The City of Saint Paul is working on a Request for Proposals (RFP) for future development on the city-owned "Fox Lots" at 149 and 171 Robert St South on the West Side Flats.  An RPF asks interested developers to send their plans of what they would build if the city were to sell them the lots.  Currently the City is asking for the suggestions, priorities and general feedback for what the West Side community would like to see built here.  City staff will use community feedback to craft the guidelines of the RFP.

The first Public Hearing on the amended West Side Community Plan to add the Equitable Development Scorecard, will be December 6th, 8:30 AM Room 40 City Hall (basement) - Click Here for details.

View the Scorecard and the history of its development here.

View the current West Side Community Plan (2013) here.

Applications are being taken to join the Equitable Development Scorecard Review Group. These eight West Side Community members will oversee the implementation of using the scorecard to rate future development proposals on the West Side.

The draft of the West Side Equitable Development Scorecard is now available to be reviewed by the community.  The scorecard has been adapted for the West Side neighborhood by a team of residents over the last few months. 

Please click here to review the scorecard draft and provide feedback.

Over the next five years, the West Side will see millions of dollars in private development and public investment projects:
+ Nearly 1,000 new housing units are planned.
+ Thousands of square feet of new commercial space.
+ New streets and trails.
+ New parks and playgrounds.

After decades of disinvestment and neglect, many West Siders are hopeful about this new chapter. And yet, the threat of gentrification looms large. 

Gentrification displaces long-time residents and prices out would-be neighbors. Gentrification tears at the beautiful fabric created via racially, culturally, and economically diverse places. Gentrification may look “shiny” from the outside but connection to neighborhood history and culture. Fortunately, gentrification is NOT an inevitable part of new development!

Together in community, we can combat gentrification while supporting new development and investment. Our community’s vision and values -- including justice and equity -- can become the very grounds on which every new building sits. But how? 

In partnership with the University of Minnesota’s Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA), WSCO is hosting a three-part series in September, WEST SIDE: ACTION TO EQUITY. Beyond “community conversations,” they are deep-dive workshops that will produce the West Side Development Scorecard. (We'll start with the Twin Cities Equitable Development Principles & Scorecard and build from it, here's the PDF: https://www.metrotransit.org/Data/Sites/1/media/equity/equitable-development-scorecard.pdf)

This scorecard will not be just another “tool” or plan that once created no one thinks about again. This Scorecard will be used by residents to evaluate every new development project, big or small, happening on the West Side. Each development project's score will determine whether West Siders will offer a supportive welcome or if we will use every action possible to stop development that does not have the agreed-upon community benefits. It's that simple. 


REGISTRATION -- WEST SIDE: ACTION TO EQUITY
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/west-side-action-to-equity-tickets-36959855924#tickets

The West Side: Action to Equity series is free and open to all. Onsite child care is available (please use the ticket type in Eventbrite so we can plan ahead). Light meals will be served.

West Side: Action to Equity Session I
Saturday, September 9, 2017 from 10 am to noon

Neeraj Meta, CURA'S Director of Community Programs, will give a 45-minute talk about race and class in the Twin Cities, and how that history plays out today. This is an excellent primer for understanding why and how gentrification happens and who it benefits. Questions/answers and light reception will follow. 

Session One Video (English):

Session One Video (Español):

West Side: Action to Equity Session II
Saturday, September 23, 2017 from 10 am to noon

Malik Holt-Shabazz and Ned Moore, both on staff at CURA, will guide us through an introduction to the Twin Cities Equitable Principles and Scorecard. Developed by community organizers and leaders in 2015, the Scorecard is a user-friendly document that lays out the concepts of equity in development. They'll also share how other neighborhoods across Minneapolis and Saint Paul have used this tool to benefit their communities and stop gentrification.

Session Two Video:

West Side: Action to Equity - Session III
Saturday, September 30, 2017 from 10 am to noon

What are the West Side's values and priorities, and how do we translate them into community benefits before or during development? What answers must a developer provide and/or what commitments will they make about their project? How will this project benefit the West Side and West Siders? In this last session, your input will adapt the Scorecard into a localized tool that will be used to evaluate new projects. With a transparent, community-led process like the Scorecard, we'll all have a better understanding of why a certain project has the community's support (or why it doesn't). We'll also share it with Saint Paul city staff and press for their commitments to honor our scores before pre-development status is granted.

