Edward Lotterman

It’s budget time in the Twin Cities.

Mayors of both St. Paul and Minneapolis have released their plans for the coming year. Both contain substantial increases in both spending and the amounts levied in property taxes. These increases were not unexpected in either city.

St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter continues to emphasize housing affordability and wants to correct past mistakes in that area.

Minneapolis, under Mayor Jacob Frey, faces a barrage of upcoming spending increases. These include a 30% increase for public employees over three years, and a 21.7% increase for police. Next are costs of complying with two settlement agreements. The first with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights over past discriminatory practices. The second, still pending, will address U.S. Justice Department’s mandates from its investigation of policing that grew out of the 2020 police murder of George Floyd. Also, 2024 was the last with federal Covid-relief funds.

There isn’t much economic theory in all this, but there are a lot of important institutional details of government finance. Both cities have websites with much information. This often requires heavy plowing, but residents can learn a lot.

Start with one interesting difference: Proposed spending for Minneapolis, population 425,000, is $1.8 billion. That for St. Paul, population 304,000, is $885 million. That mean per capita outlays for Minneapolis of about $4,400 while that in St. Paul is roughly $2,800. This is not an apples-to-apples comparison since the cities differ in what is and isn’t included in different funds. It does not mean that one is wasteful nor the second prudent. Rather, it shows how two apparently similar cities may have quite different economies, populations, institutions and infrastructures. City-to-city or city-to-national average comparisons can be useful, but can also be misleading if taken out of context.

Secondly, contrary to the assumptions of most homeowners, property taxes fund less than half of a city’s budget. News stories for St. Paul noted a 7.9% increase in the tax levy right after the $885 million total spending level. But these are two different things. Yet total spending is only up 1.8% from $840 million in 2024. How can this be? Well, property taxes only provide $225 million, or 30%, of St. Paul’s total. That is across all real property classes, including commercial and industrial property, downtown office and residential towers, retail storefronts and so forth.

Housing includes rental as well as owner-occupied properties. So homeowners don’t bear the entire budgetary world on their shoulders. The added St. Paul tax on a median $290,000 home will be $132 for a year.

Where does the rest of the money come from if not the taxes most of us know? St. Paul gets $273 million in “sales, fees and services,” but only $52 million of that goes into the $394 million general fund. There are $29 million in “franchise fees” paid by utilities, electricity, gas and telecommunications, serving the city. Go to the budget website for more detail.

Also understand that a city gets only part of the total property tax bill sent to owners. The county and school district also have large shares. For a typical St. Paul property, about a third goes to the city, another third to St. Paul Public Schools and 28% to Ramsey County. The rest is to special taxing districts for wastewater, transit, mosquito control, watersheds, “lake improvement” and so on. A fraction of 1% goes to a regional rail transit authority.

If only a quarter of outlays come from real estate taxes, does that mean residents are not affected by other revenue sources? And who bears the burden of taxes on rental housing, shops and offices for corporations down to sole-proprietor dentists, lawyers and accountants?

This raises the issue of “tax incidence” — the question of who actually bears the burden of a tax versus who writes out the check to pay them.

Well, start with the franchise fees paid by utilities. Nearly all get passed to consumers — but in proportion to usage of these services rather values of the property where used.

Then take rental housing. Most of the property tax falls on tenants, although not all. The old saw that “Democrats love affordable housing but hate landlords,” has validity. When rental housing is taxed heavily, the burden of the tax as a proportion of household income can be higher for renters than for owners even though renters write no check for these taxes.

Also note that property taxes are tied to the value of a property and not equity in it. A young family just into a starter home probably will pay a higher proportion of income for taxes than an established household with two mid-career earners.

That reverses for many retirees. Elderly people may have bought a house 50 years ago at a sharply lower price than now, even adjusted for general inflation. The house may be long paid off. Thus Social Security and modest savings may cover their food, clothing, utilities and transportation. But if a $30,000 house in 1970 is a $500,000 house now, their tax bill will be enormous relative to income.

