The Midwest construction scene is serving up more than leftovers this Thanksgiving season, with bold projects making headlines and proving that progress doesn’t take a holiday.

Milwaukee  is proposing a $50-million affordable housing project breathing new life into the former Bucyrus-Erie campus, the Shiloh Cares food shelf in Minneapolis unveiled its expanded and upgraded space, providing a lifeline to the community, and Cottage Grove keeps its housing boom alive, turning a disused golf course into a neighborhood of nearly 400 homes.

Dive into these stories and more to see how construction is reshaping our cities, one project at a time.
 

NOVEMBER 22

Milwaukee county commits $3M to affordable housing project
Milwaukee County announced it will redevelop the former Bucyrus-Erie campus in South Milwaukee by investing $3-million for a proposed project at 1100 Milwaukee Avenue. Developer Scott Crawford Inc. is proposing a $50-million affordable housing development with 171 rental units, with 81 units set aside for residents who earn $15 an hour or less. Eight units will be reserved for veterans who earn less than 60% of the area median income, county officials said. The project will repurpose three former office buildings and construct a new building. (Finance & Commerce)
 

NOVEMBER 25

Downtown Minneapolis revitalization pitch includes office conversions
The Minneapolis Downtown Council is looking for about 3-million-square-feet of office space to convert into residential space, according to a new report released by the group. The office-to-residential conversion is one of many steps put forward by the council to cultivate the revitalize Minneapolis' downtown and to bring the area's total population to 100,000. (Finance & Commerce)
 

Local firms pitch in to renovate, expand Shiloh Cares food shelf
A project team that includes the Minneapolis office of PCL Construction, Leo A Daly and 4 The Hungry Project Management and Consulting recently completed a significant expansion and renovation of the food shelf within the Shiloh Temple International Ministries church at 1201 West Broadway Avenue. The renovation, funded by $2-million from private and public sources, created "expanded shopping space, improved accessibility and enhanced safety features, transforming the food shelf into a hub offering services beyond food assistance," according to PCL. (Finance & Commerce)
 

Oklahoma City's development with 1,907-foot tower to begin in 2025
Progress on the Bricktown development that includes plans for the tallest building in the U.S. has been slow since the City Council lifted a height restriction in June allowing the proposed 1,907-foot Legends Tower. The construction is planned to start in the first quarter of 2025, though what steps are needed to be completed before construction can begin was not shared. (Finance & Commerce)
 

NOVEMBER 26

Boston Scientific clears hurdle for building expansion in Maple Grove
Boston Scientific has the Maple Grove Planning Commission's support for a proposed building addition on the company's Weaver Lake Road Campus, a project that would expand the med tech firm's already significant and growing presence in the city. The commission recommended approval of a "planned unit development stage plan" for the project, which would add 84,000-square-feet of manufacturing and support spaces to an existing 86,000-square-foot building on the campus at Weaver Lake Road and Interstate 94. The proposed expansion will be up for City Council approval on December 2nd. (Finance & Commerce)
 

Reuter Walton pitches workforce housing in West St. Paul
St. Louis Park-based Reuter Walton plans to seek land use applications from the city of West St. Paul next month for a workforce housing project that would have, in the developer's words, the "look and feel" of a market-rate building. The West St. Paul City Council swiftly approved the "first reading" of a rezoning request for the project, which would create a four-story, 65-unit apartment building on a redevelopment site at 212 Thompson Avenue East. The project would include surface and underground parking, and amenities such as a community room, fitness area, and conference rooms. (Finance & Commerce)
 

NOVEMBER 27

3,000 housing units could replace I-794 section in Milwaukee
Rethink 794, a group lobbying Milwaukee leadership to push for tearing down one mile of I-794 between the lakefront and the Milwaukee River, released a commissioned study that shows removing a stretch of the highway could create more than a billion dollars in property values and up to 3,000 housing units. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation is exploring design alternatives for I-794, whether to narrow the current freeway or replace it with an at-grade boulevard. (Finance & Commerce)
 

Apartment owners face rising insurance costs, limited labor pool in Greater Minnesota
According to new research released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, access to small labor pools has caused operators to cut back on staffing and employing a "hub-and-spoke model" for deploying workers to various properties in Greater Minnesota, and that firms had to deal with increasingly high insurance costs. (Finance & Commerce)
 

