August 2nd, 2010 by Nieeta

Photo courtesy of the Metropolitan Council.

The Northeast Neighbors & Business Association in Minneapolis is offering free assistance to businesses affected by the Central Corridor construction project. The group will provide free advertising through December 2010 on its Local Biz Bucks Online Coupon website for any business located on a construction route or in a construction area. Affected businesses will be allowed to place a static Coupon advertisement on the corresponding geographic page of the website where their business is located (either Southeast Minneapolis | U of M or East Metro). The Northeast Neighbors & Business Association will waive all fees for participating construction-affected businesses. For more information, email or phone the group at (612) 889-9648.

July 5th, 2010 by Nieeta

From the Met Council:

The Metropolitan Council has awarded the first heavy construction contract for the Central Corridor light rail transit Project to Walsh Construction to build the seven-mile St. Paul segment of the line. Walsh’s $205.1 million award includes betterment work valued at $10.4 million that was requested by, and will be paid for, by cooperating agencies and utilities.

Construction is expected to begin in August east of the state Capitol on Robert and 12th streets north of Interstate 94, with utility relocation work there expected to start soon after July Fourth. Most of the heavy construction on University Avenue will occur in 2011 between Emerald Street and Hamline Avenue and in 2012 between Hamline and Robert. The work in downtown St. Paul will occur in 2011-2012.

The project is able to begin heavy construction due to advance funding commitments from its partners and federal approval of this arrangement. Under this same arrangement, the project began improvements in May on streets around the East Bank campus of the University of Minnesota and utility relocation work last year on Fourth Street in St. Paul. The FTA has agreed to reimburse the project partners for the federal share of this advanced work once it awards a Full Funding Grant Agreement this fall.

Work on the seven-mile St. Paul segment includes:

• Relocating utilities necessary for the LRT trackway
• Constructing nearly seven miles of embedded double track
• Fully reconstructing streets where track is being installed
• Building 14 stations from Westgate Station to Union Depot Station
• Modifying two bridges (on University over Highway 280 and on Cedar Street over Interstates 94 and 35E)
• Installing concrete paving for signalized intersections
• Building an infiltration trench for collecting storm water
• Constructing at-grade pedestrian crossings
• Demolishing the vacant Bremer Bank building and reconnecting the skyway

Steps to help businesses, property owners

The Central Corridor Project Office has taken steps to eliminate or reduce construction-related impediments to businesses and property owners. These steps include:

• Limiting construction of each segment on University Avenue to two-thirds at a time while maintaining a lane of traffic on the other third.
• Requiring contractors to restore the street in front of any business within 150 days and the sidewalk within 15 days.
• Implementing a contractor incentive program to encourage responsiveness, create a partnership between contractors and the community and promote cooperation. Evaluation criteria will include conformance with notification requirements, timely response to public concerns, maintenance of vehicle access and accessible pedestrian routes and cleanliness of construction sites.
• Issuing weekly emailed construction updates to provide the public with advance notice of routes that are closed and their alternates. To sign up for the emails, click here.
• Holding public construction meetings for businesses and the public to get updates and a look ahead from project staff and utilities.
• Setting up a construction hotline and posting the number, 651-602-1404, in prominent locations throughout a work zone.
• Assigning multilingual outreach coordinators from the community to be liaisons between the project and the public from the engineering phase through construction.
• Distributing a brochure to businesses on the corridor and nearby residents about how the project will communicate construction information and how it can be reached with questions and concerns.

About the project

The Central Corridor Light Rail Transit Project will link downtown St. Paul and downtown Minneapolis along Washington and University avenues via the state Capitol and the University of Minnesota. Construction will begin in 2010 on the planned 11-mile Central Corridor line, with service beginning in 2014. The line will connect with the Hiawatha LRT line at the Metrodome station in Minneapolis and the Northstar commuter rail line at the new Target Field Station. The Metropolitan Council will be the grantee of federal funds. The regional government agency is charged with building the line in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Transportation. The Central Corridor Management Committee, which includes commissioners from Ramsey and Hennepin counties, the mayors of St. Paul and Minneapolis and the University of Minnesota, provides advice and oversight.

May 26th, 2010 by Nieeta

The City of Saint Paul has launched the $550,000 Energy Smart Homes loan and rebate initiative that will provide Saint Paul residents with the tools to lower energy consumption and cut costs.

