Kick it at Kellogg: Turning an Underused Park into a Welcoming Space
Client: City of Saint Paul
Date Range: Summer of 2025
Summary: Long underutilized, Kellogg Mall Park has been a place with attractive vegetation yet nothing to do, thus making it a hub for negative activity outside of a few large events per year. The Musicant Group was retained by the City of Saint Paul to attract more visitors to the park, improve their experiences there, and accelerate the economic activity of adjacent Downtown businesses. Over the course of 3 months, the "Kick it at Kellogg" program successfully transformed the park from an underutilized space with serious safety concerns into a vibrant, welcoming community hub for residents, office workers, and hotel visitors. This in turn provided the City with a replicable model for downtown park activation that can be expanded to other sites.
Project Goals & Strategy
Our goal was to improve the experience of visiting Kellogg Mall Park and generate more positive activity in the downtown spaces surrounding it.
Our strategy: Creating positive reasons for people to visit the park that would in turn displace negative activity. Engaging with stakeholders to determine what they wanted to experience, then standing up a new park-wide system that combined physical improvements, enhanced site operations operations, weekly programming, and strategic communications to create a more welcoming environment in Kellogg Mall Park.
What We Did
Discerned and installed new site amenities, including an off-leash dog park, ping pong, book cart, moveable furniture, and lawn and table games
A new model of site stewardship through on-site ambassadors
Launched a new website, social media, and newsletter communications and developed a "Kick It at Kellogg" brand
Established recurring weekly events, including kids storytime, "yappy" hours, and free coffee program
Outcomes & Benefits
The addition of new amenities and programming increased non-male visitors to the park from ~40% to 60%+ (a best-in-class safety indicator). Additionally, from our community survey:
50% said they felt "very safe" in the park, compared to only 20% prior to the project.
78% who live in Downtown St. Paul reported that the project made a positive impact on their experience downtown.
Local residents reported their number of visits to the park increased from an average of 7.6 times per month to 12.4 after the project.
Testimonials
"I never actually thought I would want to spend time in Kellogg Park or bring my grandkids there, which is sad because it is a gem of a park. We love all the downtown parks, but always spent the least time in Kellogg, but now if it continues on the path it is on, I look forward to spending more time there too."
—Community Resident
Testimonals
-
"I never actually thought I would want to spend time in Kellogg Park or bring my grandkids there, which is sad because it is a gem of a park. We love all the downtown parks, but always spent the least time in Kellogg, but now if it continues on the path it is on, I look forward to spending more time there too."
— Community Resident
-
"We work across the street and guests comment daily on how it’s unsafe to be in downtown. It was nice for them to have a safe, beautiful spot to enjoy the summer. It was also nice after 8 years of working here to have a place to go and sit and have lunch outside."
— Manager from the Intercontinental