However, rental markets don’t stop at city limits. If taxes on apartment buildings in St. Paul are at a higher rate than in suburban Vadnais Heights, for example, the effect may be to lower the values of the property in the center city since rents cannot be relatively higher in that in the suburb.

The reverse can be true for subsidies to housing in a city, whether through direct aid to renters or exemptions from taxes through tax increment financing. Instead of subsidies fostering a net increase in housing built, the effect simply may boost prices for developable land.

St. Paul already tried shotgun-approach rent controls that capped annual rent increases at 3%. Leaders are now backpedaling furiously from that. But it is not clear that the city council or the mayor fully understand the dilemmas they face. The housing stock in a built-up central city like St. Paul is not set in stone, but nearly so. If you want to help poor renters by capping rent increases, then new construction or rehabilitation slows. If you give financial aid to poor renters, but fund that with increased property taxes, rents either increase to bear the extra taxes or profitability to landlords fall. That too inhibits new development. The net improvement in overall rental availability and affordability is less than hoped for.

Another issue not fully appreciated either by  residents, homeowners or voters, is the basic structure of city outlays. About 30% of St. Paul’s general fund spending goes for the police alone. The forces for both cities are short of officers. In St. Paul, about 20% funds the fire department which includes EMT services. Then you have parks and recreation at about 12% and public works at 11%. So everything else must share 25% of the budget.

With concern about crime, people don’t want reduced policing. They don’t want poorer parks or reduced recreation nor poorer streets. So an “anyone could cut 10% across the board” view is out of touch with reality.

Inadequate public works cause outrage. Yet there is not great waste. One cannot reduce spending without cutting services like snow plowing or spring pothole filling. Also note that these two items can vary greatly with weather. Obviously, plowing varies with snowfalls, but the same annual total in severe, city-paralyzing mega-storms that force huge overtime bills can cost more than the same amount in a series of normal ones. Even differences in temperature varying the number of freeze-thaw cycles can have large effects on street repairs.

Much more could be said. Much information can be obtained by delving into budget documents themselves, from an eight-page summary to the 376-page budget itself. Households and businesses still may be outraged when they get property tax statements, but better understanding of the budget helps public discussion of issues.

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St. Paul economist and writer Edward Lotterman can be reached at stpaul@edlotterman.com.

Then & Now

GRANDMA PAT, “formerly of rural Roberts, Wisconsin, now of St. Paul”: “I recently opened a box from my closet labeled ‘WWII Washington, D.C.’ My father had been transferred to D.C. by this newspaper to take charge of the Washington Bureau. The younger men who had been there previously had been drafted.

“In the box were ration books for all four of our family members, as well as I.D. cards for admission to the House and Senate. One of these was signed by U.S. Senator (from Minnesota) Joseph Ball. (Bulletin Board interjects: And not just a senator, but also a columnist for your beloved St. Paul Pioneer Press!)

“There were Civil Defense volunteers in our Maryland neighborhood, who patrolled the area during air-raid drills whenever the sirens sounded. If they detected even a bit of light showing at a window, or saw a person out walking with a burning cigarette, they would reprimand them.

“Meat, sugar, gasoline — so many things were rationed; other items were just in short supply. Coffee was supplanted by chicory; rice was used when potatoes were scarce; simple things like safety pins, needles and elastic were hard to find.

“One summer we went to Bethany Beach, Delaware, for vacation. We could walk on the sand, but not on the boardwalks. The boardwalks were patrolled by Navy and Coast Guard men and their German shepherds. It was feared that Nazi ‘frogmen’ would come via submarines and engage in spying or sabotage. Quite often we had young men from Minnesota at our home for a nice meal before they shipped out for Europe.

“There were war-effort posters everywhere: on street corners, in store windows, on buses. They showed Uncle Sam, Rosie the Riveter and slogans like ‘Loose Lips Sink Ships.’

“We heard the voices of Hitler and Mussolini on the radio, and saw them in newsreels at the movie theater. Time, Look and Life magazines provided dramatic photos. During those years, Russia and China were our friends, and Germany, Italy and Japan our enemies. So much change.”

The Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon

From BOB WOOLLEY: “Yesterday my girlfriend and I were doing a crossword puzzle. One of the clues we had trouble with was ‘They may be lifesavers.’ We finally deduced that the answer had to be ‘Mae Wests,’ though why was a bit of a mystery. We guessed that older life vests gave the wearer a buxom appearance, and so acquired that nickname. A Google search confirmed that theory.

“After she went home, I looked through my Amazon Video queue to find something to watch. I settled on a weird 1980 movie called ‘The Final Countdown,’ with Martin Sheen and Kirk Douglas. The improbable plot has a modern aircraft carrier encounter a mysterious anomaly west of Hawaii, which sweeps it back in time to mere hours before the Pearl Harbor attack of 1941.

“In one scene, one of the carrier-based pilots is surveying the wreckage of a blown-up yacht. The carrier’s commander asks the pilot whether he sees any survivors. He replies: ‘Affirmative. One, two, three Mae Wests!’

“(Photo of my TV included for proof.)

“This is one of the purest Baader-Meinhofs I’ve ever experienced. It was obscure in its content, completely random, and occurred within the span of less than two hours.”

In memoriam

ZOO LOU of St. Paul: “Subject: The Baritone Mayor.

“Here is a mid-’70s picture I took of the late former Mayor George Latimer while I was working as an information specialist for the City of St. Paul. The photo was taken at the home of the late Max Metzger, who conducted many band concerts at the Como Lakeside Pavilion. I couldn’t find the name of the young singer, but I believe he was going to be featured in a local opera production. As I recall, the Mayor had a pretty decent baritone voice and really enjoyed his duet with this budding Pavarotti.”

Come again? Or: Life in the Service Economy

THE DORYMAN of Prescott, Wis.: “Subject: ‘WHAT?’ could be easier?

“I suffer from advanced hearing loss, due to tinnitus. Readers, nothing helps; please do not respond with solutions; I have heard them all. (Notice what I did there?)

“Because I hate to ask clerks and wait staff to repeat themselves, I try to avoid any questions they may have by providing all the necessary extraneous information.

“I won’t name my favorite bagel supplier, which I visit bimonthly. However, hearing-impaired people with tinnitus might easily mistake it as ‘Boogers.’ I have an ongoing, fairly civil, yet rather dysfunctional, relationship with one of the order takers there. Let me explain in excruciating detail a recent exchange:

“Me: ‘As you know, I have difficulty hearing, and the loud exhaust fan doesn’t help, so I’d like to describe my order without interruption — to avoid you having to repeat questions I might not be able to understand. I’d like . . .’

“Cashier: ‘Well, I’ll have to ask you SOME questions.’

“Me: ‘What?’

“Cashier: ‘I will have to ask you SOME questions.’

“Me: ‘OK, but let’s just try to avoid most of them, to make it easier. I would like to order a baker’s dozen, plain, without cream cheese, sliced . . . and then six raisin cinnamon, sliced as well.’

“Cashier: ‘Do you want all of them plain?’

“Me: ‘What?’

“Cashier: ‘Do you want all of the baker’s dozen plain?’

“Me, unable to resist saying: ‘Yes, that’s what I said.’

“(Things began to get a little icier.)

“Cashier: ‘Do you want all of them sliced?’

“Me: ‘What?’

“Cashier: ‘Do you want all of the dozen sliced?’

“Me, able to resist saying ‘No, only slice every third one’): ‘Yes, please.’

“Cashier: ‘Do you want cream cheese?’

“Me: ‘What?’

“Cashier: ‘Do you want cream cheese?’

“Me: ‘I said no cream cheese.’

“Cashier: ‘I mean on the cinnamon raisin.’

“Me: ‘What?’

“Aren’t you glad you weren’t behind me in line? Booger’s is still my favorite bagel place.”

