Rail Line Attracts Development In Twin Cities

"Before construction, planners predicted the areas surrounding LRT would draw 7,000 new housing units by 2020. By the end of 2005, more than 5,400 units were completed or in construction, and the City of Minneapolis had processed permits for 7,000 additional units for construction by 2008, according to the city planning department."

'Before the advent of light rail, the Hiawatha corridor in south Minneapolis had been stagnant for some time, dominated by vacant or underutilized industrial land,' said Katie Hatt, executive director of the Longfellow Community Council, which oversees several neighborhoods just to the east of Hiawatha Avenue in Minneapolis. 'Now we're seeing creative development proposals that will increase the diversity of housing types in the neighborhoods and connect services and jobs to housing. It's a very exciting time.'"