'ReConnectRondo' Offers App For Neighbors To Give Their Ideas On New St. Paul Land Bridge

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Rondo, a historic African American neighborhood St. Paul, is moving forward with an effort to build a land bridge over Interstate 94 to reconnect the split neighborhood.

Back in the 1950s, the Rondo neighborhood made up 85% of St. Paul's African American population. It was a thriving community of homes and businesses between Lexington Parkway, Rice Street, Marshall Avenue and University Avenue.

However, shortly into its peak, Rondo was cut in half by the construction of I-94, which displaced 600 African American families and 300 businesses.

Today, the neighborhood is trying to rebuild their history with a land bridge that would reconnect the neighborhood from Rice Street to Lexington Parkway with a land bridge structure over the interstate.

This is an effort backed by the nonprofit ReConnectRondo. The land bridge would not just be open park space, but the vision is to build businesses and institutions on top of it.

"We're not the first to build a structure that things can go on top of, but what we are is the first to really consider a way in which communities are engaged in the design," said Keith Baker with ReConnectRondo.

They are asking the Rondo community to decide the layout of the land bridge. They are doing this through an app created by HGA.

"They can pick from a number of different planning blocks like parks, schools, housing units. They can place those on the app and then they can save that data," said Jonathan Bartling, an architect with HGA.

ReConnectRondo was a vision that began two years ago when they built a plaza along Old Rondo Avenue. Right now, there are 700 bricks that make up the plaza, and the nonprofit is selling memory bricks for people to engrave their names and memories along it.

"I'm hoping it'll all be a beautiful thing when it's all said and done," said lifelong Rondo resident Jozette Milton.

The city of St. Paul and Ramsey County have helped fund this project, but ReConnectRondo is looking for private donors as well.

This project is in its early planning phase, but they hope to have a structure built in five to seven years.