Modern romance (with bikes) (encore)

BICYCLE BABE of the Midway reports: “September 18, 2024, will mark 25 years to the day since Bikeman Mike and I tied the knot. A lot has happened in those 25 years, but one thing remains the same: We are every bit as in love now as then maybe even more now because of our shared history. We have both retired from our engineering careers, launched two businesses, and have pedaled many miles together. My sainted spouse still brings me breakfast in bed every morning! We still love bicycles as much as ever. As for our wedding gift to each other, the tandem, which was hand-built by a local frame builder, we have likely put at least 10,000miles on it, it still runs as well as ever, and we still keep it parked in our living room. Some things never change.

“In case you don’t have it available, here’s the text of the original Bulletin Board submission for September 18, 1999:

Modern romance (with bikes): Writes BICYCLE BABE of the Midway: “Four years ago I in late spring, a lonely single dad arrived home from work and was met by his teen-age daughter, who handed him a newspaper and said: ‘Dad, it’s time.’ The man looked down at the personal-ads page from the SPPP and saw several items circled under the ‘Women Seeking Men’ category. The ad that caught his eye read: ‘TRAM in training. . .’ It took him a week to get up courage to call. When he heard the voice introduction, he discovered that he had much in common with the lady, so he left a voice-mail message and crossed his fingers. The lady called, and they made a date. He knew it was true love when he saw a bicycle parked in her living room instead of a couch! [Bulletin Board notes: All of his previous lady friends, apparently, had parked their bicycles in their couches.] They became the best of friends and today will be married.

“That lady is me! I won the heart of the most wonderful man on Earth! Mike the bike man and I have shared many smiles over the many miles (including five TRAMs) we have traveled on our bicycles — several thousand miles, at least. We bought a tandem as our wedding gift and will take it on our honeymoon to Vermont. This bicycle trip has been my dream vacation for almost 20 years!

“It just goes to show that dreams do come true, and that it pays to advertise in the SPPP!”

Till death us do part

An item in the Permanent Spousal Record of RUSTY of St. Paul: “Subject: True Love and Clean Plastic.

“This afternoon I repotted a plant on our deck table. I put a sheet of plastic on the table top to catch the wet potting mix. Once done, I hung this sheet up below the deck to hose the dirt off so I could recycle it.

“I did not notice that my wife had hung her newly washed clothes over the deck railing above my plastic to dry on this beautiful summer day.

“I started spraying and heard a ‘HALT!’ order from above.

“This was she telling me I was spraying dirty water up on her newly washed blouse.

“She is Irish American, and just a handful of times in our long years of marriage have I experienced the brunt of her ‘getting her Irish up.’

“Bracing for this possibility, I gave her my best smiley face and said: ‘Well, the good news is the plastic sheet is nice and clean.’

“She screwed up her pretty Irish American face and laughed.

“All was good! And I felt so keen on being married to her.

“This upcoming September 8th, we will have been married 40 years. Add to this the four years of dating prior, and we’re up to 44.

“I am one lucky man.

“Love you, Sweetie!”

The highfalutin pleasures

ELVIS: “Subject: Zoom mess-ups.

“ELVIS was on a large national Zoom call of 20,000 people or so. He enjoys causing trouble with a group of older citizen activists called Third Act (thirdact.org).

“One of the guests on the Zoom was former Secretary of State John Kerry. As he started to talk, like someone on almost every Zoom does, he forgot to take himself off of mute. Elvis could see him talking, but could not hear him. And just like most Zoom calls, someone had to start saying ‘John, you are still on mute! We can’t hear you! You’re on mute, John!’ Finally he figured it out, and had to start over.

“It was a nice humbling moment, to see a famous person screw up just like ELVIS does!”

BULLETIN BOARD SAYS: As with most allegedly “humbling” moments (e.g., celebrities being “humbled” as they are honored), we are baffled here. How is it “humbling” to see a famous person screw up?

Humbling for Kerry, maybe (though that is hard to imagine).

BAND NAME OF THE DAY: Clean Plastic

Your stories are welcome. The address is BB.onward@gmail.com.

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A Finnish Blood Witch. A Hmong-American boy searching for his identity. An angry farmer contributing to generations of abuse. These three novels by Minnesotans offer a wide variety of emotions for readers.

