Spring 2025 Update: CMDF Implementation Continues
CAAPB and the Department of Administration, working in collaboration with several public agency partners, have been busy in 2024 since Board approval of Phase 1A improvements in May 2024. Implementing a mandate to increase shade and canopy, the grounds will see approximately 171 new trees on the Upper and Lower Mall and in and near Cass Gilbert Memorial Park. A new Tribal Flag Plaza is under construction honoring the eleven (11) federally recognized Tribes in Minnesota - the first segment of a new commemorative circle envisioned by the community-based design process earlier in 2024 (learn about the Design Charrette here). The investments are the first steps in implementation of a larger Phase 1A+1B that will seek renewed legislative provision in 2025, which will enable further upgrades in safety, comfort, activity, accessibility, and sustainability of the Capitol Mall. (Photo courtesy of HGA)
News & Updates
CAAPB Meetings & Events
CAAPB held a Board Meeting on June 3, 2025. You can watch the recording of the livestream by clicking this link. You can click on these links to view the agenda and Board packet. To view each agenda item individually, visit our Board Meetings page.
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Updates:
CAAPB requests comments on whether ALL of the conditions in Minnesota Rules 2400.2703 Subpart 2 have been met for the Board to consider an application to add the Emergency Medical Services Line of Duty Death (EMS LODD) Memorial on the Minnesota State Capitol campus. The comment period is open until 4:30pm on July 10, 2025. Please visit our EMS Memorial Addition page for details on the application and how to submit your comments.
CAAPB held a public meeting and hearing for the USS Ward Gun on May 22, 2025. For more information about the meeting and hearing and to view the meeting materials, please visit our USS Ward Gun page.
CAAPB held a public hearing for the Pillbox (ballpark) on May 15, 2025. You can view a recording of the hearing by clicking on this link. For more information about the hearing, please visit our Pillbox page.
View CAAPB's Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Biennial Report here.
Keep up to date on the Capitol Rice Street Reconstruction Project!
Bethesda Site: Vision for New Mental Health Facility Approved by CAAPB
Capitol Area Community Vitality Account
The CAAPB and Minnesota Legislature are working this session (2025) to release the Vitality Account funds for use in the Capitol Area.
Final Task Force Recommendations Report (approved by CAAP Board in March 2024):
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Vitality Account. The $5M provided by legislature establishes a Capitol Area Community Vitality Account (CACVA) to be administered in the Capitol Area through a team of community staff navigators and contracted technical assistance professionals led by CAAPB. Governance and oversight of the account rest with CAAP Board, who are in turn accountable to project sponsors (legislature).
Funds are structured to support community priorities derived by an appointed task force in 2024, and will be distributed over 3-5 years for:
- Community Safety and Livability: including ambassador programs, clean up, site condition improvements, and technical assistance.
- Grants to Small Business and Community Vitality: focusing on visible improvements and activities that support vitality on Rice Street.
- Family and Community Programming at Parks: this supports major initiatives identified by the community (read the Community Voices Initiative draft report 8/16/24).
Minnesota’s Capitol Mall Design Framework Final Updates
On September 24, 2024, the CAAPB authorized the final edits to the full Framework document. View the final version of the Capitol Mall Design Framework published in December 2024 here.
The Design Framework was developed with the goal of making the Capitol Mall more welcoming for more Minnesotans. To represent Minnesota's great diversity, the design team has collaborated with thousands of community members across the state over the last five months. After an extensive initial analysis in late 2023, the team led a 4-day design session with 75 community members, hosted two online surveys with 2,425 responses, held 13 pop-ups across the state, hosted focus groups and a state-wide virtual workshop, and attended countless meetings with community groups, state agencies and others to gather design input.
“We are excited to share the Capitol Mall Design Framework, which is the result of many voices, and the hard work of the project team. These changes represent a shared vision for the Capitol Mall, one that prioritizes accessibility, sustainability, and inclusivity. The Capitol belongs to all Minnesotans and this effort speaks to the heart of that.” says Lt. Governor Peggy Flannagan, the chair of the Capitol Area Architectural and Planning Board.
