tod in the twin cities

The Hiawatha Line connects several important regional employment centers, recreational and retail destinations. It reintroduced rail transit to the Twin Cities region and initiated an ongoing regional process of building fixed-guideway transit. Transit expansion plans have been spurred by the strong performance of the Hiawatha Line and rising regional housing costs. The corridor has already seen more redevelopment than anticipated. While the activity has largely focused on the Downtown Minneapolis, other neighborhood station areas are also seeing new development.

Large areas of civic uses and single-family residential neighborhoods somewhat limit the corridor's development potential. The City of Minneapolis has engaged the community in a series of station area planning and rezoning efforts for the six neighborhood station areas, hoping to use this process to improve local zoning and support for transit-oriented development, and also to respond to neighborhood concerns regarding the future development vision for these emerging transit zones.

View a powerpoint [ Download PPT ] [ View Slideshow ] and the related PDF.

View powerpoint focusing on the development potential along the corridor. [ Download PPT ] [ View Slideshow ]

Learn more about ridership and development along the Hiawatha Line on the Met Council's website.

Transit-Oriented Development, or TOD, is typically defined as more compact development within easy walking distance of transit stations (typically a half mile) that contains a mix of uses such as housing, jobs, shops, restaurants and entertainment. TOD is about creating walkable, sustainable communities for people of all ages and incomes and providing more transportation and housing choices. These neighborhoods provide for a lifestyle that's convenient, affordable and active, and create places where our children can play and our parents can grow old comfortably.