November 2008 
There are 14 blog entries for November 2008.
Rice Park Holiday Tree Lighting
Wednesday, November 26th, 2008 at 11:06pm. 271 Views, 0 Comments.
The public is invited to join Mayor Chris Coleman for the ceremonial lighting of the holiday tree in Rice Park and the grand opening of Wells Fargo WinterSkate at Landmark Center. The festivities take place from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. this Saturday, November 29. Along with the Saint Paul Police Band Drum Line, the celebration will include the St. Paul Figure Skating Club and the cast of Ordway Center for the Performing Arts’ Irving Berlin’s White Christmas.
“Saint Paul is the holiday destination for family fun and cheer,” Mayor Coleman said. “With Rice Park decorated for the season, the refrigerated ice rink open to the public, White Christmas playing at the Ordway, and Holiday Lights in the Park at Phalen Park, Saint Paul is a magical place. Thanks to the…
More Accurate Appraisals of a Trend
Monday, November 24th, 2008 at 10:40pm. 147 Views, 0 Comments.
When it comes to setting a price for your home that’s correct for the current market, many aspects are taken into account. One that is seeing a great amount of emphasis right now are “comps”: the comparable sales of other properties in your areas. Used as standards in home real estate appraisals, buyers and sellers haven’t needed to be concerned about “comps” as long as real estate values were on the upswing.
In this slumping market, mortgage lenders have recently been placing a great deal of importance on these benchmarks. Because of the swift decline in home prices, instead of accepting comparable property sales statistics from homes that closed six to 12 months ago, lenders and mortgage investors now insist that appraisers include the most recent…
The Hamline-Midway Neighborhood of Saint Paul
Sunday, November 23rd, 2008 at 11:20pm. 144 Views, 0 Comments.
The Hamline-Midway neighborhood of Saint Paul can be found in the northwestern portion of the city. It is bordered by Pierce Butler Route to the north, Lexington Parkway to the east, University Avenue to the south, and Cleveland Avenue to the west. The name Hamline-Midway comes from the fact that the neighborhood is midway between the two downtown centers of St. Paul and Minneapolis. The Midway neighborhood is home to 75,000 people and employs 50,000.
Hamline-Midway is a bustling urban neighborhood with a mix of both residential and commercial properties. It includes St. Paul's primary warehouse district, a passenger rail terminal, and Midway Center, one of St. Paul's key shopping districts. Residents enjoy the convenience of being within bussing and…
Saint Paul National Night Out 2008 Participation High
Wednesday, November 19th, 2008 at 9:58pm. 129 Views, 0 Comments.
The citizens of St. Paul and Minneapolis are leaders when it comes to their participation in National Night Out events. The City of Minneapolis ranked at first in the category for cities with a population of 300,000 or more, and St. Paul was the highest achiever for communities with populations between 100,000 and 299,999.
Saint Paul residents have increased their observance of National Night Out, which occurred on August 5th of this year. St. Paul moved into first up from its third-place finish in 2007. Rochester moved up to third this year after ranking fifth in 2007. Orlando, Florida, came in second.
Across the river, more than 60,000 residents gathered at 1,111 events held in Minneapolis to increase neighborhood solidarity and bring people…
How Foreclosures Affect Your Home Sale
Tuesday, November 18th, 2008 at 7:51pm. 133 Views, 0 Comments.
Though for the past several months, the number of pending home sales has gone up and the excessive inventory of unsold homes has been slowly going down, the Twin Cities real estate market still faces some challenges. Rising unemployment, sagging wage growth, higher down-payment requirements, and stricter mortgage qualifications are all weighing progress down. Moreover, the rising number of foreclosures sales and short-sales taking place are particularly hitting home sellers hard.
A sharp rise in foreclosures across the country is being blamed for declines in home prices that have shaken the economy. The foreclosure crisis has directed lenders and the government to launch extensive efforts to keep people in their homes, even if it means renegotiating…
Gifts for Saint Paul Arts Groups
Monday, November 17th, 2008 at 10:01pm. 117 Views, 0 Comments.
Saint Paul, and the Twin Cities in general, really love the arts. The arts scene right here in our neck of the woods, as it turns out, is loved by others from outside Minnesota, too! Eight Twin Cities arts organizations will share about $5.3 million worth of grants from the New York-based Wallace Foundation. The money is meant to grow audiences and encourage student participation. In addition, the foundation will give $1.6 million to Arts Midwest and the Minnesota Community Foundation over four years to create a learning network to available to all Twin Cities arts organizations. The total sum of $6.9 million is the largest single-year commitment Wallace has made to local arts organizations.
Six groups will receive grants of $750,000 over four years.…
Winter Carnival Rice Park Holiday Tree for 2008
Sunday, November 16th, 2008 at 10:24pm. 165 Views, 0 Comments.
The 2008 Rice Park holiday tree was transported to its festive destination on Saturday. The park becomes a hub of activity during the holidays and the Winter Carnival, an annual St. Paul event. The 90-foot-tall, 27-foot-wide blue spruce is the third Rice Park holiday tree.
There is some Minnesota local history attached to this particular, which made it perfect to serve this purpose. Peder and Karla Christensen planted the tree in the early 1900s when they moved from Denmark to America and started a rose nursery in Maplewood. Several generations had grown up with the tree just a short distance away from the home the Christensen family continues to own. But now the 27,000 pound tree had overgrown its environment and posed a threat to the home should a…
Downtown Saint Paul Development Canceled
Friday, November 14th, 2008 at 10:09pm. 109 Views, 0 Comments.
Opus Northwest in Minnetonka, the developer hoping to put a $200 million office, hotel and housing project on prime riverfront real estate in downtown St. Paul, has given up its exclusive rights to the property. Citing the economy, it canceled the $10 million deal with Ramsey County for a six-acre site along Kellogg Boulevard that contained the old West Publishing complex and the adjacent vacant county jail. The developer forfeits a $125,000 deposit and the county is allowed to put the land back on the market.
Opus Northwest had proposed a 22-story office tower with up to 500,000 square feet of space and a 30-story tower with room for a 250-room hotel and 100 condos. The developer could not find a company to anchor a planned office tower, which is…
Saint Paul Real Estate Market Analysis for October 2008
Wednesday, November 12th, 2008 at 11:52pm. 123 Views, 0 Comments.
New listings for homes in Saint Paul, Minnesota, fell again during October according to the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors’ Market Update for 100 Twin Cities Communities. Throughout the month, there were 515 new listings in St. Paul. During October of 2007, there were 603 new listings. That is a decrease of about -14.6%. Normally, I list the neighborhoods here that saw the greatest decreases in new listings, but there are many which saw decreases of 20% to over 45%. The only neighborhoods which saw any significant increase of new listings were the Phalen and Merriam Park neighborhoods of Saint Paul.
Saint Paul’s posted new listings for the year to date were at 6,062 from January through October. That is a decrease of -9.4% from last…
Moscow on the Hill
Friday, November 7th, 2008 at 11:49pm. 123 Views, 0 Comments.
The other day, one of my friends had a birthday. As is customary, the birthday boy got to choose the activities. What did my eccentric friend want to do? Have dinner at Saint Paul’s Moscow on the Hill, the city’s finest, and only, Russian restaurant. Chefs at the Moscow on the Hill restaurant prides itself on offering authentic and traditional Russian food and drink. I thought that because I went to St. Paul’s only Russian restaurant recently, my Friday post this week would be a review of the lovely experience I had there.
We had dinner early, with everyone arriving at the restaurant by about 5:30. The servers were very attentive with keeping drinks flowing and water glasses filled. The atmosphere was laid back, with dimly-lit rooms, traditional…
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