Downtown Saint Paul has been struggling lately. People are noticing closed stores, empty office buildings, and fewer people walking around. For example, the last full-service grocery store in the area shut down, and one of the major office towers, the Alliance Bank Center, is now sitting mostly vacant. It feels like the area is falling apart. But the truth is, this isn’t the first time downtown Saint Paul has hit a rough patch. Over the years, downtown has been called “dead” or “dying” many times. It has had its ups and downs for more than a century.
So while things might seem especially bad now, there’s more to the story than just a struggling downtown. The bigger issue has to do with how certain properties were handled and neglected, and how that had a ripple effect across the whole area.
One Saint Paul Landlord Made Things Worse
Much of the damage to downtown Saint Paul can be traced to a company called Madison Equities. For more than a decade, they owned some of the most important buildings in the downtown area. Instead of taking care of those properties, they let many of them fall into disrepair. Elevators stopped working, garbage piled up, and businesses started moving out.
Madison Equities kept buying more buildings while ignoring the condition of the ones they already had. This had a snowball effect. When buildings aren’t maintained, they lose tenants. When tenants leave, there’s less foot traffic and fewer people spending money in the area. Other businesses nearby start to suffer, and eventually, the entire downtown feels lifeless.
A History of Neglect and Legal Trouble
The problems with Madison Equities didn’t happen overnight. In 2012, the company bought the Lowry Hotel and turned it into apartments, but they didn’t put enough money into keeping the building in good shape. In 2013, they took over the U.S. Bank Center and replaced union janitors with cheaper workers. In 2015, they refused to work with union labor for renovations, which led to more tension with city officials and workers.
Later on, the company got into serious legal trouble. The Minnesota attorney general sued Madison Equities for things like wage theft and mistreatment of workers. The case is still being appealed, but it shows how the company repeatedly avoided responsibility.
Madison Equities also pulled out of a program that helps keep downtown areas clean and welcoming, known as the Downtown Improvement District. Other businesses stayed in the program, but Madison chose not to contribute, even though they owned so much of the property. This made it harder for downtown as a whole to stay appealing.
Things Got Worse After the Owner Died
The founder of Madison Equities, Jim Crockarell, passed away in early 2024. After his death, the company began falling apart. His family started selling off properties, and the buildings were no longer being managed properly. One by one, tenants started leaving, and the conditions got worse.
At the Lowry Hotel, the situation became so bad that the city had to shut it down and evacuate tenants. Other buildings followed. In early 2025, the company even shut off power and utilities in the Alliance Bank Center without warning. That building was an important part of the downtown skyway system, a network of indoor walkways connecting buildings. Because of the closure, parts of the skyway were forced to shut down too. Now, people can’t move through downtown the way they used to, which only adds to the sense that the area is falling apart.
What Can Be Done to Fix Downtown Saint Paul?
Despite how bad things look, downtown Saint Paul isn’t beyond saving. But fixing it will take strong leadership and long-term thinking. City officials, businesses, and property owners will need to work together, which is something that didn’t happen with Madison Equities.
There are good examples in other cities. For instance, downtown Detroit once had similar problems: abandoned buildings, lack of investment, and a shrinking population. But one investor bought up many of the worst buildings and took the time to repair them. Over the years, that effort brought people back to the area.
Saint Paul needs something like that, someone who sees the long-term value in rebuilding and doesn’t just let buildings rot. It also needs cooperation between property owners and public programs that can keep the area clean, safe, and active.
Right now, the downtown area is facing a crisis not just because of economic changes, but because of poor leadership and neglect. If those issues are addressed, there’s still hope for a comeback. It won’t happen overnight, but downtown can thrive again with the right attention and care.
