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“The lasting vitality of downtown is the final goal of this effort,” said Joe Spencer, president of the Alliance. “Not only do these entrepreneurs benefit from having a free space to launch their business, but the entire downtown community benefits by having once-vacant spots filled with life and activity.”

The program is focused on activating vacant downtown retail space with both traditional and nontraditional users, from artists and entrepreneurs to retailers and service providers to restaurants and food vendors. Since launching in May 2022, Grow Downtown has matched 10 busi- nesses with property owners, filling more than 18,000 square feet of empty retail space across downtown St. Paul. One business has since signed a long-term lease, and four other businesses have already extended past their initial 6-month agreements.

“Thanks to the Downtown Alliance, I was able to experiment with a brickand-mortar location for my Turkish goods store,” said Melek Petek, founder and owner of Petek Trading Co. “It was a fantastic opportunity to enter the St. Paul community and grow my business. I’ve now signed a year-long lease in the same location.”

Lee Krueger, former presi-

“Lo dent of the St. Paul Port Authority and current principal of Krueger Real Estate Advisors, along with D’Angelos Svenkeson and his team from NEOO Partners, were hired by the Alliance to lead the program. As experts in retail attraction and community businesses, the two companies worked to connect the right landlords with the right tenants. Landlords have been key to the success of this initiative, as they are waiving rents and modifying contracts in other ways to accommodate program tenants.

“Grow Downtown is a creative, innovative approach to activating downtown by addressing the current challenges of the retail leasing community,” said Krueger.

Desde 1927

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“Retail tenants can test new concepts and get exposure to a new marketplace with less risk than a traditional retail lease agreement or incubator concept. They experience minimal upfront investment or costs while increasing the visibility of their business.”

To view the list of Grow Downtown tenants or for an application for the program, visit growstpl. com/#growdowntown.