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The trophy case at the City of Minneapolis is filling up, thanks to national recognition for an array of features that make the City of Lakes a destination for visitors and a source of pride for residents. 

Recent recognitions include:  

• One of the best in the U.S. and internationally for downtown activity rebound, according to a study from the University of Toronto School of Cities 
• Best city for college graduates, named by the staff at the New York Times 
• Best big city for biking, pedaled by the PeopleForBikes 
• Happiest city in the country, named by Institute for Quality of Life  

“Minneapolis is cruising into the summer and racking up some major wins,” said Mayor Jacob Frey. “While we all know our parks are special, our arts scene is unique, and our people are happy, seeing Minneapolis top all these national lists puts a serious hop in our collective step. Our city is on a roll, and we all have to lean into the positive accolades to keep the momentum going.” 

Downtown rebound 

The destination feel of the city was in full force this past weekend, when hundreds of thousands of people descended on downtown for “Gymnastics City USA” and Pride events. City teams report all events were safe and successful because of increased traffic control and true collaboration between city teams and downtown businesses. 

Nicollet Mall was transformed into Promenade du Nord, an ode to all things Paris where athletes will compete in the Summer Games. As part of a citywide effort to revitalize downtown, city leaders are exploring the conversion of Nicollet Mall into a pedestrian only zone, along with options for directing transit service elsewhere through downtown.  

The bustle will continue as Minneapolis hosts the Taste of Minnesota this weekend and Aquatennial celebrations July 24-July 27.  

Pedaling toward success 

For the second year in a row, Minneapolis is ranked number one in biking out of 2,300 cities in the U.S. in the PeopleForBikes’ seventh annual City Ratings, in addition to having one of the best new U.S. bike lanes of 2023. The city’s neighbor, St. Paul, ranked fourth. Cities are measured by the quality and connectivity of its bike network based on safe speeds, protected bike lanes, reallocated road space, intersection safety, network connections and trusted data. Minneapolis boasts 25 miles of on-street protected bikeways and 111 miles of off-street bikeways and trails for residents and visitors to enjoy. In fact, to keep up with demand, the City of Minneapolis is even hiring a bike coordinator.  

“Biking is one of the most popular ways people get around the city, and we couldn’t be prouder of this distinction – for two years running,” said Jenifer Hager, director of transportation planning & programming for the City of Minneapolis. “Our bike share program and trail systems are some of the best in the country. Pedaling through Minneapolis is a great way to see the city and spend the day.”

The City and developers full speed ahead on stalled housing projects to increase affordability and density

On Tuesday, Mayor Jacob Frey, Council Member Aurin Chowdhury, State legislators, labor leaders, developers, housing and environmental advocates applauded legislation passed during the 2024 legislative session allowing the City of Minneapolis to resume housing development under the Minneapolis 2040 Comprehensive Plan. After being stuck in a years-long court battle, state lawmakers passed a bill that resolved the legal challenge under the 2040 Plan that gave rise to the lawsuit. The legislation allows the City of Minneapolis to move forward with permitting long-stalled multi-unit housing projects.

“Minneapolis’ nation-leading affordable housing work has been made possible in large part due to the 2040 Plan – and thanks to our state lawmakers, we get to keep that historic work going,” said Mayor Frey. “The 2040 Plan has always been about more than development; it’s a testament to our City’s commitment to having diverse housing options in every neighborhood, equitable growth, and the dismantling of generations of intentional segregation. Our partners at the legislature found a fix to protect this plan – and every neighborhood in Minneapolis will benefit because of it.”

“The Minneapolis 2040 Plan is a landmark accomplishment that set an example for the rest of the country,” said State Senator Omar Fateh. “By legalizing triplexes and allowing more Transit Oriented Development, Minneapolis has led the way on housing affordability, climate action, and reversing the racist legacy of exclusionary zoning. We should not allow our state's environmental laws to be abused to halt progress like that, so I was proud to be the lead Senate author on the bill to protect our environmental laws from that type of misuse.”

“I was proud to author the comprehensive plan clarification bill to ensure much-needed housing development can move forward, while also ensuring that appropriate environmental review and protections remain in place. Housing density and environmental review can and should exist together to achieve our affordable housing and environmental goals at the same time, and this bill ensures that they do,” said State Representative Sydney Jordan.

“Resolving the Minneapolis 2040 lawsuit once-and-for-all will allow Minneapolis and other cities to move forward with their vision for a future that is both pro-housing and pro-environment. In doing so we will create more affordable homes that are desperately needed, a vital step forward in our state’s work to address our housing crisis. Only through innovation and an all-hands-on-deck approach at all levels of government will we meet this moment,” said State Representative Mike Howard.

The Minneapolis 2040 Comprehensive Plan was passed in 2019 and was the guiding vision for shaping how the city will grow and change for the next 20 years. This includes historic zoning reforms to allow for a diversity of use in all neighborhoods across the city.

“In the four plus years since the Minneapolis 2040 plan has been in place, we are seeing that bold land use policies intended to address our city’s housing shortage are working to produce more housing choices in more neighborhoods. The City is increasing housing supply while growing in a sustainable way that protects the environment through implementation of Minneapolis 2040, along with other comprehensive policy documents like the Climate Equity Action Plan and the Transportation Action Plan,” said City Planning Director Meg McMahan.

In part due to the 2040 Plan, Minneapolis has seen record-breaking levels of affordable rental housing units produced in the past several years, while also keeping rents at some of the lowest rates in the country.

Since 2018, Mayor Frey and the City of Minneapolis have invested more than $360 million into affordable rental housing and homeownership programs.

**_Minneapolis is brimming with possibility and leaning into change

Speech highlighted transformational work being done through the arts and vibrant storefronts, investment in City workforce and cross-departmental collaborations, upcoming community safety center, commitment to police reform, and a 2025 budget forecast

_**

Today, Mayor Jacob Frey delivered his 2024 State of the City Address at the NorthStar Center in downtown Minneapolis – the site of the first, recent commercial-to-residential housing conversion project. The mayor gave his remarks in person to state and local elected officials, Minneapolis City Council members, City of Minneapolis leadership and staff, community partners, and members of the press.

The address focused on Minneapolis brimming with possibility and leaning into change during this transformational time. The mayor highlighted the city’s record-setting affordable housing production over the past six years, current arts and vibrant storefronts work to revitalize downtown, the Southside Community Safety Center, police reform, the importance of our City workforce, and a high-level forecast of the budgeting process for 2025.

“By the numbers, the acceleration of our recovery and the pace of change continues. We are leading the nation in the rate of visitor return to downtown with activity up by 45% in the past year,” said Frey.

“Meet Minneapolis announced that 2023 was the strongest year for hotel room demand since 2019. Zillow recently ranked Minneapolis as a top city for first-time homebuyers. That’s right. Anyone looking for a great new home, in a great new city… they should look no further than right here.” 

Frey continued, “Achieving that possibility and realizing potential during a time of great transition is hard. And realizing potential is not always a comfortable process, but we must lean into that discomfort all the same. So, the state of our city is brimming with possibility and leaning in to change.”

Takeaways from Mayor Frey’s State of the City Address 

Affordable Housing:

Since Mayor Frey took office in 2018, affordable housing has remained a top priority, and our housing team in CPED has been leading the charge. The mayor and City have invested a total of $363 million into affordable rental housing and homeownership programs in the past six years.

Between 2018 and 2024, the City has produced 4,679 total units of affordable housing – an average of 780 total units each year. That’s more than double the average between 2011 and 2017. The City has also been prioritizing deeply affordable rental housing at 30% AMI or lower, producing deeply affordable units at nearly 8.5 times the previous rate on average over the past six years. Recently, the mayor and the City have also:

• Invested $5 million in ongoing funds to the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority
• Served 1,728 families and 4,881 children through the Stable Homes Stable Schools program 

Community Safety:

Commissioner Barnette is leading a team to bring the Southside Community Safety Center to fruition by next year, and our communities are shaping this vision alongside our city team. To date, the Office of Community Safety (OCS) has met with community members during more than 15 engagement sessions – and is collecting feedback directly from those who will be most impacted, our Third Precinct residents.

