If you’ve been by the light rail station lately, you might have noticed the progress made on the new development at 2225 East Lake Street. Hennepin County is constructing a new county services building on the southwest corner, along with a new transit plaza on Lake Street, and 115 new housing units on the south side of the county services building. Windows, decorative siding materials, and other exterior finishes are being installed as the crew continues to finish out the interior space of the county building. Foundational elements for the apartment building are also beginning to rise.

Corcoran Neighborhood Organization Board Members and staff have been coordinating with the Neighborhood Development Center and Hennepin County to recruit local business owners for the retail spaces on the first floor of the building on Lake Street. There has been great interest in the spaces from many local entrepreneurs. CNO will continue to work with the County and NDC to select local businesses that will add to the mix at the light rail station and be successful in that space.

While there’s still snow on the ground, preparations for the 15 th season of the Midtown Farmers Market are underway. The County staff reports that they expect to have the exterior of the county services building, the parking garage, and the transit plaza on Lake Street complete by May, in time for opening day of the Market. If all stays on track, county employees will move in to the building sometime in June, with the businesses moving in sometime this summer, depending on any interior detailing that might need to be done for the individual businesses. Design work and planning for programming and maintenance will continue through this year for the future permanent Farmers Market Plaza. The Market will be held this season in the same place, so keep your eyes out for opportunities to influence and refine the design for the future plaza, whether at the Market or at a CNO Land Use and Housing Meeting.