Revitalizing St. Cloud Downtown “Top Priority”, Task Force Announced at Summit Monday Night

(KNSI) — St. Cloud says revitalizing the downtown will be its top priority and announced the start of a task force during a summit with stakeholders on Monday night.

St. Cloud’s downtown district extends from Highway 10 to the east, Cooper Avenue to the West, CentraCare Hospital to the North, and University Avenue to the South.

Urban Strategist Christopher Leinberger and American Enterprise Institute’s Housing Center Assistant Director Tobias Peter gave a presentation at the summit, saying St. Cloud needs to develop downtown walkability and attract more market-rate housing. They say the city must change its focus from getting jobs downtown to getting people to live downtown. The two said that the nation’s economy has moved from an industrial to a knowledge and experience-based society, and people in the new world want a blend of urban and suburban living, something St. Cloud doesn’t offer.

The two say St. Cloud’s strengths include:

Affordable housing.
St. Cloud State University.
CentraCare Hospital.
Being a county seat.
The new children’s museum.

St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis says the pandemic has given the community an opportunity for a reboot. He says the task force will help drive what will become of downtown over the next five years. “We want to take a vision forward that’s been developed over the years. A lot of grassroots planning comes from the bottom up. And so, we want to define that, refine it, [and are] putting together a task force of leaders that are really invested.”

He says the redevelopment will have to be a partnership with the private sector for its long-term success to make the vision come to life.

Ray Herrington is the owner of 7-West TapHouse, Pioneer Place on Fifth, Boulder Tap House and the company he works with has a stake in the Olde Brick House and Grizzlies restaurant — all in St. Cloud. He says everyone has to understand the importance of downtown. “I think we all need to realize whether we’re in business downtown or just walk downtown, to succeed at all, we have to put some effort into making sure that downtown is a vital part of the city.”

Herrington says no one can rebuild downtown alone.

“It’ll take all of us to move forward. And that doesn’t mean huge construction projects right off the bat. That means all of us having the mindset that we have to make things better and make downtown work together.”

City officials say they’ll also be going to state lawmakers for funding for the downtown like Rochester and Duluth has gotten over the years. St. Cloud hopes to get funds in the 2024 bonding bill.

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