“The Reaping”: by Jess Lourey (Thomas & Mercer, $16.99)

‘Because the veri noita was so powerful, they had to bind her hands and feet in her grave and balance a scythe over her neck so she’d be killed over again if she came back to life.’ His voice dropped. ‘With the veri noita defeated, the disloyal villagers next turned to the original seven families, the veri noita’s truest followers.’ He began breathing heavily. ‘They murdered all their children, every last one of them, in an event that came to be known as the reaping.’ — from “The Reaping”

(Courtesy of the author)

When we interviewed Jess Lourey last fall about “The Taken Ones,” first in her series featuring Harry Steinbeck and Evangeline Reed, she teased that she would write “a creepy new villain, a Finnish Blood Witch,” in her next novel.

She kept her promise. The Witch is in “The Reaping” and she kills children, or so the kids in the Minnesota town of Alku are told by their pastor. The youngsters know that Alku is family, and you always protect family, no matter what happens.

Harry Steinbeck, a forensic scientist who’s careful and methodical, and rogue Bureau of Criminal Apprehension agent Evangeline Reed, messy, intuitive and willing to skirt the law to get information, are opposites in every way. As Steinbeck muses, they are like “orange juice and toothpaste.” But they have growing respect for one another as they investigate the cold case of a family of five brutally murdered in their home in Alku in 1998. Not only were the mother, father and three children killed, their heads were crushed after death.

The story is told from the viewpoints of Reed, Steinbeck and Rannie, a mentally challenged young man whose mother is one of the town leaders. Rannie will do anything to protect his siblings.

Reed and Steinbeck learn the town was founded by seven families from Finland, some of them doctors, who fled their native country to escape tuberculosis. Because of the way TB acts on the body, their neighbors in the old country thought they were vampires. Alku is now an insular town, not even shown on Minnesota maps, run by descendants of the original Seven. No one else can live in the town near Duluth.

Jess Lourey (Courtesy of the author)

Reed and Steinbeck think the place is weird and creepy as soon as they arrive. The residents have very high foreheads and long necks, and they walk oddly. It’s a town that gives off bad vibes, especially on the outskirts where there is a prison for aged serial killers who need nursing care. An older building, with turrets and old-fashioned architecture, is now a school.

As the partners dig deeper into the town’s history, a prison guard is killed in exactly the same way the family was murdered 25 years earlier. Is this a copycat? Why is there a straw image of the Blood Witch at the door of the church? Why do adults sometimes gather in a forest clearing wearing animal masks?

Throughout the story, Steinbeck is afraid of returning to Duluth, believing he was responsible for the disappearance of his sister years earlier. He’s stunned to learn that his controlling mother, who seemed to hate his missing sister, is now taking foster kids into her lakeside mansion.

What Lourey does so well is blend police procedural with horror vibes that hark back to long-ago beliefs in blood sacrifice.

It’s not a spoiler to reveal that the end assures us there will be a third book in this series. For now you will want to learn more about the Finnish Blood Witch.

Lourey will host a launch party at 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 7, at Once Upon a Crime, 604 W. 26th St., Mpls., joined by fellow mystery writers Kristi Belcamino, Wendy Webb and Joshua Moehling. She will sign books at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 4, at Magers & Quinn, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S., Mpls.; 11 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 5, Comma, a bookstore, 4250 Upton Ave. S., Mpls., with Sarah Stonich, Catriona McPherson, Belcamino and Moehling; 1-4 p.m. Sept. 5, Open Book, Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport, Terminal 1, with Webb, Stonich, McPherson, Moehling and Belcamino, and 2-3:30 p.m. Sept. 21, Hudson Public Library, Hudson, Wis.

