Before and After: Behind a Minneapolis Redevelopment Project

Peter Callaghan tells the story of how developer Gary Holmes spearheaded an effort to transform a disused rail terminal in downtown Minneapolis from a sea of parking to a thriving mixed-use district. A click-and-drag feature lets readers compare a 1997 photo of the parcel with one from March 2018.

"The first, taken 21 years ago, features an empty but historic rail terminal and a remnant of what had once been a row of freight houses — structures overwhelmed in the photo by acres and acres of parked cars, filling what had once been a busy rail yard."

"The second photo, taken in 2018, demonstrates what's happened in the two decades since. Of those 16-plus acres shown in the first picture, only one small parcel is not yet developed, though it will be soon."