# Rondo *Historically African American neighborhood of Saint Paul, Minnesota, through which Interstate 94 was built between 1956 and 1968.* Rondo is a historically African American neighborhood of Saint Paul, in Ramsey County, [[Minnesota]]. Interstate 94 was built through it from September 1956 until 1968.[^1] A State report quoted in the project's Ramsey County history companion states that "By 1940, 90 percent of the city's Black population lived in low-cost housing extending from the Rondo neighborhood east to the Capitol Area."[^2] The Saint Paul Housing Authority acquired the Rondo parcels in 1954–56. That figure is ReConnect Rondo's, and the companion cites it through the Minnesota Historical Society's Rondo research guide.[^3] The record carries three counts of homes destroyed: 600, 700-plus and approximately 1,000. No source in the pack reconciles them.[^4] On July 17, 2015, MnDOT and the City of Saint Paul apologized for Rondo. The project's history companion records that the verbatim text of the apology was never archived.[^5] Three outputs are documented since then. A commemorative plaza was dedicated on July 14, 2018.[^6] The "Rondo Avenue" name was restored to a stretch of Concordia on February 8, 2024.[^7] Appropriations have been made for a land bridge over I-94. The project's September 2026 dossier puts those appropriations at approximately $12.7 million, against a project estimated to exceed $450 million. That is under 3 percent of the estimate. Every dollar is for planning, pre-development, environmental assessment and outreach, and no construction dollars had been identified eleven years after the apology.[^8] In 1959 the [[Minnesota Legislature]] removed local communities' veto power over highway projects. The Rondo–St. Anthony Improvement Association had been founded in 1955 to negotiate against the route. The project's history companion places the 1959 change after that organizing had become effective.[^9] The pack does not identify the 1959 bill, its chapter, or the party composition of the Legislature that passed it. ## Who The Rondo–St. Anthony Improvement Association was founded in 1955 to negotiate against the I-94 route.[^9] The Saint Paul Housing Authority acquired the Rondo parcels.[^3] MnDOT and the City of Saint Paul are the two bodies named in the 2015 apology.[^5] MnDOT is also the agency carrying the I-94 corridor through a Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement.[^10] ReConnect Rondo, the organization associated with the land bridge, gave an update titled *Imagining Rondo* to the Saint Paul Planning Commission on July 12, 2019.[^11] U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith announced federal funding for the community land bridge project.[^12] U.S. Representative McCollum issued two releases. The first concerned federal infrastructure dollars granted to the ReConnect Rondo restorative development.[^13] The second concerned funds she secured for ReConnect Rondo as part of a House Democratic funding package.[^14] On July 8, 2013, McCollum entered a statement honoring the 30th anniversary of Rondo Days.[^15] Two Rondo-named nonprofits file federal returns posted by ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer. The first is the Rondo Community Land Trust (EIN 41-1753148).[^16] Its posted returns include a Form 990 for fiscal year 2007, Form 990 or 990-EZ returns for fiscal years 2008 through 2010, and a Form 990 for fiscal year 2011.[^17][^18] The second is Rondo Avenue, Inc. (EIN 41-1439087).[^19] Its posted returns are Forms 990-EZ for fiscal years 2008 through 2010.[^20][^21] The Minnesota Historical Society maintains a Rondo research guide with separate primary-source and secondary-source pages.[^22][^23] It also holds the Rondo Oral History Project.[^24] ## When - **1920.** The city engineer mapped St. Anthony Avenue as a potential highway route.[^25] - **1930.** Roughly half of Saint Paul's African American residents lived in Rondo, according to the project's at-issue record.[^25] - **1940.** The State report gives its 90 percent figure.[^2] - **1947.** The route was selected.[^25] - **1954–56.** The Saint Paul Housing Authority acquired the Rondo parcels.[^3] - **1955.** The Rondo–St. Anthony Improvement Association was founded.[^9] - **September 1956.** I-94 construction began through Rondo.[^1] - **1959.** The Legislature removed local veto power over highway projects.[^9] - **1968.** I-94 was complete through Rondo.[^1] - **July 8, 2013.** McCollum entered her statement on the 30th anniversary of Rondo Days.[^15] - **June 14, 2014.** The METRO Green Line opened down University Avenue through Rondo.[^26] - **July 17, 2015.** MnDOT and the City apologized.[^5] - **July 14, 2018.** The Rondo Commemorative Plaza was dedicated.[^6] - **July 12, 2019.** ReConnect Rondo gave its update to the Planning Commission.[^11] - **February 8, 2024.** The Rondo Avenue name was restored to a stretch of Concordia.[^7] - **Forward schedules.** MnDOT's timeline puts the EIS through 2028, a preferred alternative in 2028, and construction in 2029 or later. ReConnect Rondo's published schedule gives construction beginning 2026–2030.[^27] ## Where Rondo lies in Saint Paul. In 1920 the city engineer mapped St. Anthony Avenue as a potential highway route. According to the project's at-issue record, the route selected in 1947 ran through the corridor where African American residents were most concentrated.[^25] The State report quoted in the history companion describes low-cost housing extending from the Rondo neighborhood east to the Capitol Area.[^2] The METRO Green Line, opened on June 14, 2014, runs down University Avenue through Rondo.[^26] The restored Rondo Avenue name applies to a stretch of Concordia.[^7] The proposed land bridge would span a section of I-94 in Saint Paul.[^28] ## How The record documents the taking in three steps: - the Saint Paul Housing Authority acquired the parcels in 1954–56;[^3] - construction began in September 1956;[^1] - in 1959, a statutory change removed local veto power over highway projects.[^9] On the remedy side, MnDOT carried four alternatives into its Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement. None is a dedicated Rondo land bridge alternative. The land bridge assessment is formally separate from the freeway process.[^10] The project's dossier records that MnDOT eliminated the At-Grade alternatives, which it describes as alternatives that would have returned land.[^8] MnDOT's timeline and ReConnect Rondo's published schedule give different construction starts for the same corridor: 2029 or later, against 2026–2030.[^27] ## How much As of its 2026 date, the project's at-issue record itemizes every dollar secured for the land bridge:[^29] - **$6.2 million, state, 2021.** The project's Rondo record files the 2021 session law and the 2021 House File 9 bill text with this item.[^30][^31] - **$2 million, federal, 2022.** The City of Saint Paul announced a $2 million federal grant for the ReConnect Rondo restorative development project.[^32] The *Star Tribune* reported the $2 million planning grant.[^33] The project's Rondo record also files the Biden–Harris administration's announcement of the first awards under the U.S. Department of Transportation's Reconnecting Communities program, together with the program's page.[^34][^35] - **$1.5 million, congressionally directed, 2022.**[^29] - **$1 million, state, 2023.**[^29] - **$2 million, federal, 2024.**[^29] The five items sum to $12.7 million. That is the figure the project's dossier sets against a project estimate exceeding $450 million.[^8] All five are for planning, pre-development, environmental assessment and outreach. The record identifies no construction appropriation.[^29] ## How many The record gives three counts of homes destroyed. The highest-ranked source it names, MnDOT's own scoping document, gives 700-plus homes, as does ReConnect Rondo. The Minnesota Historical Society gives 600, and a 2015 account gives approximately 1,000.[^4] For ReConnect Rondo's figures of 700 homes and 300 businesses, the project's history companion cites the Minnesota Historical Society's Rondo research guide.[^3] The project's dossier states the range