Business Toolkit for Street Construction

There are three steps in calculating a special assessment. 

1. The City’s Department of Public Works calculates the total Project Cost and then determines an Assessable Cost, usually 25% of Project Cost for street reconstruction and road resurfacing projects. Assessable Cost is divided by the project’s total street frontage to derive a per-foot assessment rate. That rate is multiplied by each property’s assessable frontage to determine a preliminary estimated assessment amount for the property. 
2. The maximum special benefit of the project is then calculated for all properties. Special benefit is the increase in market value of a property resulting from the public improvement project. Special benefit is calculated as follows: 
   • Establish the estimated market value of each property based on Ramsey County assessed valuations. 
   • Assign a special benefit percentage to each property based on analysis from an independent appraisal consultant. 
   • Multiply the estimated market value by the special benefit percentage to derive a maximum special benefit assessment amount. This is the secondary assessment amount.
3. The preliminary and secondary assessment amounts are compared and the Estimated Assessment is the lesser of the two amounts.

• Assessment invoices are sent to property owners after the project is completed.
• You can pay your assessments in full, interest free, for up to 30 days after the City council levies the assessment and you receive the invoice.
• You have up to 20 years for street reconstruction projects and up to 10 years for road resurfacing  projects to pay your assessment.
• Interest and a fee are added to the assessment amount after the initial 30 days. 

• Yes, this is the typical payment method. Every November the City transmits the total amount of principal and interest installments on your assessment to Ramsey County for collection with the next year’s property taxes.

651-266-8858
ofs-assessments@ci.stpaul.mn.us

More information online at stpaul.gov/assessments

Starting in November or December, if your property is eligible to replace the private sanitary sewer in the right of way, you will receive a letter from the Saint Paul Public Works Sewer Utility Division. 

This letter will include information about your private sanitary sewer service, including its age and known information about repairs. Your estimates cost to complete this work in the public right of way in coordination with the street construction is also included.

If you would like to have the repair of your private sanitary sewer completed, you must sign and return the included form “Request for Sanitary Service Repair” by the date indicated. If you do not want to repair your private sanitary sewer as part of the street construction, please complete the form “Request for Sanitary Service Repair” declining replacement by the date indicated.

• You will receive an invoice for the cost of private sanitary sewer replacement work once it is completed.
• You can pay the full cost of private sanitary sewer replacement, interest free.
• You can have the cost of the sewer work assessed to your property.
• You have up to 20 years to pay your assessment through your property tax payments.
• Interest and a fee are added to the sewer assessment amount.

651-266-6234
pw-sewercounter@ci.stpaul.mn.us 
stpaul.gov/sewer

• For many businesses, this requires access to the building’s water service line.
• During the switch: 
  • You may experience a planned, short water outage.
  • Typical duration is a couple of hours. 
  • Access to your water meter will be required.

• After the temporary connection:
  •  Your building’s water service runs from the temporary water main.
  • Normal operations can continue while street work is happening. 
  • Temporary water supply may be free of charge to impacted properties, as the water may not run through the meter.

After the new main is installed and tested for water quality, service lines are moved from the temporary main to the new permanent or relined main. This requires a planned, temporary water outage that typically lasts between 2-4 hours. Impacted residents and businesses will receive advanced notice of the date and time for the outage. 

After reconnecting to the new water main, water services will resume, and any temporary piping is removed.

Saint Paul Regional Water Services (SPRWS) is working to replace lead service lines as part of the Lead Free SPRWS program. This work occurs before construction, typically along with other utility work. If your property or business is located on a scheduled project street, here is what you can expect.

Starting in November or December, if your property is identified as having a lead, partial lead, or unknown service line, you will be notified by SPRWS via letter and other mailings. 

In early spring, all properties and businesses on streets affected by lead free work, whether they are getting their lead service lines replaced or not, will receive a general construction notice with anticipated timing and what to expect.

If your service line qualifies for replacement, you will be contacted by SPRWS. They will work with you to minimize disruption to business operations whenever possible. Building access will be required if the line being replaced is located on private property. Replacement typically takes one day per property.

