When the city of St. Paul, Minnesota, proposed the development of apartment buildings and commercial spaces on an empty industrial site, an op-ed in Growler Magazine compared the proposed development to a metal shredder. “Rather than conserving and enhancing the qualities and character of the neighborhood,” writes Charles Hathaway, “the redevelopment endorsed by the city's plan disregards the unique characteristics of the neighborhood and diminishes its quality.”
The area, in St. Paul's Highland Park neighborhood, has been vacant since the Ford Motor Company assembly plant closed a decade ago. Developer Ryan Companies purchased the site with plans to build 3,800 housing units, 20% of which are designated for affordable housing. However, opponents argue that the development would ruin the “character” of the neighborhood—a place they describe as having a small-town feel within a mid-sized city. This is not just a common phrase; it is literally written into the city's zoning code for conditional use: “The use will not impair the existing character of development in the immediate neighborhood, nor endanger the public health, safety, and general welfare.”
