Downtown Minneapolis leaders are thinking outside the box to give vacant office spaces new life.

The nearly $100 million project to turn the Northstar Center into apartment homes was backed by funding on the local, state and federal levels.

Working from home changed the landscape of downtown Minneapolis, so officials made the problem the solution.

“This was an office now turned into 216 apartment homes,” Chris Sherman, Sherman Associates president, said.

The Groove Lofts is downtown Minneapolis’ newest apartment home off Second Avenue South.

The Northstar Center was built in the 1960s for office space when downtown Minneapolis was on a different path.

“The state of downtown is one that’s really evolving,” Sherman said.

Sherman Associates is giving empty office space in the Twin Cities new purpose by flipping the building into a living space.

It’s all a part of the 2035 vision for downtown Minneapolis.

“We’re excited. It’s had a great reception and it represents a ton of work, engaging a ton of stakeholders and a really big vision for our downtown,” Ben Shardlow, Minneapolis Downtown Council chief officer, said. “One thing that’s really exciting is that as downtowns throughout the country evolve becoming more less focused on one thing, office space, and becoming a lot more mixed-use.”

Within the next 10 years, the plan is to make three million sq. ft. of office space move-in ready.

“The truth is the core of our downtown doesn’t have a ton of places to live. Most of the residential growth in downtown has been more on the fringes,” Shardlow said.

He added more people equals a robust downtown economy.

Downtown leaders are using the Northstar Center as a guide toward the new future of downtown.

“It’s really getting people to lean into the changing uses, that it’s not just a downtown where people are working Monday through Friday, that it’s a downtown where people are living seven days a week,” Sherman said.

Downtown officials said changing office spaces into living spaces can have a positive impact on businesses, especially in retail.

This is one of many efforts in downtown’s 10-year vision to reimagine the heart of the city.