10/14/2024 -- Office Vacancies Continue To Hurt Downtown Minneapolis

Minneapolis

Downtown Office Vacancies Remain High, Mayor Frey Considers New Taxes As Property Values Plummet

The Summary: As downtown Minneapolis sees a sharp decline in property values, Mayor Jacob Frey is creating a task force to explore new taxes to offset the burden on residential property owners.

Downtown Office Vacancies Hit Record High: Downtown Minneapolis office vacancies climbed to 23.4% this fall, driven by companies downsizing and relocating. While leasing activity has picked up, it hasn’t been enough to compensate for the vacated space.

Property Values Decline: The drop in office demand has led to a steep decline in property values downtown. Notably, a pair of office towers sold for $6.5 million, a 90% discount from their $74 million price in 2019.

City Council Explores New Tax Options: Council President Elliott Payne supports exploring new revenue streams to reduce the dependency on property taxes. Long-term ideas include an income tax for high earners and expanding the downtown taxing area.

Lynx

Minnesota Lynx Head Home To Minneapolis With WNBA Finals Series Tied 1-1 🏀

 The Summary: After winning game 1 with a historic comeback, the Lynx nearly did it again in game 2 against the New York Liberty. After being down 16, the Lynx cut it to just a two point deficit in the 4th quarter but eventually lost 80-66.

Stewie on Fire: Two-time MVP Breanna Stewart led the Liberty with 21 points, 8 rebounds, and a finals record 7 steals. Napheesa Collier led the Lynx with 16 points.

All Eyes On the WNBA: Game 2 drew a sellout crowd of 18,046 while game 1 drew 1.1 million viewers on TV, a 57% increase from last year’s WNBA finals.

Up Next: The Lynx will be home for games 3 and 4 of the WNBA Finals. Target Center is opening up the upper level for these next two games and tickets can be purchases here.

What Else We’re Reading…

What’s That Smell?

If you’ve smelled manure in the Twin Cities recently, it's due to winds carrying farm odors from southern Minnesota. Farmers are spreading manure to enrich their soil, and while the smell may be unpleasant, it doesn't degrade air quality. Additionally, smoke from Canadian and North Dakota wildfires has been pulled in by a cold front, but air quality is expected to improve soon.

Read the full article on MPR.

GAME — Mini Crossword

This lake is incredibly popular for fishing in Minnesota. Think you know the answer? Solve the entire crossword puzzle here.

Sports

🏈 The Minnesota Gopher Football Team defeated UCLA on Saturday evening in another trhiller that ended with a Gopher touchdown with less than a minute remaining.

🏒 The Gopher Men’s Hockey team kicked off their season over the weekend with a win over Air Force followed by a loss to University of Nebraska-Omaha. The Gophers enter the season ranked #5 in the country.

🏒 The Minnesota Wild lost to the Kraken in a shootout over the weekend.

Quick hits

Headlines From Around The Twin Cities ✔

❯ Delta announced they will beging offering a direct flight from Minneapolis to Copenhagen (Kare11)

❯ Minneapolis is moving forward with a plan to charge fees to businesses hiring off-duty police officers (Audacy)

❯ Hennepin County is asking for feedback on the new Lyndale Avenue design. Fill out the survey here.

❯ Minneapolis city leaders want to make food vendor licenses more accessible (MPR)

❯ Krispy Kreme is planning a return to the Twin Cities with an expected opening in 2025 (Bring Me The News)

The Final Word: Winter is coming…

The season’s first snow happened this weekend up in Arrowhead, MN. My prediction? We won’t see substantial snow in the Twin Cities that stays on the ground until at least December 5th. I’ll take the blame if I jinx us.

-Patrick