Minneapolis Mega Projects That Will Transform Minnesota
About this video
Seven major projects are reshaping the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro, from a potential new arena and a $2 billion airport expansion to major infrastructure, redevelopment, and Meta’s $800 million data center.
Key takeaways
- A new arena for the Timberwolves and Lynx is being discussed to replace Target Center (opened 1990). The owners have said they'd fund it privately; City Center, the Warehouse District and the Farmers Market are the sites mentioned. As of the video, nothing was signed.
- Boston Scientific is Maple Grove's largest employer, with roughly 4,000 workers there. It opened a 400,000-square-foot campus at Arbor Lakes and has more phases planned, which supports housing demand in Maple Grove, Plymouth and Brooklyn Park.
- MSP Airport served 37.2 million passengers in 2024 and has a capital program of about $1.9 billion for 2026 to 2028. It supports around 93,000 jobs, which matters for Bloomington, Richfield and Eagan.
- The I-494 rebuild through Edina, Richfield and Bloomington: phase one (about $377 million, with E-ZPass lanes) wraps up in fall 2026, and phase two runs 2027 to 2030 from I-35W toward Highway 77.
- United Village is being built around Allianz Field in Saint Paul's Midway on the Green Line: restaurants and an office building are under construction, with a hotel targeted for 2027.
- With about 28% of downtown Minneapolis office space empty, some towers are becoming apartments, including the Grain Exchange (232 apartments) near City Hall.
- Meta is building an $800 million, 715,000-square-foot data center on 280 acres at UMore Park in Rosemount, a former World War II gunpowder plant. Its main local effect is property tax base rather than jobs.
Questions this video answers
What is being built at UMore Park in Rosemount?
A Meta data center: about 715,000 square feet on 280 acres, an $800 million project, on land that was a federal gunpowder plant in World War II and later owned by the University of Minnesota.
When will the I-494 construction be finished?
Phase one through Edina, Richfield and Bloomington was wrapping up in fall 2026, according to the video. Phase two, from I-35W toward Highway 77, is scheduled for 2027 to 2030.
Is the Timberwolves' new arena approved?
No. As of the video, the team's owners had said they'd pay for a new arena privately and might pick a site by the end of 2026, but nothing was signed and no site was chosen.
Read more: Edina vs. Richfield · Commuting to MSP Airport
Notes written by Huerkamp Home Group from this video. Figures are as stated in the video on September 1, 2026; check the current numbers in our market reports.