The website is available in English, Hmong, Somali and Spanish.
Rice Street Capitol Area Reconstruction
Announcement: Help shape the future of Rice Street Capitol Area! Join Ramsey County at one of the open houses on Tuesday, June 3 to share your thoughts on potential design options. Attend virtually from 12-2 p.m. or in-person from 5-7 p.m. at Springboard for the Arts (262 University Ave W, St. Paul, MN 55103).
Learn more about the project and register for the virtual meeting here!
"Ramsey County and the City of Saint Paul are working in coordination with the Capitol Area Architectural and Planning Board (CAAPB) to design and construct a community-driven vision for Rice Street near the Minnesota state capitol from John Ireland Boulevard to Pennsylvania Avenue. This project will build off the connections formed during the visioning and construction of Rice Street between Pennsylvania Avenue and Wheelock Parkway throughout the past five years (2019-2024) and is also being coordinated with Metro Transit’s METRO G Line BRT project.
This area of Rice Street is a hub of activity in downtown Saint Paul that serves a diverse mix of residents, visitors, businesses and modes of travel. The existing roadway is aging with safety and traffic concerns, and there is the need for strengthened community development, business vitality, bike and pedestrian connections, public safety, livability, and compatible land uses in the corridor. Dialogue between the community and the project team will help to deliver a successful project with a solution that was constructed by the very people who live and use the area."
(This text has been copied from Ramsey County's Capitol Rice Street Reconstruction webpage.)
CAAPB to Update the State Rules Governing Zoning and Design in Minnesota’s Capitol Area
Minnesota’s Capitol Area Architectural and Planning Board (CAAPB) is now in a preliminary development phase to update the Minnesota Rules Chapter 2400, Capitol Area Zoning and Design rules ("Rules") for the Capitol Area in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
The update to the Rules will build upon the 2040 Comprehensive Plan for the Minnesota State Capitol Area and the existing Rules to regulate and manage the Capitol Area environment and its physical form.
The contact person is:
Jessie Hughes, Office Administrative Specialist
Capitol Area Architectural and Planning Board
jessie.hughes@state.mn.us
Resources:
- Preliminary Request for Comments – January 13-February 13, 2025
Update on Legislation Funding Comprehensive Plan Priorities
• $25M for the redesign and reconstruction of lower Rice Street between Pennsylvania Avenue and John Ireland and include enhanced multi-modal and shared mobility features (mobility hub) at University and Rice. The community will be engaged on design ideas and how to include investments in BRT stations.
• Unfunded in 2024: $5M+ for creation of a Capitol Area Community Vitality Account guided by the work of a task force of appointed community members. For more information about the legislation and task force, click here.
• $1M to update the Capitol Mall Design Framework (CMDF)* including the creation of new urban spaces along Rice Street to mitigate the loss of a displaced Leif Erickson Park, and $5M to implement phase 1 of the Framework priorities by December 31st, 2024.
For more information on 2023 legislation affecting Capitol Area, see staff memo.
* The 2024 Minnesota Legislature fell seconds short of ‘closing the roll’ on updates to the 2023 Legislation: loss of $5m Vitality Account; no extension for Capitol Mall Design Framework phase 1 implementation and no $1m for fundraising for Cass Gilbert Park.
Capitol Area Stormwater Management Study
Capitol Region Watershed District (CRWD) and Capitol Area Architectural and Planning Board (CAAPB) are partners on a stormwater management study to understand water quality and quantity issues in the Capitol Area and identify regional green infrastructure opportunities for improved stormwater management. CRWD and CAAPB believe that stormwater management strategies will be integral to achieving the broader vision and goals in the Capitol Area comprehensive plan. Visit CRWD's website (linked above) for further information.