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Downtown business owners in St. Cloud, Minnesota, have grown hopeless after waiting years for the ex-mayor's $100 million proposal to revive the city.
Former Mayor Dave Kleis launched an effort to revitalize the struggling downtown in 2022 before unveiling a colossal $100 million state bonding request the following year to bring much-needed life to the area.
Kleis's proposal included a skyway system, hundreds of housing units and a riverfront plaza, all designed with input from experts.
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all → see → experts
Business owners were excited and welcomed the project, having still been in the throes of financial pressure caused by the pandemic.
However, the $100 million request was not funded, and lawmakers ultimately approved just $6.4 million in state funding this year, after Kleis left office.
Now, for shop owners like Bubba Hollenhorst, who opened Gnarly Bard Theater on St. Germain Street two years ago, hope seems lost as almost none of the plan has come to fruition.
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none → excite → fruition
'It's a ghost town,' Hollenhorst told the Star Tribune.
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Hollenhorst → tell → Tribune
'Hopefully - slowly over the next decade - downtown will get cooler.
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downtown → get → decade
In 2022, former St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis launched an effort to revitalize the city's struggling downtown
Kleis unveiled a colossal $100 million state bonding request for a proposal which included a skyway system, hundreds of housing units and a riverfront plaza, all designed with input from experts
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which → launch → experts
Jake Anderson, the current mayor, told the Daily Mail that downtown began facing struggles before Covid hit.
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Covid → tell → struggles
About eight years ago, a retailer with a significant footprint closed in the heart of downtown,' said Anderson.
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Anderson → close → downtown
COVID pushed several hundred Capital One workers who'd been downtown to remote work.
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who → push → work
They have since switched to a remote work model and not returned downtown.'
The mayor added that, at the same time, Stearns County moved a significant number of staff outside of downtown.
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County → switch → downtown
The city will also lose more county employees in 2029 as they are planned to move to a new facility on the outskirts of St. Cloud, said the mayor.
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mayor → lose → Cloud
He told the Tribune that when he entered office, legislators said to him: 'Don't come ask us for $100 million.'
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legislators → tell → million
With the more than $6 million approved this year, the mayor is optimistic about turning the struggling downtown around.
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mayor → approve → downtown
Anderson said that money will be used for two projects, including one that connects downtown to St. Cloud State University to the south.
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that → say → south
However, the $100 million request was not funded, and lawmakers ultimately approved just $6.4 million in state funding this year, after Kleis left office
Almost none of the plan has come to fruition (Downtown St. Cloud Pictured)
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Cloud → fund → fruition
The other will connect the area to the Mississippi River to the north.
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other → connect → north
'We intend these projects to be spurs for new development,' said the mayor.
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mayor → intend → development
'These projects were also part of the $100 million dollar package proposed by the previous administration.
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projects → propose → administration
I am optimistic with the energy and passion that many of the newer business and property owners are showing downtown, and while I've been frustrated with the progress, remain bullish on its future.
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I → show → future
The current mayor is not the only person frustrated with how slow progress has been.
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progress → frustrate → ?
John Torgerson, who leads the board of the Downtown Alliance, told the Tribune how the revival is moving slowly.
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revival → lead → Tribune
If I look at it from the outside, if I have to be honest, I'd say things aren't happening fast enough, either,' said Torgerson.
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Torgerson → look → outside
For Ashley Green, owner of Green Thumb Etc., the slow pace of downtown's turnaround has her considering leaving.
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her → have → turnaround
'I had originally thought there was no other place I would rather be than in downtown St. Cloud,' Green told the outlet.
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Green → think → outlet
'For as much as we have tried to stay in St. Cloud, we are considering other options.'
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we → try → options
Jake Anderson, the current mayor, told the Daily Mail that city's downtown has faced struggles for almost a decade but remains 'bullish on its future'
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downtown → tell → future
The city has seen flashes of hope, with the recent opening of a children's museum, a nonprofit music school renovating a former funeral home and a company purchasing an empty department store with plans for the space to soon be revealed.
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space → see → plans
City officials also created a new plan to develop 400 units of multifamily housing where the current downtown jail and court buildings sit, according to the Star Tribune.
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jail → create → Tribune
'As a city, we will continue to look for new ways to activate spaces, encourage development or redevelopment, and focus on catalyst areas that can encourage other investment while being extremely cognizant of taxpayer money,' said Anderson.
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Anderson → continue → money
The Daily Mail has reached out to the City of St. Cloud and the St. Cloud Downtown Alliance for comment.
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Mail → reach → comment
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