Downtown development and the need for public safety

A recent Star Tribune article described the struggles of the downtown Minneapolis Dayton’s Project, a $375 million dollar redevelopment effort to transform the iconic department store into a bustling office and retail space in the heart of downtown Minneapolis.

The article noted the 1.2 million square foot project on Nicollet Mall has failed to attract tenants or customers since 2021 and remains just 11% occupied. The lone retail tenant is a coffee shop which opened last summer after the project paid for the buildout of the coffee shop space and entered into a lease agreement based on a percentage of coffee shop sales.

The project has taken such a financial hit that the owners allegedly defaulted on a $200 million dollar loan, resulting in the courts appointing a receiver to take over management of the building. 

A real estate company CEO was quoted saying, “Revitalizing Dayton’s is in everyone’s best interest. As for what it’ll take: It starts with momentum.”

That momentum must come by re-establishing a sense of public safety in Minneapolis. That momentum can be enhanced when business owners, real estate developers, workers, and the public use their collective leverage to demand improvements in public safety from the city.

It was disappointing to me that our signature newspaper devoted thirty-two paragraphs to the topic of a failing $375 million downtown development project yet nearly ignored the elephant in the room that has been a significant cause for the failure: Minneapolis’s dismal public safety perception. 

Ignoring the public safety problems facing Minneapolis will only prolong the city’s woes.

Every incident with an aggressive panhandler, every experience driving past a homeless encampment on Lake Street, every robbery of a student at the U of M, every assault of a young adult at a downtown bar, every purse stolen while waiting for the bus, every car stolen while visiting a friend leaves an indelible mark on people — and those marks are compounded by the people they share the experience with. 

The city needs to prioritize attaining and sustaining pre-pandemic, pre-George Floyd era crime rates. Despite recent improvements, the city isn’t there yet.

According to data from the FBI and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Minneapolis’s violent crime rate (murder, robbery, aggravated assault and rape) remained 45% higher in 2024 than it was in 2018.

I mention this data to ensure people are aware of the depths to which Minneapolis has fallen. That awareness is crucial for maintaining momentum and improving public safety.

Thankfully, the news isn’t all bad.

I’ve written recently about progress on two public safety fronts — a noticeable reduction in crime and the elimination of homeless encampments in early 2025. These are significant wins for public safety — the type of wins that can provide the very momentum needed to turn around the city’s dismal public safety reputation. The momentum needs to be sustained.

Minneapolis Police Chief O’Hara and Mayor Frey are often the targets of criticism on social media – their recent stated positions about not cooperating with ICE haven’t helped. These positions are short-sighted and both leaders would be wise to find ways to work with ICE to enhance public safety in the city.

However, overall both are showing leadership in rebuilding a police department down nearly 40% from its authorized strength. Policies they have implemented are working – zero tolerance on homeless encampments, a new crime pattern response protocol, and a comprehensive recruitment effort that led to more officers being hired than who left the department for the first time in years in 2024.

Both men need to maintain the momentum they’ve created and avoid responding to the activist voices that have led Minneapolis leaders around by the nose for far too long.

I often write that as Minnesotans, it is in our collective best interest to ensure Minneapolis succeeds. The foundation for that success is public safety. The challenges are significant, but the stakes are too high to give up on Minneapolis — especially for this hometown kid.