Downtown East North Loop Plan
Plan Background
The primary goal of the Downtown East/North Loop Master Plan is to develop a vision and a framework for how new growth should occur in the underdeveloped districts of Downtown Minneapolis, particularly in areas surrounding proposed rail transit stations. The Downtown East/North Loop Master Plan was adopted by the Minneapolis Planning Commission in September 2003. It was subsequently adopted by the Minneapolis City Council in October 2003.
Future Land Use and Built Form
Recommendations from the master plan for the North Loop area are covered in the summary of the North Loop Small Area Plan. Remaining recommendations from the master plan, primarily in Downtown East are reflected in the Minneapolis 2040 future land use map largely through application of the Public, Office, and Institutional land use category. The category accommodates all of the uses identified as appropriate in the master plan for this part of the city. Additional guidance is given on the location and nature of required mixed use retail through application of the Destination Mixed Use category. Goods and Services Corridors on Washington and Chicago Avenues, as well as surrounding the The Commons Park further emphasize the opportunity for street fronted commercial uses.
The master plan communicates building scale with three categories of Low (1 to 4 floors), Medium (5 to 13 floors), and High (14 floors and taller). This convention is abandoned in Minneapolis 2040 in favor of generally more permissive height guidance with the application of the ‘Transit 30’ and ‘Core 50’ categories throughout the Downtown East portion of the study area. The exceptions to this application are properties that fall within the Ninth Street South Historic District, which received the ‘Corridor 6’ designation.