Enclave advances plans for 374 apartments, townhomes in Oakdale
The Oakdale City Council signed off on a planned unit development amendment, preliminary plat and site plan for the Enclave Cos. project, which includes 112 rental townhome units, a 262-unit apartment building, and a 2.83-acre public park. Located 600-feet from a Gold Line bus rapid transit station, the development site is just east of Helmo Avenue North, south of Fourth Street North, and north of Hudson Boulevard and Interstate 94. Specifically, the site includes properties at 7600, 7750, 7700, 7655, and 7701 Third Street North. Next steps include final plat approval, a noise variance and a development agreement. Those requests will likely go to the City Council in January. (Finance & Commerce)
 

Minneapolis, Hennepin County seek development RFPs for Lowry / Penn intersection
The city of Minneapolis and Hennepin County Housing and Redevelopment Authority are on the hunt for development proposals for vacant lots near the intersection of Lowry and Penn avenues. The local governments are offering up multiple city- and county-owned parcels for sale in the neighborhood, split into three areas: (1) An area at 3200 Queen Avenue North, about 7,753-square-feet in total, consisting of one Hennepin County-owned parcel; (2) A lot at 3211 Penn Avenue North of about 10,201-square-feet, the parcel is owned by Hennepin County; and (3) Five parcels along Penn Avenue and an excess county right-of-way on the corner of Oliver Avenue North and Lowry Avenue, where the lots total about 36,000-square-feet of space, and four of the parcel s are owned by Minneapolis, the fifth by Hennepin County. The city and HCHRA are prioritizing mixed-use, residential or commercial development with a preference for retail that would diversify and bring value to the mix of businesses at the Penn-Lowry intersection. (Minneapolis - St. Paul Business Journal)
 

New Hope-based Horwitz acquires Preferred Electric
Mechanical, electrical and plumbing contractor Horwitz has acquired Preferred Electric, an electrical contractor specializing in commercial and industrial projects. The acquisition is "a strategic step in establishing Horwitz's vision of becoming a more comprehensive specialty service provider, enhancing its capacity to meet the evolving needs of both current and future clients," Horwitz said in a November 21st press release. (Finance & Commerce)
 

Reuter Walton pitches affordable housing at vacant West St. Paul house
Developer Reuter Walton is looking to demolish a nearly 100-year-old vacant home in West St. Paul, located at 212 Thompson Avenue East, and proposes to construct a four-story, 65-unit affordable housing apartment building in its place. The West St. Paul City Council approved a rezoning request for the project. Called the Thompson Apartments, the project would include amenities like a community room, fitness area, conference room, and Wi-Fi business rooms. There would also be on-site underground parking and a surface parking lot. (Minneapolis - St. Paul Business Journal)
 

United Properties project honored for conserving water
The Ellie, a recently completed 239-unit apartment building in Eden Prairie, is getting props from the city for its water conservation practices. Developed by United Properties, The Ellie recently received the 2024 Sustainable Eden Prairie Award, which recognizes "significant and innovative investments that contribute to the overall vitality and sustainability of the community." (Finance & Commerce)
 

NOVEMBER 29

Cottage Grove keeps riding housing development boom
Like many suburban edge cities, Cottage Grove saw a surge in single-family residential development earlier this decade. It added about 500 net new housing units in 2021 and just missed a spot in the top 10 Minnesota municipalities for housing permits the following year. Cottage Grove's single-family building spurt continues today. Work on Rachel Development's vision for nearly 400 homes on a disused golf course near the Mississippi River is "well underway." Development is moving ahead with a proposal to build about 70 homes along a new stretch of scenic parkway on the city's north side. Hundreds of new multi-family units are proposed or under construction in Cottage Grove as well, including a high-profile site controlled by Roers Cos., an affordable senior housing community being developed by Trellis Co., and a nearly 300-unit proposal from Norhart that has been delayed but not yet killed by financing challenges. (Finance & Commerce)
 

Mosaic plots its expansion into former Finnegans Brew space
Mosaic, the nearly 2-year-old event center that operated alongside the Finnegans Brew Co.'s taproom and brewery, has unveiled its expansion plans now that Finnegans has moved out. The venue said it would invest $900,000 into remodeling those floors, which housed Finnegans' taproom, production space, and VIP lounge. The expansion will include a new lounge space that was formerly Finnegans' second-floor Brewer's Den, which overlooked the brewery floor. The first-floor expansion will include the addition of two event spaces separated by a garage door. The space can be converted to one large space for events. The new rooms will boast 18-foot ceilings, and the front room has downtown views. The front room will have a capacity of 170 and the back room of the space will have a capacity of 200. The expansion also will allow for a prep catering kitchen on the first floor. (Minneapolis - St. Paul Business Journal)