Frederick Melo

3 days ago | twincities.com | Frederick Melo

With a ceremonial toss of a shovel of dirt, St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter joined developers with the Ryan Cos. along Ford Parkway this week to break ground on a long-stalled, $68 million phase of construction within Highland Bridge, which will include the first retail additions since Lunds and Byerlys relocated a nearby store there in September 2022.

4 days ago | yahoo.com | Frederick Melo

Eager to give a young person a shot at his profession and bring in some badly-needed talent, Dave Abbott reached out last year to the Hubert H. Humphrey Job Corps Center in St. Paul in hopes of launching a “work-based learning” internship program. As a lead carpenter for a group of remodeling contractors, Abbott figured his company could help train three or four young corps members per year, and hopefully hire some on. A year of planning followed.

6 days ago | yahoo.com | Frederick Melo

Despite its well-documented challenges, some business advocates call reports of the fall of downtown St. Paul premature, if not entirely off base, given ongoing investment in office-to-residential building conversions, new eateries and other fresh offerings. Construction is underway on the Avalon, a new event hall within the long-dormant James J. Hill Center overlooking Rice Park. The former business research center, which opened in 1921, closed in 2019 amid growing maintenance needs.

1 week ago | yahoo.com | Frederick Melo

Citing concerns about “spot zoning,” the St. Paul Planning Commission has dealt a setback to a proposal to add more than 200 units of affordable, multi-family and artist housing at the Hamm’s Brewery campus in Dayton’s Bluff. The city has worked closely with developer JB Vang on efforts to install affordable apartments between Payne Avenue and Seventh Street, on five city-owned acres of the long-underutilized brewery.

1 week ago | twincities.com | Frederick Melo

A Ramsey County District Court judge on Friday will hear an unusual request from the Minnesota Attorney General’s office, which hopes to remove a recently-appointed trustee from the helm of one of the state’s oldest philanthropies, or at least slash her salary, impose training requirements and institute safeguards against future family appointments.