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In 2016, the city councils of Minneapolis and St. Paul both passed resolutions designating the area between the University of Minnesota and Highway 280 as an innovation district; the Towerside Innovation District. An Innovation District designation is a tool used to help underdeveloped areas reach their maximum potential through a district-wide approach to redevelopment, with the active participation of the city governments.

 

The  Towerside Innovation District  is meant to be an equitable economic model of innovation, healthy living, urban growth, and resiliency. This will be done mainly by integrating new century district-wide infrastructure and leveraging resources to catalyze development that wouldn’t happen without intentional and coordinated private and public intervention.

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The mission of the Towerside Business Alliance is to promote and protect local business interest throughout, and after, all of the Innovation District changes, and to provide a forum for area businesses to plan, discuss, advocate, and network for mutual benefit.

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