St. Joe MN morphing into real small university town setting.

The St. Cloud Times had an excellent article on the key new development (Millstream Shops and Lofts) in downtown St. Joseph that is leading the revitalization of the downtown area. The picture above is one I took on my iPhone. Diane and I have toured the upstairs lofts. They are GORGEOUS. I wish I had a reason to own one. The group behind this effort, and another housing project near the campus, is doing much to give St. Joe that "real" college town (CSB; SJU) feel that I've experienced as I've visited other universities around the country. A small college town needs to be more than bars for drinking...it needs to capture and extend the dynamic atmosphere of learning and thinking from the university to the nearby downtown area.

Kudos to this project. It comes at a time when St. Joe is moving forward. A recent St. Cloud Times article, based on recent US Census data, showed that the population was now over 6,000 and, next to Sartell MN, is the fastest growing community in the St. Cloud Central MN area. Although there is always the risk of losing the small-town identity via fast growth, the vision shown by those involved in these projects should insure the maintenance of the small-town atmosphere together with a university-affiliated downtown atmosphere.

I love this little community.