Minneapolis Skyway Project
The Skyway Project Minneapolis

Want to do something interesting downtown?

Downtown Minneapolis has empty storefronts, underused spaces, and a lot more potential than we're using. We're connecting people with ideas to property owners, collaborators, organizers, and each other.

Empty spaces. Big potential.

Downtown doesn't need to be boring.

Have you ever walked through downtown Minneapolis and thought, "Someone should do something with this space?" Maybe that someone is you.

We're looking for artists, business owners, entrepreneurs, organizers, hobbyists, performers, nonprofits, community groups, property owners, and people who simply have a good idea.

You don't need a finished business plan. You don't need to already own a company. You don't even need to know exactly what you're looking for. Tell us what you'd like to see downtown and we'll see who we can connect.

What belongs downtown?

Almost anything people actually want to visit.

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Art & Creative Space

Galleries, studios, exhibits, photography, maker spaces, artist collectives, workshops, or installations.

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Events & Entertainment

Performances, comedy, trivia, classes, talks, screenings, meetups, community events, or something new.

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Businesses & Pop-Ups

Shops, food concepts, temporary stores, services, experiments, unusual retail, or businesses looking for a downtown presence.

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Social & Hobby Spaces

Board games, gaming, clubs, reading rooms, social groups, hobby communities, conversation spaces, or simply somewhere people can meet.

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Community Projects

Nonprofits, neighborhood projects, educational programs, volunteer projects, community resources, and public-interest ideas.

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Experiments

Something that only needs a space for a weekend, a month, or a few months to find out whether it works.

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Property Owners

Have an empty storefront, office, skyway unit, or unusual space? Tell us what you have available.

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Your Idea Here

We don't want to limit this to ideas we've already thought of. Strange ideas are encouraged.

The basic idea
There are people with ideas. There are people with empty spaces. There are people who know how to make things happen. They often don't know each other.

The Skyway Project exists to make those introductions and help turn unused space into somewhere worth going.

How it works

Start with an idea.

This isn't an application contest. We're building a network of people who want downtown Minneapolis to be more active, interesting, useful, and social.

Tell us about yourself or your idea.

It can be detailed or half-formed. Permanent, temporary, commercial, nonprofit, artistic, social, or just unusual.

We organize compatible people and spaces.

Someone looking for gallery space may meet someone organizing events. A property owner may discover five possible uses for one empty unit.

We make introductions.

Property owners, organizers, businesses, collaborators, artists, sponsors, volunteers, and other people who might help.

Try things.

Not everything has to begin with a five-year lease. A pop-up, weekend event, temporary gallery, or 90-day experiment may be enough to start.

Get involved

What would you like to do?

Tell us what you're interested in and we'll start connecting the right people.

I have an idea. Tell us what you'd like to create.
I have a business. Existing businesses are welcome too.
I have a space. Property owners and managers can submit available locations.
I want to help. Volunteer, collaborate, organize, sponsor, or just stay involved.
Open the Interest Form
No business required. No commitment required.
Property owners & managers

Have an empty downtown space?

We're assembling a growing list of artists, entrepreneurs, organizers, businesses, community groups, and potential temporary users interested in downtown Minneapolis.

We're especially interested in vacant storefronts and skyway-level spaces where a permanent tenant hasn't materialized and a temporary, experimental, shared, or unconventional arrangement might make sense.

You don't need to promise free rent or make any commitment. Let us know what you have and what kinds of arrangements you would consider.

Tell Us About Your Space
Why this matters

More people. More reasons to stay. A more interesting downtown.

Minneapolis already has the buildings, sidewalks, storefronts, skyways, transit, infrastructure, and people. We don't need to invent downtown from scratch.

We need to make better use of what is already here.