Kao Kalia Yang (Courtesy of the author)

“The Diamond Explorer”: by Kao Kalia Yang (Dutton, $17.99)

They had questions. They wanted to know if Hmong is the same as Black. Phong didn’t think so because he, at six, was already beginning to learn about racism and whiteness. Lee was five and less certain. He thought that Hmong was Black because Hmong was not white. I tried to explain that we were Asian and that their father was white. But then they both ended on a singe question: “Can the police kill us or not?’” — from “The Diamond Explorer”

Kao Kalia Yang, one of Minnesota’s most versatile and award-winning authors, has written adult fiction (“The Late Homecomer,” “The Song Poet”) and children’s picture books (“From the Tops of the Trees,” “The Most Beautiful Thing” and others). She’s making her middle-grade debut with “The Diamond Explorer,” abut a boy making his way in the evolving Hmong-American culture.

qIn the first part of the novel Malcolm is seen through the eyes of racist teachers (“You have a very slow kid…”), his parents and siblings. As a little boy he loves living in a house on the prairie cared for by his father, who carefully mows paths in the grass so Malcolm can always find his way back to the house. The book’s title comes from a time he dug among little stones to bring up a piece of red plastic, saying it was a jewel. These scenes are filled with the love Malcolm’s father has for his son.

(Courtesy of Dutton Books for Young Readers)

When Malcolm feels out of place at his school, his parents regretfully agree he should live with his older sister and her husband so he can attend a private school. But then he’s accused of being “too white.” At home he witnesses a shaman’s ceremony to call back the spirit of another sister who returned from college in New York with something missing in her. And Malcolm is worried about his adored older brother, who dropped out of school and is getting into trouble

Malcolm and his cousins have their first experience contemplating death and racism when they learn of the (real-life) death of Philando Castile, an African-American man fatally shot by a police officer in Falcon Heights in 2016.

The book’s second half is a dream journey where Malcolm meets his deceased grandmother and other relatives living in their ancestral homes. They urge him to “go back” but he refuses until he wakes to a shaman’s healing. He returns from his mystical experience with a new love for his people’s stories.

Yang, who was born in a refugee camp in Thailand, grounds every word of this story in her culture, from funeral feasts to times when her people lived in the mountains of Laos.

No matter what character is speaking, the author’s prose shines in the lyrical style we expect from her. The novel, due out Sept. 17, earned early praise from Kirkus Reviews and Publishers Weekly. Kirkus: “Yang has crafted a layered, profoundly moving musing on grief, connection (and lack thereof), and identity..” PW: “(A) richly wrought tale…”

(Courtesy of the author)

“The Storms of Eddie Greer”: by Mary Perrine (Water’s Edge Publishing, $19.99)

So Eddie gave it all up: the likelihood of a full scholarship and the dream of playing in the majors. In his heart he ended up exactly as the community saw all Greer men: losers, misogynistic, disgruntled farmers, and carbon copies of the head of each generation. And while most of that rang true, Eddie knew the one thing he was not was misogynistic. He hated everyone equally. That was another thing he had learned from the old bastard. — from “The Storms of Eddie Greer”

Eddie Greer inherited his cruelty and alcoholism from males in the family going back generations.

Mary Perrine, former schoolteacher who lives in Cologne, Minn., published this novel last year and is doing appearances this summer. She tells the story of Eddie, an alcoholic and abuser. He knows folks in his town of Holland Crossing expected him to make something of himself. But Eddie had to give up his dreams and take over the farm after his father died. Eddie was a victim of his father’s wrath, physical and verbal abuse that included assault with a baseball bat and shooting the boy’s dog. Some of these passages are difficult to read but they show the results of inherited trauma.

Mary Perrine (Courtesy of the author)

As Eddie stepped into his role as a farmer, he also became a father at age 18. In his immediate family he hates his grandson, his daughter and his wife, Jules, who cannot give him the son he badly wants.

When Eddie’s grandson dies after being struck by lightning in the hayfield because Eddie wouldn’t let the young man stop working, Eddie finally confronts his emotions. Jules, his wife of more than 40 years, is the first Greer woman to stand up to her husband and leave. After that, Eddie takes to sitting in a lawn chair at the edge of the field where his grandson died, contemplating his life. He’s accompanied by his dog, the only creature who seems to love him.

Perrine balances alcoholic rages with the barely-alive love of Eddie for his wife as he struggles to become a new man and break the chain of violence he inherited.

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The Midway Chamber of Commerce aims to “build a stronger Midway” in the work we do and support. And from our offices at the corner of Snelling and University in St. Paul, in the famous green-tiled Spruce Tree Centre, we have a birds-eye view of our community.

