated and the city has stepped in to cover essential services and keep its skyway open weekdays. Angie Wiese, director of the St. Paul Department of Safety and Inspections, said in the statement her department is working with 'impacted community groups to ensure our community remains safe and welcoming.' Madison Equities and its lender has also been ordered to get the parking ramp up to code, according to the city. St. Paul now oversees utilities, skyway access at Alliance Bank Center Cue the FalconCam: Downtown peregrine falcons are starting to lay eggs Downtown St. Paul: Alliance Bank Center now vacant Folk rock trio Mumford and Sons will play St. Paul's Xcel Energy Center in October Back-to-office order could be 'shot in the arm' for downtown St. Paul
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
St. Paul now oversees utilities, skyway access at Alliance Bank Center
Downtown St. Paul's largest property owner has abandoned the Alliance Bank Center, leaving basic management — from elevator and skyway access to security patrols — entirely to the city. In a written statement Wednesday, the St. Paul mayor's office and the city's Department of Safety and Inspections announced they are limiting but not closing skyway access through the now-vacant office building, a major skyway link that stretches from Wabasha Street, over Cedar Street and onto Minnesota Street. Interior skyway connections through the Osborn370 building and Treasure Island Center will remain open until 9 p.m. weekdays and be closed on weekends, as will access from the portions of an adjoining parking ramp operated by Interstate Parking. All other exterior connections to the Alliance Bank Center have been closed. Madison Equities, which has lost multiple downtown buildings to foreclosure, has stopped paying the utilities for the Alliance Bank Center, as well as maintenance and security. On March 10, the building's 14 remaining commercial tenants were alerted they had two days to move, though the mayor's office quickly negotiated with Xcel Energy and District Energy to keep electricity on through March 31. Under state statute, even unoccupied high-rise buildings must have functional utilities to maintain both fire suppression and fire alarm systems for the protection of first responders and neighboring properties, according to the mayor's office. Because Madison Equities is no longer the acting landlord, the city is now operating as an intermediary to ensure minimal compliance, while also assuming additional maintenance of escalators and elevators. The St. Paul Police and Fire departments will continue to patrol the Alliance Bank Center. In its written statement, the mayor's office said the decision to limit skyway access was made 'in collaboration with downtown stakeholders and business partners' and will allow the city to 'protect the integrity of the building until a future use has been determined.' Officials with the CapitolRiver Council, a downtown nonprofit, said Wednesday they've been informed the city will condemn the property. For now, Madison Equities still maintains property rights as the legal owner, and the Royal Credit Union still holds the bank note for the structure. Visitors and drivers with contract passes to the Alliance Bank Center ramp still have access from the Cedar Street entrance. The portion of ramp parking owned by Madison Equities is now cordoned off and closed to the public. Pedestrians looking to avoid the building may travel through Treasure Island Center, Securian Center, Town Square, and a short outdoor stretch between Treasure Island Center and the Lawson Building. Cue the FalconCam: Downtown peregrine falcons are starting to lay eggs Downtown St. Paul: Alliance Bank Center now vacant Folk rock trio Mumford and Sons will play St. Paul's Xcel Energy Center in October Back-to-office order could be 'shot in the arm' for downtown St. Paul St. Paul downtown: Lunds, Alliance Bank retailers close up shop
Axios
17-03-2025
- Business
- Axios
Detroit offers St. Paul a downtown turnaround blueprint
As downtown St. Paul's real estate scene grows bleaker by the week, Detroit's 15-year renaissance offers one example for how to end such a doom loop. Why it matters: The recent loss of 300-employee engineering firm TKDA, Dark Horse Bar & Eatery and, soon, downtown's only grocery store underscore a major problem, decades in the making, that can't be fixed easily or quickly. Bringing government workers back to the office more often could help. So could office-to-apartment conversions. But neither would move the needle in a major way, at least not without the massive subsidies required for apartment conversions. The intrigue: St. Paul developer Ari Parritz raised an idea in an interview with Axios, saying that the city is ripe for a billionaire large business owner to relocate employees to downtown and buy large chunks of real estate on the cheap. This is what Rocket Mortgage founder Dan Gilbert did in downtown Detroit, starting in 2010 when he moved thousands of employees to the struggling city. The city's resurgence is on display today as billions of dollars in development is under construction, headlined by a $1.4 billion, 681-foot mixed-use tower. Downtown's even got a Gucci store. Between the lines: For years, there's been hope that a big company would relocate its headquarters to St. Paul, but that never happened. The most recent opportunity was the 3M spinoff Solventum, but the new Fortune 500 company chose Eagan for its 1,000+ employee headquarters. Parritz's idea would be a bit different because it would be a company relocation and a long-term real estate play. Reality check: Downtown St. Paul is not nearly in as dire a position as Detroit was during the Great Recession, due mainly to an otherwise healthy regional economy. Yes, but: There's a stark reality for St. Paul: Many of the buildings are worth nothing, or next-to-nothing. Parritz says city leaders should be marketing this possibility to a Gilbert type, with the selling point being that they could buy so much real estate that they create their own ecosystem. How it worked: Gilbert's companies, as detailed in a 2024 Wall Street Journal story, bought more than 130 properties in downtown Detroit, using some for his new Rocket headquarters and converting others to apartments, hotels and retail. He hired guards and cameras to make his employees feel safe, the WSJ reported. Gilbert also bought nearby buildings to make sure they wouldn't be scooped by speculators or left to decay. Zoom in: Such a business titan would have an easy first play in St. Paul. Madison Equities put all 10 of its downtown properties up for sale nearly a year ago, and they total 1.6 million square feet, roughly a quarter of all multi-tenant office space downtown. Those buildings are more than half empty, and recently one of them, Alliance Bank Building, stopped paying its utilities and the city ordered all the tenants to leave. A memo by the fire department said that the bank that lent landlord Madison Equities money to buy the property doesn't want it. That bank, Royal Credit Union, said in an email that it's "reviewing all options." What they're saying: "While the city is interested in bringing a diverse set of investors to downtown, we are open to all possibilities," Mayor Melvin Carter's spokesperson Jennifer Lor said. The bottom line: The Dan Gilberts of this world are rare, but if there's another one out there, St. Paul would be a prime target.
