Overview

The Highland District Council (HDC) worked with the Highland Business Association (HBA) using 2025 and 2026 Commercial Corridor Program funds to enhance the corridor by installing new planter beds and tree bases and removing loose brickwork that had become a tripping and safety hazard. In addition, funds supported two community music and food truck events. Lastly, HDC is funding business subgrants to achieve goals that align with the Commercial Corridor Program.

What the funding supports

Crowd seated on the lawn at a Music at the Bridge concert

Events

Event funds bring live music and food trucks to Highland Bridge.

Learn more about Events
Community Reporter logo with the tagline "Serving West End neighborhoods, downtown St. Paul to Fort Snelling since 1972."

Marketing

Marketing funds help to support local businesses through business highlights in the Community Reporter.

Learn more about Marketing
The snow-covered awning of Joan's in the Park restaurant, reading "Joan's in the Park" in script above the word "Restaurant," on a gray brick corner building during a snowfall.

Business Support

Business Support funds allow for various corridor improvements to local businesses including signs, murals, and more.

Learn more about Business Support
A pollinator planting bed of pink, orange and yellow coneflowers alongside a brick paver walkway.

Beautification

Beautification funds help to pay for mulch and replanting of trees, flowers, and shrubs in public areas along with sidewalk maintenance.

Learn more about Beautification

Events

Music at the Bridge

Music at the Bridge is an annual event hosted by the Highland District Council at Highland Bridge. It features live music and food trucks alongside the Mississippi River. Commercial Corridor Program funds helped pay for the event.

Marketing

Article preview for the Highland Park Community Spotlight on Vina Vietnamese Restaurant, with a photo of three people in front of áo dài dresses.

Community Spotlight: Vina Vietnamese

The Highland District Council commissioned a community spotlight on Vina Vietnamese honoring the deep roots of the local Vietnamese restaurant within Highland Park. Commercial Corridor Program funds helped to pay for the article.

Learn more about Vina Vietnamese
Article preview for the Highland Park Community Spotlight on Tiffany Sports Lounge, with a photo of five people in front of the venue's neon sign.

Community Spotlight: Tiffany Sports Lounge

The Highland District Council commissioned a community spotlight on Tiffany Sports Lounge honoring the generational family-run local sports bar within Highland Park. Commercial Corridor Program funds helped to pay for the article.

Learn more about Tiffany Sports Lounge
Article preview for the Highland Park Community Spotlight on Bricks and Minifigs, with a photo of the shop's Lego wall and minifigure display case.

Community Spotlight: Bricks and Minifigs

The Highland District Council commissioned a community spotlight on Bricks and Minifigs a local franchise within Highland Park. Commercial Corridor Program funds helped to pay for the article.

Learn more about Bricks and Minifigs

Business Support - Corridor Improvement Fund

The Highland District Council ran a corridor improvement fund supporting eligible projects that benefit local businesses and the corridor. Grant awardees include Sew Inviting for a mural and new signage, Joan's in the Park for a new awning, and St. City Running for a new sign.

Beautification

A rectangular streetside planting bed of coneflowers, hydrangeas and grasses edged with rust-colored steel, between a brick paver sidewalk and the street.

Mulch and Replanting

Commercial Corridor funds were used by Highland District Park to mulch and replant trees, flowers, and shrubs along Cleveland and Ford Parkway Corridor. In addition, to install the border and mulch for 40+ trees.

A damaged section of a low red-brick retaining wall along a sidewalk, with the top course missing and the concrete cap partially collapsed.

Sidewalk Maintenance

Sidewalk maintenance was performed at several locations to make walking and biking along the corridor safer, and the corridor itself more attractive. Commercial Corridor funds helped pay for improvements at eight locations where the sidewalk was heaving or falling apart.