Neighborhood Priorities

One of the elements of a great neighborhood is connectedness. In 2024 the North Loop Neighborhood Association (NLNA) worked to connect neighbors to neighbors, neighbors to businesses, businesses to visitors as well as newcomers to what we love about the North Loop. Thanks to efforts of the board, committees and hundreds of volunteers, the North Loop had its best year ever! 

Community Engagement

In 2024 we held five major events:

• January Annual Meeting and Happy Hour: With 400+ people in attendance, we were able to connected neighbors with local businesses, hear from city officials, gather feedback to guide our 2024 priorities, hold an election for new board members and enjoy a great happy hour with contributions from North Loop businesses.
• March Annual Candy Grab at Target Field Station: Nearly 500 watched as kids were released to gather thousands of treat-filled eggs in mere moments! 
• August National Night Out Party at North Loop Green: This new neighborhood venue was the perfect host to hundreds of neighbors who enjoyed the movie “Barbie” on the lawn, complete with hot dogs and popcorn.
• September Food Truck Fair: This was our largest event, with more than 10,000 people descending on more than 30 food trucks as well as entertainment. We celebrate this annual event for our neighbors, but enjoy showing off the beauty and fun of the North Loop with visitors too.
• October Halloween Party at North Loop Green: Candy, a DJ, a breakdancer, ballon art and more brought hundreds of costumed kids and their families for a safe trick-or-treat experience that is uniquely North Loop.

Thank you to the hundreds of neighbors who rally and volunteer to make these events a success! 

Here are more detailed highlights from NLNA’s areas of focus:

Parks+Public Art

• James Rice Park: More than 150 volunteers worked 1000+ hours to park improvements, which included planting 300 tulip bulbs, new native flowers and shrubs, watering trees, mulching, weeding, installing fencing to deter rabbits, making log paths, tracking trees that need care or removal and replacement.
• Third Street Park: Worked with the MPRB to design this new park, providing input based on neighborhood feedback. The NLNA P+Z Committee will continue to be involved in this innovative park, which will include new trees, prairie grasses, a small stage and maybe even high-tech features like automated trash emptying and lawn mowing!
• Dog Park: Major improvements thanks to replaced gravel, repaired fencing and added signage. Many thanks to sponsors and donors who made these upgrades possible!
• Organics recycling: Continued to maintain two community organics sites and increase participation, held two community educational events and helped residential buildings adopt organics recycling through our turnkey process and Hennepin County resources.
• Little Free Libraries: Continued to replenish books at our six locations, in collaboration with Friends of the Hennepin County Library and neighborhood contributors.

Business Engagement

• Created a Business Engagement Committee which hosted four Business Socials, bringing neighborhood businesses together to network and connect with each other. The popular events will continue in 2025.
• Reached out to 28 new businesses with our welcome package.
• Continued distribution of the North Loop Neighborhood printed map to area businesses and kept the online version up-to-date.

 Neighborhood Outreach & Partnerships

• Service Saturdays: Continued our monthly neighborhood cleanup program with volunteers. In addition to regular trash pick-up, 2024 activities included a bike repair day, ice cream social, neighborhood art walk and Earth Day clean-up.
• Avivo Village Collaboration: Continued a neighborhood program with Avivo Village residents picking up litter weekly throughout the summer and fall, funded through Minneapolis Equitable Engagement Funds. We estimate more than 100 45-gallon trash bags were filled!
• zAmya Theater Project Production: Worked alongside zAmya and Avivo Village to create a new theater production providing insight into homelessness, with a special focus on North Loop history.
• Minneapolis Equitable Engagement Funds: Approved allocation to three organizations: Simpson Housing, Lovely’s Collective and Metro Transit (for winter care packages).
• Neighborhood Street Signs: Organized board volunteers to hang 20 new NLNA banners to increase neighborhood branding and awareness; repaired worn and damaged banners too.

Planning+Zoning

• Monthly Committee Meetings: Held ten meetings, heard 25 presentations by developers, business owners and residents; Issued 16 letters of support
  • One letter of support (with conditions) went to Metro Transit’s proposal to extend the Blue Line through the North Loop into the northern suburbs
• Traffic Calming: Worked with Council Member Michael Rainville to draft and circulate a petition for the City to implement temporary traffic calming measures on Washington Ave. North.
• Duffey 2.0 Compliance: Continue to engage with CEDARst reps to encourage compliance with P+Z’s 2020 conditional letter of support.

Safety + Livability