MINNEAPOLIS - One block from U.S. Bank Stadium, on a sliver of land are plans for a 25-story apartment building that will reshape the look of the surrounding area.
It's just one of several proposals for downtown towers to be discussed this week at the Planning Commission.
And many of them are awaiting final approval.
That includes this big empty lot along Washington Avenue between Nicollet and Hennepin that will be turned into a 37-floor tower with 10 floors of hotel rooms, four floors of condos, and 16 floors of office space.
The plan there is for a plaza on the ground floor with room for a possible future street car line.
"Surface parking lots are one of the least interesting things you can have in a city," said Ward 3 Council Member Steve Fletcher.
Fletcher would have liked more affordable housing in the mix. But says the development is exciting for downtown.
"It's going to feel like a more complete neighborhood, more happening, more going on," Fletcher said.
Across the street from the Nicollet Hotel project on Hennepin will be a 21-story building with 355 apartments and more than 20,000 square feet of retail space, aiming to "bring life to part of Hennepin Avenue that has sat vacant for decades."
And there's more than one major apartment project near the stadium.
Just another block away, the Wilf family, who owns the Vikings, have an 18-story, 205-unit building with 4,700 square of feet of commercial space on the ground floor ready for approval.
Most of these projects will be able to begin construction soon after approval from the Planning Commission - which they'll likely get tomorrow. The Apartments closest to U.S. Bank Stadium still have a couple steps before approval. By 2021, downtown Minneapolis will look very different.