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About our Partners

Neeraj Mehta is the director of community programs at the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA) at the University of Minnesota, and adjunct faculty at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs. Trained as civil engineer, he quickly gave that up to work on community development issues in the Twin Cities region, working in philanthropy, community development and community organizing. Neeraj has a masters degree in public affairs from the Humphrey School and was a 2011-2013 Bush Foundation Leadership Fellow. He is passionate about building stronger, healthier and more racially and economically just communities throughout the Twin Cities region, but especially in North Minneapolis where he lives with his wife and two sons.

Malik Holt-Shabazz, prior to joining CURA, worked as a Community Organizer with the Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition to promote access, equity, and community benefits of bicycle infrastructure, policy, and engagement. He also served as the Executive Director and Economic Development Organizer of North Minneapolis’s Harrison Neighborhood Association for 11 years leading community engagement projects, racial equitable development initiatives, business development, and land use planning. He received an undergraduate degree in Liberal Arts in Human Services with a minor in Sociology from the University of Minnesota Morris. Malik currently sits on the Board of Directors for the Headwaters Foundation for Justice. He is a long-standing member on CURA’s Kris Nelson Community Based Research Program Grant Review Committee., a 2004 graduate of MCNO’s Neighborhood Organizing Training Program, and a past member of the MCNO Advisory Committee. Malik is a native of Chicago but has lived in Minnesota for over 13 years. His life has centered on community, spirituality, music and dance, his wife and son, and his love for learning, community capacity building, systems change, racial equity, & direct service.

Ned Moore is program director committed to working for social, racial and economic justice. For six years, Ned organized low-income residents of manufactured (mobile) home parks to stop landlords and government agencies from demolishing affordable neighborhoods. During that time, Ned became involved in CURA, first as a trainee and later as a guest trainer and MCNO Advisory Committee member from 2007–2009. Ned joined CURA as a staff member in December in 2011, after several years at St. Catherine University as social justice coordinator, working to organize and mentor students to become social justice–minded leaders. He is currently a board member of La Asamblea de Derechos Civiles, a faith-based civil rights organization of predominantly Latino church congregations. Ned is a graduate of the University of Minnesota with a bachelor’s degree in political science and global studies, and a former organizing apprentice and mentor for the Organizing Apprenticeship Project.

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This work was made possible by funding from the Metropolitan Council.


The West Side Community Organization is a 501(c)(3) neighborhood organizating nonprofit and Saint Paul District Council for District 3, the West Side. WSCO powers the people of the West Side to work together to build a vibrant thriving neighborhood for all. We envision a just, united, self-reliant, and bold West Side where all of our people are connected, safe, healthy, and successful. Learn more about us.

View the West Side Equitable Development Scorecard here.

What is it?

The Equitable Development Scorecard outlines our neighborhood's priorities, goals, and values. The community will score proposed developments on the West Side, to ensure that it aligns with community goals. Which are: affordable housing, local jobs, and a healthy, safe, and equitable neighborhood. West Side values and priorities are reflected in this community-created document. 

Why is it important?

The West Side neighborhood has historically been disinvested in and our voices have not been heard (click here for proof). The Scorecard will be used to ensure that any development that comes to the West Side BENEFITS you and our neighborhood

How will it be used?

The Scorecard will be added to our District Council West Side Community 10 Year Plan at City Hall. Any developer who files a development proposal for our area will answer the questions laid out in the scorecard to be scored and then work with the community to ensure their development plans fit with our values & priorities for our neighborhood.

How was it made?

Following the 2018 West Side Action to Equity Series, a team of West Side resident volunteers came together to draft the West Side Equitable Development Scorecard.  This involved extensive community engagement and feedback sessions and innumerable drafts of the document. The timeline below gives a snapshot of its creation. Learn more about the West Side Action to Equity series in the "Previous Work" section below.

View the West Side Equitable Development Scorecard here.

Want to get involved? Contact leahs@wsco.org. 

Scorecard in the News:

4/10/2018 - MINNPOST - How one St. Paul community is using an equity scorecard to direct neighborhood change

Previous Work: 

West Side: Action to Equity

Videos of West Side: Action to Equity Sessions

West Side Youth Voices: Land Use & Planning

West Side Action to Equity Series Videos: