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Minneapolis officials touted more than $1.5 billion in new construction last year as evidence that the city is headed in the right direction. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said it’s the 13th straight year that the city has exceeded $1 billion in construction projects. 

“This is a very big deal for our city because it shows a kind of consistency that world-class cities around the world are experiencing when things are going well,” Frey said. “There are more than a few naysayers about Minneapolis over the last few years, but what this shows, and what these numbers show, is that we are on the right track.” 

Almost $1.2 billion of the construction value was attributable to construction on stores, office spaces and residential buildings with more than four units, according to city statistics. 

Development last year led to the creation of more than 1,600 new residential units in multi-unit facilities and more than a hundred new single-family homes or duplexes. 

Council Member Jeremiah Ellison says the numbers translate directly into economic security for city residents. 

“This is people being able to make a living, this is people being able to go somewhere to work, it’s people being able to have a stable place to live,” Ellison said. 

Among the projects highlighted by the officials was more than 600 new residential units at Union Stadium Village near the University of Minnesota’s East Bank campus, more than 300 units of new student housing in Dinkytown and the conversion of office space at Northstar Center downtown into 216 residential units. 

Frey said some developers have been confused by a Hennepin County District Court judge’s decision last year to temporarily block the city’s 2040 plan. Frey vowed that the plan would be fully implemented, whether through the courts or the state Legislature. 

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Mayor Jacob Frey said it’s the 13th straight year that the city has exceeded $1 billion in construction projects. 

Minneapolis construction projects top $1.5 billion in 2023

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