The North Loop is one of the fastest growing neighborhoods in the entire United States. It is the second most densely populated neighborhood in Minneapolis. Thriving businesses and diverse residents alike have made this historic neighborhood a buzzing epicenter of the community. 

One of the biggest attractions – the livability. Another big attraction? The historic charm and nature of the architecture. As developers continue to seek out opportunities to "get a piece of the pie" we ask all of them – this time specifically United Properties – to respect our neighborhood and follow the Minneapolis Warehouse Historic District Design Guidelines. 

Currently, United Properties – a private real estate development company owned by the the Pohlad family – is proposing an 11-story, 159 feet, mixed-use project at 759 Washington Ave N. in Minneapolis. The project has many highly desired attributes, however, Neighbors for North Loop Livability feels that the height of the project facing Washington Ave N. does not meet Sections 3.22 and 3.27 of the Design Guidelines and is not compatible with the massing and scale of surrounding historic properties, all of which range between 6 and 7 stories. 

United Properties and the Pohlad family have all been tremendous stewards of our neighborhood. Their previous projects in the North Loop (the conversions of the historic Loose-Wiles building and the Ford Center) are beautiful tributes to the origins of the North Loop and have been applauded by residents, business owners and visitors of our community.

Part of what sets the North Loop apart from the rest of downtown, is the architectural integrity of the neighborhood, with shorter buildings, access to sunlight and the views into the picturesque downtown core. As Minneapolis artist Brant Kingman stated in a related occasion, “The North Loop has an artistic feel that is partially dependent on the size and style of the buildings in the neighborhood.” Neighbors for North Loop Livability believe that the height of the proposed United development fails to match this aesthetic.

We ask United Properties to amend their plan with greater consideration for its architectural and artistic impact. It takes a lot of effort to preserve history, and we trust that United properties will set a good example of self-restraint and responsible development, to preserve one of the most beautiful pieces of urban history in the State of Minnesota.  

Specifically: we urge United Properties to limit the height of their new project to the height of the surrounding historic buildings (the roofline of the new building should line up with the roofline of the neighboring buildings) and to respect the livability and historic charm of our dynamic neighborhood. 

The image shown above is a rendering of the massing and scale of the proposed United Properties building in the 700 block of Washington Ave N. in the North Loop. The proposed building is 159 feet – i.e., the same height of the tower at 700 Lofts – entirely out of scale with the surrounding historic buildings in the neighborhood.

Below, is a link to the Warehouse Historic District Design Guidelines. Published in 2010, by the City's Community Planning & Economic Development Department and the Heritage Preservation Commission.

http://www.minneapolismn.gov/www/groups/public/@cped/documents/webcontent/convert_279796.pdf

Join our fight to protect the integrity of the North Loop neighborhood. Please sign this petition and let decision makers within United Properties and the City of Minneapolis know that we – the business owners and stakeholders, frequent visitors and residents of the neighborhood do not want tall, out-of-scale buildings overshadowing the historic North Loop.