Amid closures, downtown Minneapolis focuses on ‘the next version of downtown’

Downtown Minneapolis is facing hardship, seeing closures and financial struggles from its businesses.

Marshalls along Nicollet Mall announced plans to close in January and Hilton Minneapolis is also facing financial troubles.

Despite closures, hotel stays and the number of people dining out are actually up, according to numbers from Steve Cramer with the Minneapolis Downtown Council. Restaurant numbers Downtown are at about 60% what they were pre-pandemic.

The council is looking to evolve what Downtown once was, calling it a time of significant transition.

“Really reimagine how our store fronts downtown can be used and opened to the street and contribute to street vitality and bring local, unique businesses to the downtown marketplace,” Cramer said “I think that is more of our future than brand name department stores and things of that nature. I think that era is probably gone. But there is a new era we can invent.”

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS reporter Andrea Lyon has more on the efforts to revitalize Downtown Minneapolis in the video above.