New Sidewalks for Highland Village

Highland Village is the retail area that centers around the intersection of Ford Parkway and Cleveland Avenue in Saint Paul, MN. It is a fairly diverse area, with both new and older retail serving a variety of needs. Recently the area started to undergo a major reconstruction project involving the public sidewalks. As a frequent visitor of the area I thought it would be interesting to document the changes, so here are some photos:

First a couple of photos showing the original concrete and red brick sidewalks. This design was incorporated in the 1980s if I recall correctly:




Next are a couple of shots showing some of the completed and somewhat completed sidewalks so far:




Finally, one section that will be interesting to watch, the future site of the northbound/eastbound A-Line bus station/stop on Ford Parkway at Finn Street. I recall some mention of roughing in station elements with the sidewalk rebuilding, however there has also been mention of station construction occurring next year when Ford Parkway is being repaved/rebuilt. How much is being done now vs. later at this spot is unknown to me. However it is nice to see that the A-Line station is being taken into account. I'd rather see a temporary asphalt or concrete pad in place for now, rather than have a complete new sidewalk and curb ripped out next summer. Of course the best thing would be to pre-build part of the platform ahead of time so as to minimize pedestrian interference.

Looking west at the station site:


East view:


A mark on the Highland Bank plaza noting where the BRT section cutoff is:

Building of Interest

Like most folks, I generally don't go around looking specifically for architecture and building styles when I'm out and about. Nonetheless there are still some things that will catch my eye. For me any building with a decent amount of color or shape will capture my interest.

One building that recently caught my eye was the office building located at 1185 North Concord in South Saint Paul, MN.  It's nothing spectacular, but the way it's built into an area surrounded by a steep hill or bluff, and a not so spacious gap between the road and this bluff, makes it sort of interesting. The colored tiles on each end however really make it stand out.

1185 as viewed from across Concord Street looking south

Currently the building appears to be partly empty. I'm guessing at one point however it may have been a thriving office building. Also of particular interest with this building was the custom bus shelter across the street for northbound riders.

The bus shelter across the street is painted to mimic the color tiles on the ends of the building.

Bus shelters that are specifically built for a business or company tend to be rare in the Twin Cities outside of downtown Minneapolis. This particular shelter structure appears to have been around a while, and was likely added back in MTC days. It is still served by Metro Transit route 71, although I doubt this stop generates as much ridership as it might have previously.

 What the future holds for this building is unknown. However it is an interesting sight.