Northeast, Minneapolis - Economy

Economy

Northeast has long been a blue-collar part of the Twin Cities. Its industrial base has shrunk, but it remains a major part of the area's economy. Major industrial facilities in Northeast include Canadian Pacific Railway's Shoreham Yards, Burlington Northern's rail yards, fluid handling systems manufacturer Graco's world headquarters, Xcel Energy's Riverside power plant, and a Honeywell Aerospace plant.

One of the major changes in the 1990s and 2000s is the conversion of industrial infrastructure to residential, office or arts use. All of the major artists' studio complexes in Northeast are former industrial spaces, as are several major residential projects (such as the Madison Lofts between Monroe and Madison Avenues, and the Cream of Wheat Lofts at Stinson Boulevard and Broadway Ave). Other buildings along Stinson Boulevard and East Hennepin Avenue, and in the Riverfront area, have been converted from industrial to office space.

Starting in the late 1990s, restaurants and shops catering to an audience outside the long-established local population have re-energized many business districts in Northeast Minneapolis. These newer businesses often operate side by side with older establishments from the earlier era (for example long-time Northeast institutions Nye's Polonaise Room and Kramarczuk's Sausage Company in the Old St Anthony district sit near more recent arrivals Punch Pizza, Chipotle, and Panera Bread).

Other shopping districts in Northeast with significant new energy from newer restaurants, boutiques, and galleries are 13th Avenue between 2nd Street and 4th Street (the commercial heart of the Arts District) and the 29th Avenue and Johnson Street area. Neighborhood bars were and still are a prominent feature of the community. Of particular note are Nye's (named the "Best Bar in America" by Esquire Magazine), Gasthof zur Gemütlichkeit/Mario's Keller Bar, and Tony Jaros' River Garden.

The new orientation of Northeast Minneapolis to welcome "outsiders" is perhaps best seen in the 1991 Hennepin Avenue Bridge. The new suspension bridge is styled after the first permanent bridge across the Mississippi River (at the same site), also a suspension bridge.

The stretch of Central Avenue between 18th Avenue and 27th Avenue is more mixed in its redevelopment. Since 2000, several major new mixed-use developments have been made (and more are in development), and many new restaurants, mostly featuring foreign cuisines, have joined an already eclectic mix. Specialty food markets are also a major feature of the area, including major Latin American, South Asian, and Middle Eastern markets and the Eastside Food Co-op. However, many retail spaces continue to alternate between vacancy and short-lived retail, and much of the older physical infrastructure has become run down. The revitalization has also spread into neighboring Columbia Heights. Much of which can be attributed to the Heights Theater. Some new coffee shops and eateries have popped up on the Minneapolis side of 37th Avenue NE.

The Johnson Street Quarry, an abandoned brownfield site bounded by Johnson Street on the west, 18th Avenue on the north, New Brighton Boulevard on the east, and I-35W on the south, was remediated in 1996 and the Quarry Shopping Center opened a year later with big box stores such as Rainbow Foods, Target and Home Depot. The band The Hold Steady mentions the Quarry in its song "Southtown Girls."