After an especially long winter, there seems to be good reason to be optimistic about the future of commercial real estate, especially office space, in downtown Minneapolis, according to April reports. The urban core, apparently, is where workers want to be.
The buzz for a couple of seasons now has been that the current cycle is in its end stages. Since it is common wisdom that real estate is cyclical, that led to some foreboding and "what if" discussions. However, there is now, based on data from the National Real Estate Institute, ample reason to believe that the good times are not slated to end just yet, particularly in the office sector. The expectation is upbeat; forecasts remain bullish for rents and occupancies.
The Green Line was a huge success story for the Twin Cities. In 2014, when the light rail line connected Minneapolis and St. Paul, there was cause for celebration. And the cities have been enamored by the 11-mile stretch of track—dubbed the Green Line—that brought the two cities together for the first time in more than 60 years. On the first day, more than 45,000 people rode from one downtown to the other, with stops at 23 stations in between.