Granary Crossing: More Than A Bridge

Granary Crossing is essential to improving multi-modal transportation access and movement in and around the Towerside Innovation District. It would be a major segment of a regional recreation corridor that includes pedestrian and bicycle trails that provide the “Missing Link” in the Grand Rounds. Although the planning, funding, and construction of this infrastructure framework will take years, there are active development plans underway in Towerside. The need is urgent to identify the site requirements of this complex combination of roadways, ramps, bridges and structures so that private sector development can proceed without compromising future infrastructure design. Towerside has embarked on a professional analysis of the issues involved to explore alternatives and develop a more detailed conceptual plan based on engineering judgment. This study is not intended to be a final design. The purpose is to identify the core issues related to this complex structure in order to inform the follow up process of developing broadly based community, multi-government, and agency support for making real the long-held vision for Granary Crossing.  Read More

District Mobility and Parking in Towerside

Published in June of 2024 the Towerside District Mobility and Parking Management Framework Update has established short-term and ongoing mobility strategies to manage the needs for both today and the future. Listening sessions occurred with key constituents, property owners, and businesses and helped reaffirm issues and opportunities, while exploring ideas on how to better manage parking.  Read More

Growing Towerside’s Leadership

Each year in June, Towerside’s Supported Organizations have the opportunity to vote for Board of Director candidates that are recruited and nominated by our Nominations Committee. This year’s slate of candidates represent an impressive breadth of experience that will grow key areas of Towerside’s work. Learn more about this year's nominees. Read More

Stephen Klimek named Towerside Innovation District’s Executive Director

Bringing expertise in asset-based community and economic development, Klimek is Towerside Innovation District’s first executive director. “We are thrilled to welcome Stephen Klimek as a leader with a proven track record of creative problem solving, building organizational capacity, and prioritizing equity and diversity for vibrant communities,” said Sabina Saksena, Towerside Board President. Read More

Harvest Festival 2022

The Fall Harvest Festival was held on September 22nd in the newly named Bridal Veil Gardens. Read More

Nominees for Board of Directors

Board of Director Nominations with Terms ending in 2025 Read More

2022 Board of Directors

Resilient Towerside

Research from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs on cultivating community, vitality, and creativity in a prime Twin Cities district Read More

Towerside Energy District

The vision of Towerside Innovation District always included innovation in energy use; sustainability, energy independence, and without the use of fossil fuels. That groundbreaking sustainability project moved a significant step forward on September 24, 2021 when the Minneapolis City Council approved a loan for the construction of an aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) system. Read More

Chroma Zone Mural Festival

It started as an idea, to install large outdoor murals on the vast walls of a gritty industrial area of Saint Paul. That idea became reality through a founding partnership with the Creative Enterprise Zone (CEZ), a city recognized district and nonprofit organization dedicated to attracting and supporting creative people and businesses. Read More

Green 4th Street Volunteer Day

This summer, representatives of Towerside and Prospect Park Properties joined Mississippi Watershed Maintenance Organization (MWMO)’s Green Team extending a little tlc to Towerside’s green space, and exercising its core objective—to bring community together—supporting renewable energy, including a sustainable and restorative infrastructure, and creating a new century nexus for people, to live, work, learn, research, explore and engage. Read More

MWMO Towerside District Storm Water System

The District Stormwater System at Towerside, captures, treats, and reuses stormwater runoff draining from a roughly two-block area next to the Prospect Park light rail station, near the University of Minnesota. In addition to keeping pollutants out of the nearby Mississippi River, the system creates opportunities for reusing captured stormwater for purposes like irrigation and industrial use. Read More

The Market at Malcom Yards Open

The long-imagined The Market at Malcom Yards opened its doors to the delight of adventurous diners, eager neighbors, late-night couples and curious tourists. Read More

O’Shaughnessy Distillery Opens

Started by cousins, Patrick and Michael O’Shaughnessy, with a vision to make whiskeys worthy of their rich Irish American heritage, O’Shaughnessy Distillery employs a distinctive approach to their art. Using the Irish-style three copper pot stills and tapping our northern waters and midwestern grains to bring a whole new genre of whiskey to life. But they didn’t just bring in any old distiller; they brought in Brian Nation, the former master distiller of Jameson, who has left Cork, Ireland for Minnesota. Read More

Plans for East Gateway - UMN

A gateway to campus: The vision for Stadium Village comes to fruition. The East Gateway Project, a plan led by a University of Minnesota Foundation (UMF) partnership, aims to forge an entry from the Prospect Park neighborhood and Interstate-94 into the University of Minnesota campus. Read More

Diane Rucker Steps-Up as Towerside Board Chair

Towerside Innovation District is governed by its volunteer board of directors and supported by the diversity that comes from their partner organizations. The 20-member board initially seated for two years, with potential for a third-year extension, is rich with; talent, knowledge, vision and passion, and includes thought-leaders from a wide array of partners experienced in; higher education institutions, real estate developers, businesses, government, nonprofit organizations, science and engineering, and neighborhood groups. Read More

