How downtown has benefited
from Common Cent 1% sales tax hike

By Tim Spitzack | Editor | August 2026

It’s been over two years since the City of St. Paul enacted the Common Cent 1% sales tax to help fund repairs and improvements to streets, bridges, parks and recreational facilities, and downtown has benefited from more than $5.3 million in improvements thus far.

The projects are:
Wabasha Park (formerly Osborn Plaza) at 376 Wabasha St. N. has received $4.1 million. The park has been redesigned and work is underway this summer to add more seating and a shade structure, and to refurbish the existing public art sculpture.

Chestnut Plaza at 178 Shepard Road received $1.2 million. Work is nearly finished on the project, which included moving the water feature pumps to a higher elevation, and adding more seating and steps to a platform near the river.

Pedro Park at 114 10th St. E. received $750,000. The newly created park opened last September with many amenities, including benches, synthetic turf dog run, picnic and event pavilion, performance space, shaded gathering areas, public art, gardens and a play area.

Mears Park received nearly $60,000 for a retaining wall.

Street projects that have received funding include Shepard Road from Eagle Parkway to Sibley Street, and Kellogg Boulevard from Wabasha Street to Sibley Street.

The 1% increase to the local sales tax was implemented in May 2024 and is expected to generate nearly $1 billion over 20 years, with $738 million allocated for streets and $246 million for parks. According to Matt Wagenius, Director of Communications for the St. Paul mayor’s office, the tax has already generated nearly $96.4 million and is on pace to receive full funding early.

“The one cent revenues have seen strong growth – 7% – from May 2024 when the tax was initially enacted to May 2025,” said Wagenius. “At this rate, we’d expect to collect the $984 million years before our 20-year statutory deadline is up.”

• Facebook
• ShareCopied to clipboard