From commercial to residential. A new ordinance signed by Mayor Jacob Frey today, spearheaded by Sherman Associates, will help transform older buildings in downtown into housing.
"Downtowns are dramatically changing and we in the City of Minneapolis need to be at the forefront of that change," Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said Tuesday.
And what Frey means is converting presently vacant office space into residential housing, starting with the 216 units at The Groove Lofts on 2nd Avenue and 7th Street.
"Starting with the 216 units at the Groove Lofts, it's a beautiful mix of market rate plus affordable," explains the mayor. "These are really nice units by the way, and it transitions a building that had not been used for quite some time into one that will have people in it."
The building is the old Northstar Center which was a mix of offices, hotel, parking and retail space at both the skyway level and ground level. But it has struggled to keep tenants. The hotel was purchased by the IGH Hotels and Resorts, and remade into a Hotel Indigo.
Now, they're transitioning to lofts and Kate Cashman, who represents Ward 7 on the City Council, said there was overwhelming support for this ordinance because of its importance.
"It's really a win-win for both revitalizing our property tax base and creating more housing in this city that is desperately needed," Cashman said.
The first building to get a makeover is the Groove Lofts.
"How people use this city, how people use our downtowns, will significantly change," says Frey. "This is no longer going to just be a place where people come in to work at 8:00 a.m. and leave at 5:00 p.m. We're going to have a beautiful, diversity of use and people.
The building that will open October 10. Cashman said the collective goal is to transform Downtown from a 9:00 to 5:00 model into a 24/7 model.