Downtown Improvement District
Creating a safer, cleaner downtown for everyone.
A vibrant downtown depends on people feeling safe and welcome the moment they arrive. The Saint Paul Downtown Improvement District (SPDID) exists to make that possible. SPDID is funded by the property owners who call downtown home, and built around the belief that a clean, well-cared-for public realm is what lets everything else downtown thrive.
Safety and cleaning ambassadors are out on foot from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week, backed by a Safety Communications Center connecting police, building security and outreach partners in real time. It's a model that has worked for decades in communities across the country. In Saint Paul the DID covers the entire footprint of downtown from Lowertown's historic residential streets and neighborhood retail, to the commercial towers and skyways of the central business district, and the museums, theaters and public spaces surrounding Rice Park.
When downtown feels safe, it becomes a place people choose — to visit, to open a business, to build a life.
The Saint Paul DID
The district encompasses Saint Paul's most prominent artistic, cultural and entertainment venues, along with theatres, restaurants and other attractions that have unique needs. It is also home to corporate headquarters for several large businesses including Ecolab, Securian Financial, Travelers, and others.
Funds from participating commercial property owners, as well as voluntary contributions from the City, County, and other tax-exempt property owners provide enhanced services.
History
Downtown Saint Paul's push for a special service district began with the Saint Paul Downtown Alliance's founding in 2018. In 2019, the Alliance piloted the concept with Streets of Summer, testing whether a full-time street team and public realm programming could improve safety and cleanliness downtown. The pandemic slowed momentum in 2020, but that same year, commercial property owners petitioned to formally create the Saint Paul Downtown Improvement District, and SPDID took effect January 1, 2021 — Saint Paul's first special service district, launched with a Safety Communications Center and street team ambassadors.
During the district's first three years, quality-of-life crime calls within its original boundaries fell 40% compared to the three years before it launched. Building on that track record, a 2023 change in state law opened the door for residential properties to join special service districts, and the Alliance's Downtown Investment Strategy that same year called for expanding safety and cleaning services district-wide.
In 2024, a new steering committee of commercial and residential property owners redesigned the district to cover all of downtown. Following community outreach and City Council approval on September 11, 2024, the expanded SPDID launched January 1, 2025, adding residential properties, new safety programming and a five-year term running through 2029. The district's board grew to include residential representation alongside its founding commercial base.
There are thousands of downtown improvement districts across the country because they are a proven method of increasing safety, cleanliness and vitality in communities large and small. According to the International Downtown Association:
- On average, streets maintained by DIDs were found to be cleaner than similar commercial streets located in the same city.
DIDs have declining crime rates. In Philadelphia, crime decreased by 40% in their district. - DIDs maintain lower commercial vacancy rates. In Red Bank, New Jersey, the occupancy rate increased from 65% to 97%.
FAQ
A Downtown Improvement District (or DID, also known as a Special Service District under Minnesota state law) provides enhanced services and programming within the public realm to a commercial district, including safety and security, outreach and wellness checks, graffiti and hazardous waste removal, and more. Its purpose is to supplement, not replace, government services. DIDs are proven to dramatically improve public safety outcomes and perceptions, enhance the upkeep and maintenance of public spaces, attract new businesses and help retain existing ones, increase property values, and stimulate overall community vitality. Plus, DIDs provide a way for property owners, residents and merchants to work collaboratively for their mutual benefit.
DIDs are a self-imposed and self-managed program where property owners in a defined area agree to pay for enhanced services there. This revenue is managed by the property owners themselves, not by the city. Why are there thousands of these districts nationwide? Because they work.
Even before COVID-19, city services around safety, cleanliness and overall presentation were not meeting the needs of downtown Saint Paul. In 2020, commercial property owners recognized that the pandemic’s impact was only exacerbating these issues, so they came together to establish the Saint Paul Downtown Improvement District (SPDID) as a tool to address them. Since its launch in 2021, the SPDID has delivered these needed programs and services operating above and beyond what the city can provide within its boundaries. As a result, the area has seen a marked improvement in quality-of-life concerns and cleanliness within the public realm.
No. The DID is an entirely private undertaking. The programs and projects of the DID are operated completely independently from the City and controlled by the rate payers themselves.
Minnesota law requires that the City Council ensure that the DID’s private Board of Directors has been legally constituted and that the City of Saint Paul and Ramsey County properly function as fiscal agents for levying assessments, collecting them as part of property tax payments, and disbursing proceeds to the DID.
If you are a commercial property owner, multi-family housing property owner or condo owner service charge/assessment rate shown on your property tax statement is the annual amount owed.
Annual service charges for assessable parcels within the District are based upon allocating program costs across all parcels according to two variables: building square footage and linear front footage. For 2026, the assessment rates are broken down the following way:
- Gross Building Area
- Commercial properties - $0.0657 per square foot
- Residential properties - $0.0394 per square foot
- Linear Front Footage
- Commercial properties - $14.05 per foot
- Residential properties - $8.43 per foot (prorated per condo unit within a building)
Additional details can be found in the 2026 Operating Plan.
The SPDID Board of Directors adopts an annual operating plan, which is then approved by the Saint Paul City Council. It details the district's budget, programming and services. View the 2026 Operating Plan (PDF)