City of Saint Paul

Challenge

Breathe new life into Lowertown, once the vibrant commercial center of downtown St. Paul, but now a ghost town of abandoned warehouses

Goals

• Jumpstart economic revitalization
• Rescue and reuse two historic Lowertown warehouses

Scope of Work

Over five years, Artspace developed the Northern and Tilsner warehouse projects, creating more than 100 units of long-term affordable live/work space for artists and. The Northern Warehouse also contains two floors of space for arts organizations and creative entrepreneurs.

Update

Since their completion in the early 1990s, the Northern and Tilsner have anchored a Lowertown neighborhood that is now widely regarded as St. Paul’s liveliest neighborhood. In 2012, Artspace refinanced the Northern, using the proceeds to renovate the entire building; in the process, we made a commitment to keep the building affordable through 2042.