Across the street, work is underway to install a 33-foot-tall, 88-foot-wide loon sculpture — “The Calling,” created by renowned international artist Andy Scott. The piece is impressive in every way, in stature, in materials, in significance, and yes, in location — the corner of University and Snelling anchoring the corner of the United Village Development and in many ways the gateway to the Midway. In June, PK’s place, a state-of-the-art universally accessible play area, was opened to the public. Also in June, music lovers enjoyed the two-day Breakaway Festival. All of this is happening just outside the acclaimed Allianz Field, which routinely hosts sellouts for the Minnesota United FC and in May welcomed the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team to its pitch.

On a daily basis when I leave my office, I can see signs of progress that are palpable and tangible. There are trucks, fences, equipment and workers. Looking past the construction activity, you can see people enjoying the stadium and new playground.

While all this is happening now, there is even more expected next year. The plans for a hotel parking ramp, office building, restaurant pavilion and the public infrastructure to support it have all been approved.

There is no adequate way to convey the excitement, hope and opportunity this all represents. Facilities and features that will transform this prominent intersection, attract and welcome visitors to the Midway. Commerce and hospitality will help connect the development to the surrounding neighborhoods, elevating the Midway as a great place to live, work and play. Business and employment opportunities will soon become available as these plans move from the drawing board to reality.

Oftentimes, we have heard people groan about the slow pace in which this work occurred. Do we all wish the site had been developed sooner? Of course. But a pandemic and other factors delayed progress (anyone who follows developments or even store openings knows of the number of delays a project can incur). Will the final project have exactly what every member of the community wants? We know that’s impossible, but the development team has listened to the concerns of the neighborhood and in my opinion found uses that can be enjoyed by neighbors and visitors alike.

As someone who has been around this neighborhood since the 1990s, I can say large portions of this property sat under-utilized as we all wondered what would happen with the “bus barn site.” Now that construction is underway, I’m calling for an end to that tired backward storyline. The construction for the United Village site is happening. Public spaces are opening this year. The first vertical construction is set to follow next year.

This is not a vision or proposal. This is happening. It is happening now.

Another important story is that of investment. Led by Dr. Bill McGuire, a group of largely local investors is infusing over $200 million of private capital to bring these projects to reality. This infusion, combined with the construction of Allianz, represents over a half a billion dollars of state-of-the-art facilities for the Midway. The scale of these investments is beyond the level that communities position themselves against other markets to attract and support. This investment is coming to the Midway.

Another important story is that of location. The United Village site has been historically blighted. It also was the center of civil unrest and major damage in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd. It is industrially polluted and requires remediation. It sits prominently on a primary gateway to the Minnesota State Fair and on the Green Line LRT “mid-way” between the two downtowns. The location for this development is one that communities prioritize for revitalization, believing that success will have a catalytic impact beyond its immediate boundaries. The location for this development is the Midway.

Another important story is that of community. The United Village site sits on the border of the Hamline/Midway and Union Park neighborhoods. It is in the heart of the Midway commercial corridor, and many of the businesses are members of the organization that I have the privilege of leading. The community has high ambition and expectation for what this means to them. Although the overwhelming majority of investment has come from Dr. McGuire and the private sector, the community is committed as a stakeholder.

There is excitement about how the vitality generated will cascade down Snelling and University.

Occasionally, I get asked about what the future of the Midway will look like. Our neighborhood is always changing. In the nine years I have been at the Midway Chamber, we went from the new Green Line to the A-Line Bus Rapid Transit, Allianz Field, as well as several developments along and near University Avenue.

The future of the Midway is taking shape right before our eyes, and what we are seeing is so encouraging. The projects to date have been of the highest quality and represent great urban design. As a stakeholder and steward of the Midway, I have every reason to believe this progress will continue, and that what follows will be equally great. Join me in embracing both what is possible and what is actually happening right now. It is truly outstanding. The Midway deserves and will embrace this generational opportunity as we all make our community stronger.

Chad Kulas is executive director of the Midway Chamber of Commerce.

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