Often these reports are so comprehensive and agreeable that they become practically meaningless. Not this time.

First off, the study is thorough. Led by James Lima Planning + Development (from New York City) and local firm NEOO Partners, the consultants did their homework, with surveys, data, and interviews to back up their conclusions. 

Critically, they narrowed down its recommendations into clear priorities, choosing specific streets and parcels that most need government intervention. Often these kinds of reports try to be everything to everyone, ending up so comprehensive and agreeable that they become practically meaningless. Here, the authors made difficult choices and gave the resulting study enough focus to have purchase.

The free summer concerts take place Thursdays at Mears Park. This summer’s lineup returns to 12 concerts for the first time since 2019.

Guests are welcome to bring blankets and chairs and enjoy food and drink from a rotating mix of food trucks and local craft beverage-makers, including Pryes Brewing Co., Utepils Brewing, Wabasha Brewing Co., Alexis Bailly Vineyard, Brick Oven Bus, Hometown Creamery, Montebello Empanadas, Que Tal Street Eats, Rita’s Italian Ice and Sambusa Express.

The 1.66-acre site has the potential for 578,000 square feet of buildable space, including air rights above the train track.

The city and Met Council, the metro’s regional planning agency, solicited recommendations, or “letters of interest,” from developers in January, and they’re now moving on to a formal RFP for a high-density, mixed-use development that would increase public transit ridership and add vitality downtown. The 1.66-acre site hosts a vertical circulation tower from the light rail train platform to a skyway bridge.

“Part of the reason we did a request for letters of interest was to see if it would adjust what we were looking for in a request for proposals. It didn’t. We’re still looking for high density, street level activation. There aren’t many prime development sites in the middle of a downtown center like this. It’s literally the central station for St. Paul.”

There's a new Slice in town as Adam Kado and Hosie Thurmond have opened their latest pizza venture in downtown Saint Paul's Treasure Island Center (400 N. Wabasha St.). Slice Watch Bar is the duo's fifth location, featuring plenty of TVs for fans to catch games, and a patio for when the weather decides to cooperate.

The menu has expanded, too, and includes wings, kale Caesar salads, pizza pockets and more, as well as beer and wine. Open daily from 11 a.m. to midnight, the new restaurant adds to the city's late-night food offerings.

Access to the recently refurbished “Lowertown Skyrec” is a free perk to tenants of the neighboring Galtier Towers Apartments, Mears Park Place, the Historic Lowertown Lofts, the newly acquired Cosmopolitan Apartments and the Kellogg Square building a few blocks away.

The dumbbells and weight machines have been cleared out, but the former YMCA’s swimming pool, walking track, two full basketball courts, five pickleball courts and men’s and women’s locker room saunas reopened on three levels last November as a private facility available exclusively to the 1,500 tenants of the downtown Bigos properties.

With the supportive but commanding air of a high school coach, Johnny Griffin stood in front of a cadre of 10 downtown beautification workers and gave them their marching orders. On Wednesday morning, the mission was to salt sidewalks and shovel out curbs by bus stops. The crew — nine men and a woman — soon split into two groups to fan out from Listening House, a drop-in day shelter that relocated last November to refurbished digs in downtown Saint Paul, at the former home of Red’s Savoy Pizza.