West Publishing had left town for the suburbs, taking 2000 jobs with them. Properties in the downtown had lost half of the their taxable market value. The hope, energy and spirit which had built downtown were gone. It was not a very flattering picture for a city desperately in need of strengthening its economic base by attracting new business and new jobs. Today, we've managed to turn that perception around and are creating a new reality for Saint Paul.
Downtown is now one of the hottest new locations for businesses.
That same trend has continued into this year. As a frame of reference for how far we've come, consider that prior to 1996, Saint Paul was absorbing an average of only 90,000 square feet a year. This positive absorption will fill-up our existing space by the end of 1999. In fact at this rate, Saint Paul could support one new office building a year just to keep pace with the demand. Businesses are excited about bringing their companies and their employees to downtown and the numbers mean more than an increase in office space.