Brooklyn Park developing massive vacant site near planned Blue Line stop with biotech hub, housing

If the planned Blue Line light-rail extension were built today, riders would step off at the final stop in northern Brooklyn Park to acres of farmland and empty fields.

While Target's eight-story corporate campus sits next to the planned station north of Hwy. 610, much of the surrounding land remains vacant. City leaders are working to change that by the time the light rail is expected to offer service and connect the northwest suburb to downtown Minneapolis in 2030.

Brooklyn Park has hired a firm to study how best to guide development in the northwestern part of the city, where 700 acres, much of it privately owned, are undeveloped and not hooked up to city utilities. City leaders are planning for part of the project — about 245 acres north of Hwy. 610 at the interchange with Hwy. 169 — to become a biotech district, essentially a hub for medical and health technology companies. Officials also expect housing and mixed-use development to be built on the site.

"You should not have a city with 700 undeveloped acres located near a metro center like Minneapolis or St. Paul," Mayor Hollies Winston said. "It's kind of unheard of because of that proximity and the ability to build industry and development that can connect to that city. We're behind the eight ball on this, so we're moving quickly."

The Legislature this past session approved the biotech district and granted the city the authority to issue bonds and leverage other tools for development. Winston said a next step will be seeking tax increment financing for the district.

Erin McDermott, a senior planner with the city, said Brooklyn Park and the surrounding area already hosts many medical manufacturers and suppliers, and officials hope to build on that network. The goal is to attract up to 10,000 new jobs and open as many as 3,000 housing units, although no potential tenants have been announced.

A separate study will explore developing the biotech district.

Winston said a main goal is increasing the city's tax base, saying that Brooklyn Park takes in less commercial property tax revenue than some nearby cities of similar size.

"We have to close that gap so we can afford our city and slow the rise of property taxes long term," he said.

The mayor said officials are looking to expand on programs that connect residents with educational opportunities that lead to jobs in the medtech field, and tackle workforce disparities. He also sees the need for more market-rate housing in the city that has more affordable housing units than many of its neighbors. He believes more restaurants and retail will follow as the other development comes along, which he expects to also be driven by the light-rail extension.

"The northwest suburbs have been underinvested in for quite some time," Winston said. "We took on this affordable housing, and now we're following up decades later saying we created opportunities for young families. And now we need the economic piece so people can break this generational chain of poverty and move on with a great education and career."

Meanwhile, city leaders are exploring how to guide development of the broader 700-acre property, including how to zone the area and build out streets and utilities. Brooklyn Park, with more than 86,000 residents and counting, has seen more growth moving toward its northern edge.

The broader site, McDermott said, is partly owned by private residents, Target Corp. and Scannell Properties, which developed the industrial business park to the east. She said city leaders are speaking with property owners about potential development.

McDermott expects the consultant firm creating the nearly $300,000 northwest area plan, Bolton & Menk, to present to the City Council next month with a few scenarios for the site. The city would then undergo a lengthy planning process including public engagement sessions and environmental studies.

She hopes planning can be completed by the end of 2025 so some construction can be completed in time for the Blue Line's expected opening in 2030.