The Pillars of Prospect Park Opens

In May, as University of Minnesota students were departing their resident halls and heading home for the summer, the first seniors began moving into their new residents—down the street—at The Pillars of Prospect Park. Read More

2019-2020 Board of Directors

Towerside is excited to announce the addition of four new members to our Board of Directors; Tracy Nordstrom, Karen Nelson, Karl Reichert, and Diane Rucker! Read More

Review: Winners Take All, the Elite Charade of Changing the World

“All around us in America is the clank-clank-clank of the new—in our companies and economy, our neighborhoods and schools, our technologies and social fabric. But these novelties have failed to translate into broadly shared progress for the betterment of our overall civilization.” With these words, Anand Giridharadas introduces his book, Winners Take All, the Elite Charade of Changing the World. He points out that we live in a society constructed to benefit the elite, and though our winners wish to be viewed as benevolent and well-intentioned, they are not inclined to consider fundamental structural change that would solve major social problems or reverse the flow of wealth – if it requires sacrifice from them. Read More

Community Leader Del Hampton Serving as Chief Executive

Towerside Innovation District is pleased to announce the appointment of board member and long-time neighborhood resident Del Hampton to serve as our Interim Chief Executive, effective January 2019. Read More

Minneapolis 2040 Plan includes Innovation District Policy

Towerside suggested a change to the Minneapolis 2040 Comprehensive Plan to add an “Innovation District” policy that would fulfill the City of Minneapolis’s Resolution 2015R-336 (Aug. 13, 2015), which resolves “that the City of Minneapolis will develop a definition of Innovation Districts to include in the City’s Comprehensive Plan update.” This recommended policy addition was included in the approved Minneapolis 2040 Plan. It establishes and supports Innovation Districts to employ district-scale infrastructure and systems and to implement flexible policies and practices to allow for experimentation and innovation consistent with the City’s most ambitious goals. Read More

Today's Industrial Market: What's New?

The industrial segment looks dramatically different than it did even five short years ago. No longer the “ugly duckling” of commercial real estate, industrial leads the way as changes in technology, supply chain and consumer habits drive demand for industrial property. Industrial is no longer just warehouses and smokestacks. Today, industrial means high-wage, life science research and development jobs. Read More

Planning for 2040: We must come together; our future depends on it

Clustering more closely and increasing the density of our cities will leave space for the rest of life to have a fighting chance. It's a bold vision, but the stakes are great. Editorial by Catherine Reid Day, Towerside Board Member and Board President of the Creative Enterprise Zone, Star Tribune, August 14th, 2018. Read More

From the Neighborhood Up: EcoDistricts Incubator

Towerside attended the EcoDistricts Incubator program in Portland this May with support from the Surdna Foundation and Minnesota Design Center. The dynamic three-day workshop brought together key project stakeholders from six district and neighborhood-scale projects around the country. In this charrette-style learning environment EcoDistricts helped each team create a customized Roadmap for their project. Read More

2018-2019 Board of Directors

Towerside is thrilled to welcome six new members to our Board of Directors. With their expertise and passion for community planning, job creation, and attainable housing, Towerisde is poised to make an even more substantial impact towards equitable community and economic development in Minneapolis and Saint Paul. Read More

2018 Towerside Forum

Innovation Matters. Innovation is essential to the future of our communities and economy, and the matters of Innovation are as diverse as the leaders making progress across the Twin Cities. On April 25th, Towerside Innovation District's member organizations and supporters gathered at University Enterprise Laboratories to learn about the latest projects and to hear the perspectives of five area stakeholders. Read More

21st Century Barn Raising: Authentic Community Building for Today​

A case study on the ways Towerside's community has used cooperative communication action to build relationships and end-up with better processes and outcomes for their neighborhoods. Like the traditional barn raising, these projects have forged unlikely partnerships to accomplish enormous goals that will benefit whole communities. These collaborations cut across property lines, and unearth new, previously unrealized resources. Read More

Cultivating Place - 2017 Harvest Festival

Harvest Festival is a fall evening gathering of community to share food, music, art, laughter, conversation and ideas. It takes place on the land immediately south of United Crushers grain elevators and is an event that showcases the value, importance, the unique potential of this site to become a signature green gathering place for the neighborhood. The event featured Read More

Pioneering District Stormwater Management Solutions

The District Stormwater System at Towerside is a first-of-its-kind system that provides cost-effective stormwater management and reuse while providing public green space. It captures and stores runoff draining from a roughly two-block area next to the Prospect Park light rail station, near the University of Minnesota. In addition to treating the stormwater to remove pollutants, the system creates opportunities for reusing captured stormwater for purposes like irrigation and industrial use. Read More