North Loop

The North Loop neighborhood, located on the north edge of the Warehouse District has deep roots as an industrial and commercial center. In the late 1800s, the heyday of railroads and streetcars, the neighborhood was bustling with millers, farmers, and furriers. But then, as the industrial boom declined and trucks began to replace trains as a popular mode of business transport, the North Loop lost much of its vitality and energy.

In the 1970s, a smattering of artists moved in, attracted to the cheap rents and large, empty warehouse spaces perfect for studios and galleries. The North Loop, though, remained a sort of quiet urban hinterland of railyards until the condo boom of the late 1990s. Today, it is bustling once again, only this time many of the tenants are loft and condo owners who crave density but want to preserve the neighborhood’s quirky industrial and artistic history.

Mad for Lofts and Condos
Back in the eighties, developer Jim Stanton, owner and president of Shamrock Companies, remembers scrambling to find tenants for his first project in the area, a rental property called Riverwalk that has since been partly  converted to condos.

At the time, he couldn’t get anyone to sign a six-month lease without throwing in a free month’s rent to sweeten the deal. “I learned quickly that I had to make the seventh month free, not the first,” he says.

Shortly thereafter, the picture changed drastically as developers,  drawn to the prime downtown real estate, introduced several new projects. River Station, a group of traditional wood frame townhomes, broke ground in 1999 between North 1st and 2nd Streets and 5th and 6th Avenues. Construction on The Landings (4th Avenue North and West River Parkway), an upscale development of townhomes, wrapped up in 2002. One of the first true warehouse conversions happened that same year at 801 Washington Avenue—the popularity of that project and of the Lindsay Lofts (408 1st Avenue North) were early indicators of buyers’ enthusiasm for open floor plans and single-level loft living.

Amidst the housing frenzy of the last five years, a new community emerged. Many of the buyers, mostly young professionals, gay and straight singles and couples, and empty nesters wanting to trade the big suburban house for a more lively urban scene, moved in around the same time, creating an exciting “newness.”

Sara Nachreiner, co-owner of Mitrebox Framing Studio, remembers people coming into the store with questions as they adjusted to their new warehouse-style space. “It was, ‘What do I do with my old art? And ‘Hey, how am I supposed to treat these enormous windows?’ They were like these cool urban pioneers,” she says.

A New Retail Destination?
One thing it seems nearly everyone in the North Loop agrees on is the desire for density. Residents envision the North Loop as a cosmopolitan enclave full of boutiques, cafés and restaurants, services, and a variety of cultural offerings. “We still need a few things, like great Chinese takeout, a hole-in-the-wall pizza joint, and more neighborhood bars,” says Rock Island Lofts resident Fritz Kroll, who is also a realtor who specializes in the area.

Now that the residents have arrived (the North Loop Neighborhood Association estimates there are nearly 4,000), retail is slowly following suit. In keeping with the neighborhood’s artsy character, there are a handful of unique home furnishing and design shops: Nordic Home, ID-inside design, Montaggio, reSee Gallery, Odegard at Michael Sydney, and newer arrivals like CorAzoN, a funky specialty shop and sometime gallery that supports local artists.

CorAzoN owner Susan Zdon, a veteran of Bibelot and Patina, loves the neighborhood because she believes she can get away with riskier merchandise. “The people are just so supportive,” she says. “They have a really open sensibility. I like that.”

This year, Peter Kirihara, owner of neighborhood fixtures Moose & Sadie’s and Jetset (with business partners Susan Muskat and Susan Liesch, respectively), will answer the call for more neighborhood bars by reinvigorating Bev’s, his cozy wine nook. He plans to make better use of his liquor license by serving more cocktails and making the atmosphere a little more upbeat to accommodate new residents and, presumably, the Twins fans who will stop in on game day when the new stadium arrives in 2010.