Early in the morning on September 9, smoke filled the air in Northeast Minneapolis. A group of buildings at 1503-1505 Central Avenue NE had burst into flames. The blaze lasted much of the day, ultimately causing four abandoned buildings to collapse.
As workers clear the rubble and investigate the properties’ current states, it’s worth asking: what’s next for Central Avenue? This fire is a shame, but it also presents an opportunity for growth, change and evolution in Northeast Minneapolis.
It’s hardly a new idea to refer to the country’s housing crisis, but it’s a common notion for good reason. Whether due to zoning laws, unpredictable markets or a variety of other economic factors, it’s unprecedentedly difficult for aspiring homeowners to get into new homes or for renters to find new sets of keys.
The Minneapolis 2040 Plan is, in large part, an effort to solve this issue. The Plan’s most notable impact on Minneapolis residents’ lives arrived close to a decade ago at this point: in 2020, the city eliminated single-family-only zoning, allowing higher-density housing to be built in more parts of town. (It’s worth noting that upzoning is less common than full-scale reconstructions.) This undoubtedly presents a change to the city’s character — new construction brings new traffic, and new bricks bring new skylines. But that is not such a bad thing. Cities are living things, full of lives and bustle and new developments.
These changes are sorely needed, too. According to the Metropolitan Council, the City of Minneapolis “added over 12,000 housing units and more than 37,000residents” between 2010 and 2016. These people all need places to live, and that access isn’t evenly distributed. The Minneapolis 2040 Plan cites “a shortage of housing units that residents can afford (and) a rise in the number and percentage of cost-burdened households,” especially among renters, as barriers to housing for Minneapolis residents. “Housing units that were once affordable no longer are, and less housing is available for low-income residents of Minneapolis,” the Plan’s website says.
These issues are compounded by recent tariffs and an unpredictable economy. A report from Minneapolis’ Community Planning and Economic Development (CPED) department cites a survey that lists “the high cost of materials and labor, supply chain challenges, and a shortage of skilled labor”; “increasing rent rates and… insufficient financial products for affordable housing”; and “zoning practices that limit density and development,” among other issues.
Since its introduction in 2018, the Minneapolis 2040 Plan has been implemented piecemeal into the city’s law, including the previously mentioned change to zoning protections. In theory, this should make it easier to upzone buildings — to turn single-family houses into duplexes or triplexes, for example. But that idea seems to have hit a snag. In a January 2025 analysis of the Minneapolis housing market, MinnPost noted that, from 2020-22, Minneapolis-based housing developments slowed relative to similarly-sized cities in the Midwest. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, those numbers have dropped since.
This may seem like legalese, but the reality of this language is simple. According to the 2040 Plan, the plainest way to increase Minneapolis residents’ access to housing is to make it easier to build it and to incentivize construction. According to CPED, due to a variety of economic factors, it’s expensive to do so; and, according to MinnPost, the city is building less even as it’s growing more.
Things may be looking up, though. In August, the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority broke ground on Spring Manor, 808 Spring Street NE, which the agency has said is slated to be the “largest public housing redevelopment in city history.” This is a move in the right direction.
Even if the price of raw materials and labor makes it tough for the market to justify building housing, Minneapolis residents having poor access ought to be reason enough for the city to encourage property owners and developers to draw up some plans. In a phone call with the Northeaster, a representative from Hempel Real Estate, owner of the properties at 15th and Central, said they’re “still active with the property” and that they’re “not giving up on it.”
In the property’s new life, more housing would be a welcome development indeed.