Historic Saint Paul

Published on: Tue, 08/03/2010 - 13:46

Saint Paul, MN (August 3, 2010)
The Minnesota Historical Society awarded a Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage Partnership Grant in the amount of $100,460 to Historic Saint Paul for the 2010 Saint Paul Survey Project. The project will be implemented in partnership with the Saint Paul Heritage Preservation Commission and the Ramsey County Historic Society.

Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage Grants are made possible by the Minnesota Legislature from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund created with passage of the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment to the Minnesota Constitution in November 2008. The grants are awarded to support projects of enduring value for the cause of history and historic preservation across the state.

2010 Saint Paul Survey Project
The 2010 Survey Project is will provide documentation on the defining features, visual character, and existing neighborhood fabric of the Frogtown, Payne-Phalen, and Uppertown areas – three of Saint Paul’s oldest communities. The project begins August 2010, with an anticipated completion date of June 2011.

Through the 2010 Saint Paul Survey Project, Historic Saint Paul, the Saint Paul Heritage Preservation Commission, and Ramsey County Historical Society will work in partnership to:

• develop an Historic Context report and recommendations for neighborhoods immediately adjacent to the downtown area;
• complete a Phase I reconnaissance survey in targeted areas of the Frogtown, Payne-Phalen, and Uppertown neighborhoods; and
• make this information available in public forums and electronic formats to policy makers, neighborhood organizations, and the general public.
  The information gathered will be organized, summarized, and distributed for integration into local planning and community development efforts.

2010 Survey Project Target AreasThe 2010 Saint Paul Survey Project’s target areas overlap three of the City of Saint Paul’s Invest Saint Paul neighborhoods. Invest Saint Paul is a major initiative of Mayor Chris Coleman to support local efforts that:

• build upon and strengthen community assets;
• address challenges and mitigate deficiencies resulting from foreclosure crises and chronic disinvestment;
• increase property values, enhance curb appeal, leverage financial resources, and promote investment; and
• are sustainable and produce long-term impact.

As part of a series of strategic investments by the City of Saint Paul into Invest Saint Paul areas, its Department of Planning and Economic Development is contributing $20,000 in matching funds to support project implementation.

The 2010 Saint Paul Survey project will be the most ambitious survey work completed in Saint Paul in over 27 years. The last extensive survey of Saint Paul neighborhoods was completed in 1983.

An immediate and tangible use for the information garnered through these renewed survey efforts will be to aid the City of Saint Paul, Heritage Preservation Commission, and community development organizations, with determinations related to the acquisition, rehabilitation and/or demolition of properties funded with $18 million that will be invested into Invest Saint Paul areas in Phase II of the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP), a federally funded program to combat the negative impacts of the foreclosure and vacant housing crisis facing many urban areas.

Cultural Heritage Fund Grant Narrative

Download RFP for Saint Paul Survey Project below.