Contractors will place signage in the area. Doorhangers will be delivered at least one week before work begins on your block with parking and access details.

• Temporary lane closures or parking restrictions. 
• Excavation near the curb and possibly near the building foundation. 
• Construction equipment and crews working on the block.

• Temporary water shutoff during replacement.
• Access needed to the water meter area. 
• Brief water flushing after service is restored.

Excavation areas are backfilled the same day and temporary surface restoration is completed promptly. Final restoration (concrete, asphalt, boulevard) occurs with the street reconstruction.

Lead Free Water Team
651-266-6820 
lead@stpaul.gov
stpaul.gov/lead-free

• Your go-to for all project information.
• City-led promotions/coordinated campaigns for the project.
• Project contacts. 
• FAQs. 
• Archive of project documents including: letters, videos, and community meeting information.

• Letters or postcards sent to property owners and property addresses.
• Flyers left at front doors.

• Sign up on the project website before construction starts to stay informed throughout the project. 
• Updates contain current and upcoming construction activities and impacts.
• Sent regularly during active construction.

• Public Works posts information on project milestones.
• Promotes any City-led promotions/coordinated campaigns in the project area.
• Shares community-wide events near the project corridor.

• Held during the planning and design stages and before construction begins.
• All businesses, residents, and visitors to the area are welcome to attend.
• Representatives from the project are in attendance to present or explain the upcoming construction project. 
• Attendees are encouraged to bring all questions they have about upcoming construction.
• Materials are provided to explain construction activities and the necessary detours, upcoming timelines, and staging of the construction.
• For multi-year projects, additional meetings may be held at the start of each new season or before any significant staging changes.

• Held regularly, or as needed, throughout the project.
• May be virtual, in-person, or hybrid.
• Designed to provide ongoing updates on construction activities and to fit the needs of the community and businesses.

• May periodically be used before and throughout the project to help determine the needs of the community.
•  Sent when construction is completed for feedback on what worked well and what could be improved.

• Provided to the community throughout planning, design and construction as an efficient way to communicate with the project staff.
• Businesses and residents can also always reach out to Public Works at any time at 651-266-6100 or publicworksinfo@ci.stpaul.mn.us. 

A mid-size restaurant changed their business model to accommodate and promote third-party deliveries. By promoting online orders and third-party delivery services, they were able to maintain sales and the number of orders their restaurant received. 

The area business association played a critical role by keeping us informed on construction progress, advocating for businesses, and actively encouraging the community to continue shopping on the corridor through promotions, coupons, and outreach. They also shared detour maps and consistently elevated the concerns of impacted businesses. At the same time, third-party delivery services played an important role in helping maintain sales when in-person access was limited. These platforms helped bridge the gap, allowing customers to continue supporting us despite the construction. Together, this support helped the business stay operational during an extremely difficult period.

A newly established bakery who used to rely on walk-ins for sales transitioned their business model and created a new revenue flow through catering. Through marketing and social media of this service, this business was able to find a completely new revenue flow which benefited them through construction and after construction. 

A small-scale retail business that relied on walk-in customers and knew that with construction coming they would struggle to maintain the same revenue flow. Since they had time to prepare for construction, they were able to save extra funds before construction, which went towards keeping their business afloat while also planning a much-needed interior renovation.

A local construction supplier took advantage of the slow-down to take on a capital improvement project. They applied for a grant through their local business support organization and were able to secure funding to complete facade and building improvements that would have otherwise disrupted their business. After construction finished, they also presented a fresh, new look to their customer base and neighborhood. 

“We found it helpful to assign a main point of contact that worked directly with the county/City/contractors for everything. Careful planning, clear communication with contractors/county/ City, and maintaining flexibility were critical lessons learned. We would also emphasize the importance of early and ongoing coordination with [the contractors/county/City], realistic timelines, and clear signage and communication to customers to help mitigate the impact during construction. In addition, having the amazing resource of [the business association/ district council/neighborhood organization] to help advocate for the businesses was instrumental in helping during the construction process.”