By renovating our homes and replacing old appliances, a person will save money and decrease energy usage in Saint Paul. This is one more way the City is improving building efficiency, lowering energy costs, and protecting our environment while solidifying Saint Paul as a national leader in environmental sustainability.

This initiative is made possible through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. Energy Smart Homes will provide funding for energy-saving improvements to houses and apartment buildings, thereby lowering monthly utility bills to residents, strengthening the City’s tax base, and reducing the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Energy Smart Homes will also create jobs, a key component of ARRA, by creating a need for contractors, including heating and insulation contractors.

Energy Smart Homes is a two-pronged initiative. $500,000 will be used to make no-interest loans up to $6,500 to homeowners to make energy-saving improvements to their homes. These funds will also leverage Xcel Energy rebates. Prior to making the improvements, each home will undergo a home energy audit to identify the greatest needs.

Eligible expenses may include furnace replacement, insulation and air sealing.

Saint Paul homeowners of all incomes are eligible to apply, though incomes will affect the loan amounts and other initiative requirements.

Another aspect of the initiative is “Cool Cash for Cold Clunkers,” which consists of cash rebates for owners of apartment buildings in Saint Paul who replace old inefficient refrigerators in their rental units with new ENERGY STAR refrigerators.

By replacing a refrigerator from the 1980s with an ENERGY STAR refrigerator could save as much as $100 each year on utility bills.

Energy Smart Homes will provide up to ten $200 rebates to owners of apartment buildings. And while the building owner will benefit from the cash rebates, many tenants will realize the monthly savings resulting from lower utility bills.

Pre-applications must be postmarked by June 11. Individuals will be selected by June 17. Selected homeowners seeking funds for energy-saving improvements will be invited to complete a full application and selected apartment building owners seeking refrigerator rebates will be notified and informed of the process for receiving their rebates.

If you would like more details, including eligibility conditions and other requirements, go to www.stpaul.gov or call 651-266-6655 for a pre-application.

On a related note, if you are a non-profit, neighborhood or business association, you may be able to take advantage of our new Energy Challenge Grants initiative. The initiative will give non-profit organizations, neighborhood and business associations the opportunity to receive Federal stimulus funds for projects that will assist Saint Paul residents and businesses in reducing their energy use and climate change impact.

Organizations must utilize the funds for projects that promote either the Neighborhood Energy Connection’s Home Energy Squads, Center for Energy and Environment’s One-Stop Efficiency Shop Program, the Minnesota Energy Challenge or other successful cost-effective energy efficiency and conservation programs.

Eligible applicants may request up to $5,000 for projects completed by June 30, 2011. Applications for the Energy Challenge Grants must be received by June 14, 2010.

For profit businesses are not eligible.

If you are interested in this initiative, visit the Sustainable Saint Paul website at: www.stpaul.gov/sustainability or call 651-266-8520.

March 16th, 2010 by Nieeta

University Avenue

Small businesses that can change and adapt to the challenges and opportunities of light rail transit will be more successful than those that can’t. They will survive light rail construction and make more money if they know how to prepare. How do small businesses and entrepreneurs adapt? What are the challenges? How do you prepare and increase your revenue?

Workshops to be held this week will teach small businesses and entrepreneurs how they may benefit from light rail transit. You will learn:

• What you can do to prepare for LRT construction
• What you can do to keep revenues up during construction
• What you can do to bring in new customers when the light rail is running

When: Thursday, March 18, 2010
2:30- 4:30 PM (Vietnamese interpretation available)
6:00-8:00 PM (Hmong interpretation available)

Where: Lao Family Community, 320 University Ave W, St. Paul, MN

Lunch and dinner will be provided. Free and open to the public. For more information call 651-222-7798 or email

The “Creating Successful Businesses with LRT” workshops are led by Mr. Tran T. Nhon, MBA. Mr. Tran is a nationally noted expert on supplier diversity and an advocate for minority owned businesses.  He is chair of the Ramsey County Small Business Enterprises Advisory Board and a board member of the State Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans.

These workshops are supported by a grant from National CAPACD. AEDA is supported by the B.C. Gamble and P.W. Skogmo Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation, Twin Cities LISC FRAN Project, and The Saint Paul Foundation.

More information:

Asian Economic Development Association
712 University Ave W Suite 105
Saint Paul, MN 55104
651-222-7798 | www.aeda-mn.org

January 31st, 2010 by Nieeta

Nieeta Presley and Joan Vanhala of the Stops for Us! Coalition

Please join us for a Stops for Us Victory Celebration and Potluck at 1080 University Avenue, St. Paul, MN on Friday, February 5th at 4pm.

