On Saint Paul: The Skyways

It’s a big day today in Saint Paul: Kaohly Her was just inaugurated as the City of Saint Paul’s 56th Mayor. With a new mayor comes new opportunities and new energies. Much gratitude is given to Melvin Carter for the work he did steering the city through multiple once-in-a-lifetime crises, and the grace with which he leaves the office in the city he did so much for.

But it is a time for newness. Late last month, resident representatives on various downtown boards and committees sent an email to many downtown Saint Paul residents asking two questions: What attracted you to downtown Saint Paul? And what one thing would you change?

I answered honestly. I am publishing the answer here because ideas raised in private emails and neighborhood social media threads have a way of disappearing into polite acknowledgement. But with a new mayor taking office today and the beginning of a new year, these ideas deserve a broader hearing.

A word on where I am coming from, if you didn’t know. I did not move to Minnesota to reform or otherwise advocate for downtown Saint Paul. In 2022, I was recruited by a nonprofit organization in Minneapolis. The move was unexpected: I was content in Phoenix. But once I was coming, where to live here was a deliberate choice. I chose downtown Saint Paul over more convenient options. I have a home here. My bet is placed. I am starting to become engaged in Saint Paul’s civic fabric, now serving on the board of directors for Public Art Saint Paul.

I also bring experience from somewhere else. Prior to moving to Minnesota, for sixteen years I lived in downtown Phoenix and served in neighborhood leadership, arts advocacy, and economic development roles and functions. I watched Phoenix make bold bets on its downtown’s future–the opening of an Arizona State University downtown campus in 2006 and light rail’s arrival in 2008–and saw these bets pay off through economic cycles, a global pandemic, and the shift to hybrid work. I know what urban transformation looks like because I lived through one, not to mention helped shape it.

This experience in Phoenix shapes how I see downtown Saint Paul. In my brief time here, I have observed a downtown focused on incrementalism, producing downtown’s current condition. Being cautious has had its turn. I am not going to pretend I do not see what I see.

Here is what I told them (edited for clarity and context):

Downtown Saint Paul in 2026 reminds me of downtown Phoenix of 2006. The foundation is in place, but it is waiting for a spark.

The one thing I would change is the conversation about downtown’s skyway system. I hear from neighbors in my building how great the system was in its heyday. In community conversations about nearby redevelopment, skyway access dominates over other concerns. Frankly, we are deceiving ourselves if we think downtown has enough vitality to support both street-level activation and a vibrant skyway system. The Alliance Bank Center closure severed Lowertown from RiverCentre and the Ordway; one closed building or afterhours lockout can render the entire network meaningless.

This ties into the residential conversion push: if we fill vacant commercial towers with apartments, condominium units, and lofts, we have not saved the skyways. We have converted them into hallways between residential blocks. The skyways were built to connect offices, retail, civic, and residential functions. Without that commercial infrastructure, the system loses its purpose and downtown loses its comparative advantage.

My hope is that with a new mayor and a new year, we can reverse the trends and rewrite downtown Saint Paul’s story. But it is going to take bold approaches, abandoning incremental thinking, and challenging established notions to get us there—and the willingness to pivot quickly.

Even if the metrics support some good news, the comparison is not between downtown Saint Paul in 2026 and downtown Saint Paul in 2020 and 2021. Are we better than we were? Probably, but marginally.

Are we where we need to be? Absolutely not.

Disclaimer: I serve on my building’s HOA board and on the board of directors for Public Art Saint Paul. The views expressed here are my own.