Whose job is it to build a great place?

“Place is the most important unit of change in the world,” according to Stephen Klimek, the new executive director of Towerside Innovation District.
The district straddles two cities and two counties, and gained attention when the Green Line route linked the area together in a new way.
“It represents a new way of thinking about a significant area of underdeveloped land in the heart of the Minneapolis – Saint Paul metropolitan region. It is a rich mix of spaces, places and activities supported by a district-wide network of innovative services and systems including stormwater management, heating/cooling and energy, as well as parking and a connecting green public realm,” explained Klimek during a presentation to the Midway Area of Chamber on Sept. 24, 2024. The event was held at the Sunrise Bank corporate building at 2525 Wabash Ave., one of the many new structures built within the Towerside district in the last 10 years since the Green Line began operating.
The Towerside Innovation District is 370 acres from the University of Minnesota stadium east to 280, from the railroads south. Part of it overlaps with the Creative Enterprise Zone (CEZ) in St. Paul, an initiative that Klimek has served on the board of since 2020.
“Whose job is it to build a great place?” asked Klimek. “How do we amplify and protect what’s here? How do we have a new paradigm about place?”
When the Green Line came through, there were no sidewalks on many of the streets in the area, and many run-down and empty industrial buildings.
Towerside officially incorporated in 2017 but grew out of neighborhood committees that had been meeting since 2009. It worked to fill in the gaps between governing bodies, and drive development thoughtfully and intentionally, said Klimek.
“It’s up to us to be that bridge,” he stated.
Surly Brewery moved its operations into the area and opened a brew hall that added 200 jobs. O’Shaughnessy Distilling debuted its 30,000-square-foot dream distillery in August 2024. The Case building was renovated for 170,000-square-feet of creative offices that added over 500 jobs. The Sunrise Bank headquarters building has 57,000 square feet for 200 jobs and gathering space for the YMCA. University Enterprise Labs did a 18,000 square foot expansion to house 60 biomedical tenants. East Gateway by the University of Minnesota has mixed use. Hampton Inn and Suites and Home2Suites provide 229 rooms and employ 50 people. A remodeled old warehouse building became Malcolm Yards, a 16,000-square-foot food hall with 11 restaurants. Next door, Wall Companies built 500,000 square feet of office and 250 housing units. The Link, The Louis, Green on 4th, Millberry and the Legends at Berry, The Arrow, The Pillars of Prospect Park, HERE Minneapolis, The Station at Malcolm Yards, The Flats at Malcolm Yards and The Max added 2,600 affordable and market-rate housing units for singles, families and seniors, plus a childcare center, Fresh Thyme grocery store, and retail spaces.
Coming is the $1 billion MPAact Health Campus, and the three-phase, 1 million-square-foot Minnesota Innovation Exchange (MIX) for life science, office and mixed use.
The value for residential permits is at $402 million and for commercial permits $128 million. A study is starting that will analyze the economic development of Towerside and CEZ.
“The change is happening so fast, it’s hard to keep up,” said Klimek.
Jeff Barnhardt of Prospect Park Properties worked to develop Bridal Veil Gardens located across from the Prospect Park Light Rail Station with seating, a picnic pavilion, and community garden plots, and the half-acre property officially became part of the Minneapolis Parks and Recreation (MPRB) system in 2019. It is named after the creek that runs underneath the park and comes out at Bridal Veil Falls on the Mississippi River. The $1.4 million cost was provided by the first use of the MPRB’s park dedication fee policy.
Buried beneath the public land is a first-of-its-kind stormwater management system. Runoff from 8 acres of private land is collected, treated, stored and provided for reuse.
Green 4th is a one-half mile long stretch of 4th Street SE public right of way between Malcolm Ave SE and 25th Ave SE developed with transit connections and pedestrian-oriented amenities.
They’re working to identify a route to fill the “missing link” and complete the city’s Ground Round project, a trail that circles the city, and lacks the Granary Crossing in the Towerside neighborhood.
They’re exploring ATES, aquifer thermal energy, with new large-scale developments. (It’s also being done at the US Bank site on Lake St.) They also studied STER, sewer thermal energy recovery. Although they weren’t able to make that happen in 2015, the Met Council is now using the work they did.
Barnhardt and Prospect Park Properties is working on the United Crushers projection project, which will project digital art, movies, video games and more on the tall grain silos at 419 29th Ave. SE.
“Sometimes an innovation is really big and sometimes it is little,” said Klimek.
More at www.towersidemsp.org.