OCS is also acting on the recommendations coming out of the Minneapolis Safe and Thriving Communities Report. This report serves to launch our community safety design and implementation work – helping OCS coordinate our safety departments to address prevention, response, and restoration.

And finally, the City is carrying out the necessary work of police reform. Both through a settlement agreement with the state and an eventual federal consent decree. We are changing the way policing is done in the United States. Chief O’Hara and his leadership team are committed to these reforms and strengthening community-police relations – and City Attorney Kristyn Anderson and the entire 34-person implementation unit is committed to upholding compliance and seeing this thing through to the end.

Arts & Vibrant Storefronts:

Recognizing that art is a lynchpin for so much in Minneapolis, Mayor Frey created the Department of Arts & Cultural Affairs last year, and now they are embarking on a beautiful plan for transition across the city.

Got a bland, vanilla, underutilized storefront? Give it to an artist. Let them shape an outcome that is dynamic and transformative. That’s exactly what Director Ben Johnson and his team are doing. Changing vacant storefronts to must-see destinations. 

City Workforce:

Through deliberate recruitment efforts by staff across our enterprise, great leadership from City Operations Officer Margaret Anderson Kelliher, Department Directors, and a brilliant HR strategy execution from our HR Director Nikki Odom, the City is getting new hires in the door quicker, increasing employee diversity, and welcoming and retaining some serious talent as well.

Compared to last year, applications to the City of Minneapolis have gone up 101%, time to fill jobs has decreased 26%, and the diverse team we are forming is serving our city with passion and skill. In the first quarter of 2024, we are up 56% in our Hispanic/Latino hires, up 55% in our Native American hires, up 15% in our Asian hires, and up 8% in our Black/African American hires.

And, this past year, the City has also been recognized as an “Age Friendly Employer” by the Age Friendly Institute and as a “Most LGBTQ+ Friendly Employer” by Diversity for Social Impact.

These aren’t just awards. These recognitions coupled with the new hiring data show the deep investment we have made – and continue to make – in our City workforce.

Budget Forecast:

Coming into this year’s budgeting process, the City is starting at a projected levy increase of 6.1%. Anything we add to the budget will only increase the levy. And at the very least, the City has 12 union contracts up for renewal next year where we expect to see significant wage increases for over 1,000 City employees.

“The reality of everything I have said so far in this speech, every statistic I provided and number one ranking I bragged about is true. It’s also true that our world has changed. And changing with it will, at times, be uncertain. Even uncomfortable,” said Frey.

Frey continued, “Here’s the reality: budgeting will look different this year. This is not the year to add new, shiny programs. It’s the year to effectively carry out the ones we have.”

The big factor – downtown valuation. With fewer taxes collected from downtown buildings, the money has to come from somewhere. So, that burden of a regressive tax shifts to residents – both homeowners and renters, disproportionately impacting our low-income residents and seniors.

Mayor Frey’s Closing Remarks:

“Reality doesn’t wait for theory to catch up. Minneapolis residents expect much of their local government – most importantly, results. And in Minneapolis, we achieve our possibility by saying “we do” and “we can.”

Changes city leaders and advocates have sought for generations are arriving today.

We CAN knock down the K-Mart, breathing new life into a corridor. We CAN put up eight and a half times the amount of deeply affordable housing. We CAN convert buildings from commercial to residential... make Nicollet Mall a pedestrian space ... and achieve permanent implementation of the 2040 plan… We CAN.

Our city is brimming with possibility... and we all make up that team to ensure it’s realized.” –Mayor Frey, State of the City 2024

The mayor’s full State of the City remarks as prepared may be found here.