St. Paul looks to revitalize greater east side with new 'Bear Larp' business district

NINA MOINI: Well, the city of St. Paul is looking to revitalize the Greater East Side neighborhood. And it's starting with a new name for its business district, the Bear Larp District is the new identity for the business corridor at White Bear Avenue and Larpenteur Avenue.

The greater East Side Community Council is spearheading the project. And its executive director, Lisa Theis joins me now. Thanks for your time this afternoon, Lisa.

LISA THEIS: Thank you for having me.

NINA MOINI: As you know, St. Paul has many incredible, vibrant neighborhoods. But for our listeners who may not be from this immediate area or in the area, can you tell us about this area, Bear Larp, and why it's significant to the city?

LISA THEIS: You bet. Well, first, I have to say that this project has come through the city of St. Paul's Corridor Initiative, the Community Corridors Program. We are one of 17 that was chosen. And we are the far northeast corner of the city.

So we have Maplewood to our north and Maplewood, actually, to our east as well. And we've been a thriving area for 50 years. And now, it's time for a new identity and reclaim its place as a neighborhood hub.

NINA MOINI: Why is now the time for this new identity? And what's your goal?

LISA THEIS: Oh, we have so many wonderful things that are happening in our neighborhood. First off, we have the Heights Development, which is just about three blocks to our east. It's going to be 1,000 new homes, hundreds of new jobs, new businesses, community amenities. And most importantly, it brings a big highlight to our White Bear Avenue area.

NINA MOINI: What does a rebrand like this mean, just in terms of everyday people and how they will experience this area?

LISA THEIS: You bet. We have lots of things planned starting this spring of events. We have a renovation of our Hayden Heights Library right on White Bear Avenue. But most importantly, especially right now, we're asking to support our businesses.

Many of our businesses on White Bear Avenue are immigrant owned. And we want to make sure that those folks are coming back after these last two months of, well, a little different than what we're used to, shall we say.

NINA MOINI: I wonder, you mentioned that some other communities received funding as well. Can you talk about where it comes from and how fast you're able to get those funds and really put them into action for these businesses in the area?

LISA THEIS: You bet. This was something that the city of St. Paul, specifically Mayor Carter, during his term, made important to our corridor initiatives. Like I say, there are 17 of us throughout the city that are receiving funding. And so far, it's been a really easy process. We have a great staff that's working with us, as well as having the commitment from Mayor Her, our new mayor, to really support our businesses, especially those of us who need that extra push right now.

NINA MOINI: How much do you foresee going to individual businesses?

LISA THEIS: So each corridor has a kind of a choice on how they spend their funds. For us, we're looking at that rebranding, re-energizing the neighborhood. And so our business community will be supported through that.

Some other corridor programs are giving directly to the businesses. But it's not a lot of money. So there's not huge grants going out to the businesses right now. But we're hoping that in the future, we can pivot a little bit and do more of actually helping out those businesses with grants.

NINA MOINI: Tell me a little bit about some of the raising awareness, rebranding marketing that's going on. I feel I got tagged in a video with a White Bear and I wanted--

LISA THEIS: Matoskah.

NINA MOINI: Yeah, tell me more about that.

LISA THEIS: You bet. So Matoskah is our new mascot for the White Bear Avenue Bear Larp district. And she is one of the few little surprises we have coming through with our campaign, from through traffic to foot traffic.

So she will be officially introduced. And again, Matoskah is Lakota language for White Bear. So it was important to honor those folks who came before us. She's our ambassador. We had a photo shoot with Mayor Her, like you said. You saw that on online. And then in the future, we'll be having events, doing beautification efforts, such as banners, bike racks, and then other ways to bring more foot traffic from through traffic to our neighborhood.

NINA MOINI: So what are going to be the next steps? Like, when do you think people can come and experience the full Bear Larpness, I guess, of the area?

LISA THEIS: You bet. Well, first, we ask that folks start coming to our neighborhood now. Like I say, we have many businesses that need their support, as do all businesses throughout the Twin Cities. But we're mainly looking at starting this spring once the weather gets a little bit warmer.

Matoskah, although she's a polar bear, she doesn't like it that cold. So she wants to feel some of those spring temps so that we can have some parties, events right on White Bear Avenue and bring everyone out this spring.

NINA MOINI: And I know this is a positive development. There's a lot of excitement around it. But you did touch some on how businesses are doing in that area currently just with the ICE surge that has been occurring and now the drawdown that's occurring. Do you feel like it's business, I guess, as usual from before the surge? Or what is your sense for how businesses are functioning right now as it relates to immigration enforcement?

LISA THEIS: You bet. That's a great question. I wouldn't say the drawdown has been felt too much in our neighborhood yet. So it's been a real challenge for our businesses to keep their doors open. So I wouldn't say we're back to business as usual at all. But at the same time, I know that we're very optimistic that that will change soon.

NINA MOINI: Do you happen to some of the other 17 communities that got funding? They're all within the city of St. Paul?

LISA THEIS: Yes, they are. So we're looking at the Rice Larpenteur Alliance. We're looking at University Avenue, different segments of that, different segments of Grand Avenue. So we have a pretty good crew of folks that are not only receiving these funds, but also working together, so that we're not working against each other. We're all trying to find ways to support the business community, especially during this time.

NINA MOINI: And I know there has been a lot of recovery that's been needed in many of these key business corridors that you're mentioning from 2020 and the unrest of 2020 following the murder of George Floyd. How would you say people were recovering from that time?

LISA THEIS: So it was slow. But at the same time, I thought we had kind of found that way of working in the new normals. And then with this ICE surge, it pretty much stopped all of our progress. And now, we need to find a way through and recover again.

But I will say, one thing we've learned from these unprecedented times that keep occurring is that we are united. And we are better together. And so working together with our business community will just bring us to the progress that we need.

NINA MOINI: Lisa, thank you so much for telling us about Bear Larp. Really appreciate your time.

LISA THEIS: Absolutely. And you can check out more at our website, bearlarpdistrict.com.

NINA MOINI: All right. Thanks, Lisa. That's Lisa Theis, executive director of the Greater Eastside Community Council.