Bring your favorite victory food and beverages to share as we celebrate the inclusion of the three stations at Western, Hamline, and Victoria into the Central Corridor LRT project.

Also feel free to bring your favorite music and a story to share.

Not to be missed! See you there!

In case you missed the news reports, here are details from Joan Vanhala, Coalition Organizer, Alliance for Metropolitan Stability:

The 3 stations at Western, Victoria, and Hamline will be included in the Central Corridor LRT project budget and be built by the completion of the Central Corridor LRT line!!

At a historic press conference at Model Cities with Mayor Chris Coleman, Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Congressman Jim Oberstar, Senator Amy Klobuchar, Congressman Keith Ellison, City Councilmember Melvin Carter, Commissioner Toni Carter, and Commissioner Jim McDonough it was announced that all three stations at Western, Victoria and Hamline will be included and built by the completion of the Central Corridor LRT line.

With the changes at the federal level, the federal government will now match the city of St. Paul’s commitment of $5.2 million, which will pay for two stations. The third station’s funding was pieced together with local funds from the Counties Transit Improvement Board, Ramsey County and the Central Corridor Funders Collaborative and will be matched by federal funds.

DOT Secretary Ray LaHood was quoted as telling the Stops for Us organizers, “You’ve made a difference and we will use you as an example across the country…that if you hang together, have a great project that’s for the people, and work with your delegation, you can make things happen.”

Congratulations to the to the East University Avenue community members, the Stops for Us coalition and supporting partner organizations, and elected officials who worked hard together to make this happen!!

To quote Councilmember Carter’s press release:

This is a HUGE victory, but our work to ensure that this project will serve those of us who chose this community long before light rail, is far from done. I’m glad to know our federal partners understand the importance of this project and its impact on our community, and I look forward to our continued work together to:

• Mitigate the loss of on-street parking;
• Help small businesses survive construction; and
• Ensure that we will build our future here by supporting our diverse set of residents and businesses, not by allowing them to be displaced.

January 22nd, 2010 by Nieeta

Central Corridor light rail station rendering

Are you ready for Light Rail Construction & a Prosperous Future on University Avenue?

You are cordially invited to a meeting of the University Avenue Business Association on Thursday, January 21st, 2010, at 7:45AM for networking, coffee, and donuts (Program from 8-9 a.m.)

Meetings are held in the Model Cities Brownstone Meeting Room, 849 University Avenue, St. Paul, NE corner of University and Victoria. All events are free and open to the public.

UABA will present Parking Survey Results from small businesses along University Avenue. Come hear their stories and share your own stories.

• What is your parking situation?
• What are solutions that could work for your business?

UABA is working on a Parking Recommendation to bring meaningful solutions where the loss of on-street parking will negatively impact small businesses. You can be a part of the solution.

Future Third Thursday Events: Mark your calendars.

• Thursday, Feb. 18th: To Be Announced
• Thursday, March 18th, Marketing University Avenue

For more information, contact Linda Winsor: linda@universityavenuebiz.com or 651.641.0334

December 15th, 2009 by Jake Kulju

Community members turned out for opening of new center.

By Jake Kulju

September 22, 2009 may have seemed like any other day, but on University Avenue, it was a day of celebration. Hundreds of people gathered for free food, entertainment and speeches from local politicians, including a welcome from mayor Chris Coleman, at the new Community Solutions Center at 712 University Ave.

The event marked the grand opening of the center, a joint effort of the University Avenue Business Association (UABA), the Asian Economic Development Association (AEDA), University UNITED and U-Plan.

The open house was held from 3 to 6 p.m., with a welcome by the mayor and program beginning at 4:30 p.m. Special guests included City Council members Russ Stark and Melvin Carter III, County Commissioners Toni Carter and Janice Rettman, state Reps. Alice Hausman, Erin Murphy, Phyllis Kahn and Cy Thao and state Sens. Mee Moua and Dick Cohen.

Several large tents spanned the parking area in front of the new Community Solutions Center, covering tables full of free food from local businesses. Food and beverages were provided by Abundant  Catering, China One, Chindian, Mai Village, Ngon Vietnamese Bistro, Saigon Restaurant, Shuang Hur Supermarket and SugaRush.

The grand opening of the center was sponsored by US Bank, Update Company, Impressive Print, Lao Family Community and Lifetrack Resources.

City Councilman Russ Stark, right, speaks with a constituent at the grand opening.