June 19, 2025
Melvin W. Carter, III, Mayor of The City of Saint Paul, tells me about his job,
“I work alongside department directors, city staff, community leaders and partners, and neighbors to make sure our city is a better place for all.”
Mayor Carter enthusiastically tells me what he loves about Downtown Saint Paul,
“I love that Downtown Saint Paul is full of energy and opportunity. I was out at a community event when a bus just drove by and the kids inside waved excitedly. I also recognized the bus driver and stepped in to say hello.
As my staff run into community partners over lunch, they’re coordinating meetings over the traffic. Like literally — my Press Secretary saw Joe Spencer (of the Saint Paul Downtown Alliance) across the street, waved, and said, ‘Answer my text, please!'”
“Our Downtown Saint Paul community is so deeply invested in one another and determined to write a new chapter. I have been incredibly lucky to work with the passionate partners and business leaders who are driving this change.”
Mayor Carter continues,
“People are voting with their feet for our Downtown. Our events and festivals have drawn the best attendance they’ve ever had*. This summer, food trucks roll into Rice Park every Wednesday and into Kellogg Park every Thursday. A lunchtime farmer’s market is open every Wednesday down at 7th Place Plaza.”
“Our residential buildings stand almost fully occupied, with a newly completed office-to-residential housing conversion at the Landmark Tower bringing in up to 400 new residents. The Stella, another conversion in the former Ecolab campus, and the Central Station Block development move closer to the goal of bringing 20,000 new residents to Downtown Saint Paul. Union Depot is fully leased. And more than a dozen businesses have opened or reopened in the last year. Downtown Saint Paul can only get better if, with our partners, we build the infrastructure to sustain the activities we want to see.”
*Storyteller's note: I am happy to confirm this - I have been at two Downtown events this June and I've been blown away by the attendance, energy and community.
Mayor Carter looks ahead, "The future of Downtown Saint Paul is taking shape right now. We’re bringing to life a revitalization plan that prioritizes a vibrant, 24/7 cultural and social hub with more housing at all affordability levels available, people-powered businesses, festivals, arts, parks, and public transit."
“My role as Mayor goes beyond simply advocating and aligning resources. We’re working together with our business owners, community partners, and residents to make Downtown a place of choice, and not a place of obligation. I want people to feel confident that when they come Downtown, they’re going to love it – that they’ll feel welcomed, inspired, and part of something bigger.”
“Downtown Saint Paul is a place with wonder and surprise – somewhere you go and don't realize how much fun you’ve had until you’re smiling on the way home.”
To my newest BAT question, inspired by Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark - What can you so in your corner of the world to make things better for someone else? Mayor Carter says simply,
“Show up. Just show up for each other. The feeling of being unseen and uncared for is driving our communities to extremes and further away from each other. The most important thing I can do – and encourage people to do – is to show up, listen, and care for one another.”
Mayor Carter has these final, important words, “None of this works unless everyone knows Downtown belongs to them. It’s yours whether you’re a lifelong resident or a first-time visitor. It’s a place to be seen, to connect, to dream. Let’s build that kind of Downtown together.”
