People are saying that uptown is in crisis, at least, if you focus on the surface-level view at Lake and Hennepin. The Minneapolis neighborhood’s prime real estate spot is almost nothing but vacant buildings. Spaces that formerly housed MAC cosmetics, Victoria’s Secret, Urban Outfitters, Famous Dave’s, Juut Salon and more now simply say “For Lease.” The retail blight colors conversations about a neighborhood that is thriving by other metrics.
I thought about this after speaking at a recent “Uptown Futures Forum” last week, hosted by a handful of Minneapolis neighborhood groups. For two hours I listened to a room full of mostly older Uptown folk worry about the future, hearing from business owners, developers and elected officials. There’s a lot going on in Uptown, but in general, I think the hand-wringing is a bit overblown.
Uptown is not dead, or even dying, and the proof is in the real estate market: Take a look at Zillow or Redfin and try to find a good deal on a house near Lake and Hennepin. Even with fluctuation during the volatile post-COVID period, most homes have doubled in value over the last 20 years.
What is dying is the retail sector, especially anything trying to operate at a regional scale. The vacancy in prime Uptown spots seems almost unthinkable if you recall, as I do, the Uptown heyday when Lake and Hennepin were prime territory for shopping, restaurants, movies and nightlife.
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But things change. At the forum, I pushed back on one organizer’s claim that we needed to “Bring Uptown Back!,” suggesting that the motto was both conservative and unattainable. A better slogan for the present moment might be “move Uptown forward,” because things are changing at Lake and Hennepin. Despite the retail vacancies, I suspect some of the recent changes might even be for the better.
How Uptown reached this point
Many familiar dynamics shape Uptown’s present situation: the aftermath of the COVID pandemic and its effects on in-person versus online social life; George Floyd’s murder and its effect on perceptions of safety; the spread of urban redevelopment around the metro; and the disruptive street reconstructions on Lake Street and Hennepin Avenue.
Combine them into a prolonged experience, and things have been difficult for Uptown businesses and residents. For example, when asked what he had done for Uptown lately, Peter Caffrey, owner of the eponymous (and peerless) Lyndale Avenue sandwich shop, said that any business that’s survived the last five years has already accomplished a lot.
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The retail sector has been particularly vulnerable. Margins are notoriously thin, especially in a country with more per capita retail real estate than almost any other country and tax policies that incentivize new buildings and favor big online businesses. Some panelists brought years of commercial real estate wisdom into the conversation, and compared the present vacancy moment to the aftermath of a forest fire. Hotel developer Michael Graves, who owns the nearby Lake Street Moxy, stated flat out that Uptown building owners have to lower their rents but have been reluctant to do so.
Meanwhile Peter Remes, owner of trendy rehab developer First and First, took pains to explain the downside of Uptown’s early 2000s pivot toward large chains. Growing up in the neighborhood, he argued that it was not a great transition, as many people will likely remember. (Recall the despair when the Uptown Bar became an Apple Store in 2010; ironically, Remes has now purchased the former Apple Store, and he alluded to big plans for it.) The consensus was that there’s simply too much large-scale retail in Uptown today, and Remes cautioned that it will never again be fully leased. Instead, it has to change.
Then there’s Seven Points (formerly Calhoun Square), the iconic urban mall sitting at the corner that, along with the (former) Uptown Theater, have been pillars of Uptown identity since 1984. Urban malls are notoriously difficult things to create, because you’re starting from an oxymoron: Malls are inherently suburban, predicated on massive parking lots and a scarcity of mixed-use retail in adjacent neighborhoods.
This is why, like most American cities, Minneapolis has a long and depressing list of urban mall failures whose most notable bombs include Riverplace, The Conservatory, City Center, Gaviidae Common, and Block E. Because malls offer such similar arrays of stores, they compete fiercely on convenience. This translates to parking and location, and only secondarily the ephemeral appeal of vibes or class cachet, making urban malls a nearly impossible accomplishment.
That’s why it’s impressive that Seven Points remains marginally semi-occupied, mostly thanks to a coffee shop and a gym. There were (until recently?) plans to raze and rebuild most of the complex into a mixed-use housing venture, an idea that seems wise to me. The existing “urban mall” template is neither adaptable nor flexible, making it difficult to pivot with social and economic changes.
Meanwhile, the cultural cachet that Uptown once had is more geographically widespread in the 2020s. Restaurant and high-end retail in places like the North Loop have boomed during the decline of Uptown, which is not a coincidence. Nearby suburbs like Edina and St. Louis Park are trying desperately to crack the code of walkable, mixed-use urbanism. Other parts of Minneapolis have been growing nodes of interesting restaurants and art galleries. If you open trend-setting Minneapolis/St. Paul magazine, you’ll find a spread about the foodie scene in Hopkins or Robbinsdale. There’s more competition for a night out on the town than there used to be.
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Finally, there are the street reconstructions, an inevitably difficult scenario for businesses reliant on foot and car traffic. Reconstructions are once-in-a-lifetime events that remake streets from the sewers to the sidewalks, and they’re why Hennepin Avenue has been torn up for years. Its future bike- and bus-lane form is just coming into view, and from what I can tell, the new features will be wildly popular. (I’m still mad about the abbreviated bus lane hours, though.)
The same goes for Lake Street, just seeing the first effects of improved transit and sidewalk amenities. Road construction is aggravating, inevitable, and almost always worthwhile in the end. Businesses that endured the pain will see a renaissance before the end of the year, as the shiny new streets finally link up and connect. Just as in downtown Minneapolis, the historic theaters are going to be bringing in crowds soon.
Uptown has come back to life before
The truth is that Uptown has always been changing, is always dying and being reborn. It’s always been gritty and bougie at the same time, a mix of rich and poor. It’s always been a neighborhood where generations collide, throwing together young renters fresh out of school with older homeowners looking for peace and quiet. That’s what makes the area so interesting.
I first encountered a panhandler as a teenager at the corner of Lake and Hennepin, coming out of the movie theater. He asked me for a couple bucks, and said he was hungry. Knowing nothing, I offered to buy him something at the McDonald’s across the street, and he took me up on the offer, resulting in an awkward burger exchange. Only later did I realize he just wanted the cash, something every young person has to learn for themselves.
I walked past that same McDonald’s the other day and watched three unhoused folks squat outside the door, interminably futzing with their tent. Some things don’t seem to change in Uptown, but much else about the corner has transformed in the last few decades. There’s lots of new housing, but the theater doesn’t show movies anymore. Nightlife is not what it used to be, but the multiple brand-new streets and transit investments are coming into view.
Uptown’s “cool” has always revolved around young people, whose tastes are mercurial. These days, they’re shifting away from beer and in different directions, so it’s no surprise that Williams Peanut Bar, the long-running Hennepin Avenue beer joint, closed up shop. Kids today have hopefully outgrown the kind of trash debauchery once common at Cowboy Slim’s, the shuttered Uptown bro magnet. Chino Latino’s infamous marketing is thankfully in the rear-view mirror.
After I Ieft the forum, I ended up chatting with three servers who had just worked the first shift of a new “chef-led, plant-forward” Lake Street restaurant named Matriarch. They explained to me that it’s mostly vegan, but not entirely, and involves foraging. I’m probably too old to understand the concept, but it sounds intriguing, and my mind is open. I’d urge anyone in Uptown to do the same as stores close, others open, and Uptown keeps changing into the future.
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