We received 11 applications in total, with 11 grant requests (totaling $110,000 compared to $60,000 in STAR funds available) and four loan requests (totaling $95,000, with $100,000 in STAR funds available). 

The CEZ Real Estate Committee will be meeting this week to review the project submissions, follow up with applicants (if needed), and award program dollars. Applicants should expect to hear back from us before the end of the February.

If you have questions about the CEZ's Neighborhood STAR program, made possible in partnership with the City of Saint Paul, please contact Angela Casselton 
at director@creativeenterprisezone.org or at 612.205.7915.

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City Opens *New* Round of STAR Funding

If you missed the deadline for CEZ's grant and loan program for capital improvement projects, it's not too late to apply for Neighborhood STAR funding directly from the City of Saint Paul.

All public, private, nonprofit, or for-property entities located or doing business in Sant Paul are eligible to apply. Applications are due Wednesday, March 24 at 4 p.m. 

Funding can be used for permanently affixed, physical (“bricks and mortar”) enhancements that strengthen or improve Saint Paul neighborhoods, including but not limited to:

• commercial and/or housing rehabilitation,

• parks,

• streetscape projects,

• creative placemaking/placekeeping, and

• economic development activities with an expected life of seven or more years.

To learn more and apply, visit stpaul.gov/neighborhood-star or contact:

Michele Swanson, Program Coordinator
PED-NeighborhoodStar@ci.stpaul.mn.us
(651) 266-6574

Nancy Vang, Project Management Technician
PED-NeighborhoodStar@ci.stpaul.mn.us
(651) 266-6474

Prior Works – Home to Creativity 

American Can Company, 747-767 North Prior, St. Paul, circa 1925. Minnesota Historical Society collections.

By 1902, the American Can Factory was producing billions of tin cans for Hormel Foods (think SPAM), Swift & Co., Armour & Co, and other global distributors, until its closure a century later. After multiple name and ownership changes, the 500,000-square-foot industrial space closed for good in 2007 until its purchase and rebirth by California developer Orton in 2013.

Now known as the Prior Works building, the old factory is home to many unique creative businesses. Here are just a few:


True Stone's Cajamarca Peru and the "Roasterie" located in the Prior Works Building. Below, owners Bruce and Charlene Olson. Photos courtesy of True Stone Coffee Roasters.

True Stone Coffee Roasters — With its full-scale roasting facility, bottling line and SCA-accredited training lab (closed temporarily due to Covid), True Stone Coffee Roasters has been "helping coffee bars, cafes, restaurants, and home brewers serve the best brews in the Twin Cities since 2003". With a café in Lowertown near the farmers market, there's plenty to keep St. Paul-proud owners Bruce and Charlene Olson busy as they meet the needs of their wholesale partners and retail customers.



Actress Katie Bradley in “Today is My Birthday.” Photo courtesy of Theater Mu.

Theater Mu — In their first production since the pandemic began, Theater Mu's "Today is My Birthday” has been extended as video-on-demand through February 28. Written by Susan Soon He Stanton and directed by Lily Tung Crystal, “Today” is a comedy about loneliness in the age of connection. Buy tickets to see the innovative virtual performance or to learn more about this dynamic local theater, dedicated to bringing "great performances born of arts, equity, and justice from the heart of the Asian American experience.” More at theatermu.org.  


The actors of "Stand by Me" get ready for a live performance. Photo courtesy of Collide Theatrical Dance.

Collide Theatrical Dance Company — In their Valentine’s show “Stand by Me," featuring over 20 love stories inspired by true events, Collide Theatrical Dance Company has created a virtual presentation that can be streamed by show date or on demand now through February 27. Next up is "Wonderland," a summer-long series of outdoor performances. Located in the Prior Works building at 755 Prior Ave N. (home of Can Can Wonderland, Blackstack Brewing, FlannelJax's, and more), Collide was founded in 2013 by choreographer and director Regina Peluso to bring “a new form of entertainment to modern audiences.” More at collidetheatrical.org.

Upswing Creative — Also located in the CEZ's "upper east side," this "message-first creative agency for companies in industrial and essential products and services" has an impressive online portfolio of their work at upswingcreative.com. Get to know Upswing founders Josh Whitcome and Chris Fink through their lively social media posts (Facebook and Instagram) and company videos.

Supernatural Big Baits — Creative inspiration can take many forms. For Duff Thury, founder of Supernatural Big Baits, it was just a matter of time before his love of custom furniture-making and muskie fishing combined. After first mimicking existing lures but making them much bigger, Thury mastered the techniques and design principles of existing muskie crankbaits before creating his own unique lures. After "six years of R & D, the first HeadLock came to be and the action was nothing short of ‘supernatural’." These lures are so pretty, you might just want to use them for home decor and fishing. Browse their social media  pages or shop online at supernaturalbigbaits.com.

Fly Freak Studio — Offering over 30 Zoom classes a week in barre, dance, flexibility, handstands, yoga, and conditioning, Fly Freak Studio is also open for in-studio aerial and land classes (fully masked, of course.) "We pride ourselves on creating a body-positive culture to celebrate the joy of movement." Learn more about owner Hayley Saccomano's freaky approach to fitness at flyfreakstudio.com or join her "Land of 10,000 Freaks" facebook page for freaky updates.