Downtown St. Paul has a new advocate with strong ties to the city’s business community.

St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter and Chris Hilger, CEO of the Securian Financial Group, jointly announced the creation Wednesday of the St. Paul Downtown Alliance. The nonprofit board will be dedicated to advocating for the interests of downtown businesses, residents, nonprofits and government agencies.

Carter and Hilger will co-chair the 16-member board, largely composed of the leadership of the St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce, the Minnesota Wild, HealthPartners and other businesses or business advocates. The nonprofit will seek an executive director.

The board will convene quarterly, though committees will be appointed on an annual basis.

One of its first orders of business will be to pursue a feasibility study on creating a special downtown taxing district, similar to one in Minneapolis. Funds could be used a variety of ways, from staffing special projects to rehabbing older buildings.

“There’s got to be the support first and foremost in the community for it,” said Hilger.

Hilger noted that the work of the alliance would not be limited to business development and could touch on other topics of concern impacting downtown, such as homelessness.

The Downtown Alliance follows a yearlong discussion process overseen by the St. Paul Riverfront Corp. involving government agencies, businesses, residents and members of other downtown groups.

“A thriving downtown is a critical part of a healthy city,” said Carter, in a statement. “I look forward to partnering with this incredible group to re-imagine how our downtown can create jobs and opportunity for our neighbors, while keeping St. Paul positioned to compete in the global economy.”

Moreso than any other corner of the city, downtown brings together residents, business owners, public services, educational institutions and visitors seeking recreation — all groups with sometimes competing interests.

Over the years, organized efforts to advocate for some or all of those constituencies have ranged from the St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce, St. Paul Rotary Club, Capitol River Council, Lowertown Redevelopment Corp., the Riverfront corporation, the city’s recent Innovation Cabinet and other alliances.

“You’ll probably see a number of ideas reminiscent of all those things,” Carter said.

Downtown advocates haven’t always seen eye-to-eye on how best to promote downtown. Some high-profile disagreements have included skyway closing times, a proposed downtown bicycle loop and construction of Metro Transit’s Green Line light rail.

After a 15-year run, the Capital City Partnership closed its doors in 2011, leaving business promotion to Greater MSP, a regional economic development group based in downtown St. Paul. Greater MSP has sometimes come under criticism for promoting suburban locations while failing to draw investment in the capital city.

BOARD AND FUNDERS

To launch the Downtown Alliance, a dozen founding investors have made a three-year funding commitment.

They include the St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce, Pak Properties, Osborn370, BWBR, District Energy St. Paul, the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, the St. Paul Saints, the Minnesota Wild, the St. Paul and Minnesota Community Foundations, Ecolab, HealthPartners and Securian.

The Downtown Alliance is seeking to hire an executive director to oversee a small team of support staff. The alliance’s first-year budget is under $500,000.

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Therapy dog-in training stolen in St. Paul found, reunited with owners In addition to Carter and Hilger, the board members are: Ecolab CEO Doug Baker; Ordway Center for the Performing Arts CEO Jamie Grant; St. Paul Port Authority President Lee Krueger; St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce President B Kyle; Minnesota Wild President Matt Majka; Capitol River Council board member and downtown resident James McClean; Ramsey County Board Chair Jim McDonough; Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Commissioner of Corporate Affairs Joseph Nayquanobe, Jr.; St. Paul City Council Member Rebecca Noecker; Reeher Software CEO Andy Reeher; Exeter Group principal and founder Jim Stolpestad; Metropolitan Council Chair Alene Tchourumoff; St. Paul Knight Foundation Program Director Jai Winston; and HealthPartners CEO Andrea Walsh.

For more information, visit stpdowntownalliance.org.