Housing

Brooklyn Center on Friday revoked the business licenses of two hotels and suspended a third, effectively shutting the properties amid a human trafficking, drugs and firearms probe. Bizjournals

Carlton Johnson II, who carried out the Sept. 2 mass shooting at Loring Towers in Minneapolis, had issued explicit threats to building staff and bought the gun in June. FOX 9

Minnesota's Cold Weather Rule starts Oct. 1, 2026, blocking heat shutoffs for customers who enroll in payment plans and capping winter utility payments to help households afford heating. FOX 9

The former 17-story Ecolab Tower on Wabasha Street has reopened as Stella apartments in downtown St. Paul, and a new Aldi grocery has opened, restoring grocery service to the city's core. FOX 9

The Minnesota State Fire Marshal's Office ruled the February White Bear Lake house fire that killed Jessi Pierce Hinrichs, her three children and the family dog as electrical and accidental. FOX 9

Stearns Bank filed a foreclosure and receivership lawsuit Sept. 10 in Ramsey County seeking to seize Hmongtown Marketplace at 217 Como Ave. in St. Paul and to install a court-appointed receiver. Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal

Legacy Investing has formally abandoned plans to buy the Star Tribune's North Loop printing facility in Minneapolis and to build a 20-megawatt data center with mixed uses. Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal

Downtown Revival Trust acquired 375 Jackson Square and 135 Fifth St. E. in downtown St. Paul through a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure that closed Sept. 4, 2026. Business Journal

Mayor Jacob Frey has proposed an 11.3% property tax increase to close a Minneapolis budget gap of more than $60 million, a move that would raise the average homeowner's bill by over $400 a year. FOX 9

St. Paul has paused plans to clear remaining homeless encampments, City Council President Rebecca Noecker said Tuesday. FOX 9

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has leased about 125,000 rentable square feet at 10 River Park Plaza in downtown St. Paul for a new headquarters, with a move targeted for June 2027. Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal

The Minnesota Department of Corrections says the number of people leaving prison and becoming homeless has fallen 57% since 2021. FOX 9

Wells Fargo, acting as trustee for commercial mortgage investors, filed a foreclosure action Aug. 13, 2026 in Hennepin County District Court against affiliates of Workspace Property Trust. Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal

A judge has ordered Quadrel Realty Group to pay $750 a day for failing to carry out court-ordered repairs and rent credits at the Brentwood Apartments in Minneapolis. FOX 9

On Thursday, August 27, 2026, the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority Board voted to approve an additional $6 million investment in Heritage Park Apartments, pending approval from the city's Board of Estimate and Taxation. FOX 9

Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation is committing up to $15 million to redevelop downtown St. Paul, using investment capital officials say could steer which projects get financed and tackle lingering office vacancies. Bizjournals

Minnesota's housing inventory hit a seven-year high in July 2026 as new listings and sales rose in the Twin Cities and across the state. FOX 9

Three Minneapolis firefighters were checked for minor injuries after crews responded just after 4 p.m. on August 17 to a house fire on the 1200 block of Russell Avenue North in north Minneapolis. FOX 9

A court found that Minneapolis failed to inspect any public housing units from 1992 through at least 2020, flouting a city rental-inspection ordinance and raising questions about tenant safety. FOX 9

A fire broke out just before 10 a.m. Saturday in a three-story apartment building on the 1000 block of Portland Avenue near Elliot Park, injuring a firefighter and displacing residents. FOX 9

Minnesota Attorney General settled with Unlock Partnership Solutions for $944,626 over unlawful home-equity loans and barred the company from lending in Minnesota without a mortgage license. FOX 9

St. Paul Planning Commission released the ReConnect Rondo Restorative Neighborhood Area Plan for public review on July 31, 2026, mapping a proposed I-94 land bridge estimated to cost about $260 million. Business Journal

City crews began clearing the Pig's Eye Park encampment around 8 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 5, with outreach teams on site helping residents pack and offering limited storage and shelter priority. FOX 9

A Minneapolis developer plans to demolish an office building on Franklin Avenue to build 145 apartments, converting commercial office space into multi-family housing along the corridor. Bizjournals

Novarum Development Partners bought the 25-acre former Wells Fargo Home Mortgage campus at 2701 Wells Fargo Way for $8 million cash and plans a more-than-1,000-unit redevelopment called Iconic Plaza. Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal

Developer Steve Minn proposed a five-story, 104-unit affordable senior housing building beside the Stone Arch Bridge at the east end of Main Street. FOX 9

Investigators have ruled the cause of the July 17 fire at the Helix Apartments in St. Louis Park "undetermined." FOX 9 They said they found no evidence of arson, improperly discarded smoking materials, or cooking or grill activity on the balcony. FOX 9

The landlord of the historic St. Paul Athletic Club building has filed for bankruptcy protection to restructure its debt, putting the downtown commercial property into court-supervised reorganization while it remains open. Bizjournals

Brentwood Apartments residents in the Loring Park neighborhood say they have no hot water and are finding human feces in hallways after a gas leak disabled stoves and laundry. FOX 9

Osso Capital, a New York private equity real estate firm, bought the 336-unit Twelve 501 Apartments in Burnsville, marking the firm's entry into the Minnesota market. Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal

Four men have pleaded guilty in Minnesota to a scheme that bilked Medicaid of about $2.25 million by billing housing services under the company name Brilliant Minds. Alphanews

Twin Cities property managers said Friday they are stepping up leasing-office safety measures and backing faster eviction tools after a triple homicide at a St. Paul apartment complex that left three leasing employees dead. Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal

UBS will leave its namesake UBS Plaza in downtown St. Paul when its lease expires in mid-2028 and consolidate Minnesota offices into new space in Edina. Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal

SmartAsset ranked the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington metro the eighth most expensive of 48 large U.S. metropolitan areas to raise a child in 2026. FOX 9

Housing inventory and home sales in the Twin Cities climbed in June 2026, with pending sales and new listings rising and statewide inventory hitting a seven-year high. FOX 9

On Thursday, July 16, 2026 the Minneapolis City Council voted to approve and set aside $2.5 million in emergency funds to relocate residents of the Heritage Park housing complex. FOX 9