Bloomington’s City Council voted unanimously this fall to reduce required parking for many new apartment, commercial and industrial developments. The revised minimums vary by use: a new two-bedroom apartment needs 1.6 spaces instead of two, while a new self-service car wash needs three queuing spaces per bay instead of six.
The changes, reported by the Minnesota Star Tribune, apply across multifamily residential, commercial and industrial projects. In the Penn American and South Loop districts, the minimums were reduced by an additional 10%. City leaders say large parking lots make Bloomington harder to navigate without a car, while the cost of building and maintaining parking can complicate redevelopment.
District Plans Envision a Different Urban Form
Bloomington’s adopted plans provide context for the changes. The City of Bloomington’s Penn American District Plan calls for new streets and blocks, more residential uses and buildings oriented along streets. The City of Bloomington’s South Loop District Plan describes a goal of transforming the district from suburban to urban.
Bloomington reduced its minimums rather than eliminating them. Minneapolis, St. Paul and Duluth have abolished parking minimums entirely. St. Paul’s 2021 repeal passed 6-1, with Council Member Jane Prince dissenting, after a TwinCities.com report on a city study estimating that a surface parking stall costs roughly $5,000 to build, compared with $25,000 to $50,000 for a stall in a parking structure.
Different Requirements for Different Projects
Mayor Tim Busse told the Star Tribune that Bloomington’s approach was tailored to different development contexts. Nick Johnson told the paper that the lower requirements could make projects easier for developers and small businesses.
Bloomington adopted parking minimums in 1958, two years before Southtown Shopping Center opened at Penn Avenue and American Boulevard with a 47-acre lot and 3,000 parking spaces, the Star Tribune reported. Today, Southtown covers 37 acres and has more than 2,100 spaces, according to streets.mn. The site is in the Penn-American District and is served by Metro Transit’s Orange Line bus rapid transit.
Southtown’s Development Is Already Changing
Over the past two decades, a car dealership at Southtown was replaced by apartments, ground-floor businesses, a grocery store and a hotel, the Star Tribune reported. Toys R Us and Herberger’s stores on the property were demolished in 2024, and Dick’s House of Sport is slated to begin construction there in 2027.
Patrick Brama, director of portfolio development for Southtown owner Kraus-Anderson, told the Minnesota Star Tribune that parking needs depend on each project. Kraus-Anderson supports the rule changes for the flexibility they offer. Parking on the shopping center’s west side will remain, while the east side is planned for a new street grid and denser development tied to the nearby Orange Line station. Future projects may provide less parking under the new minimums, though lenders or tenants could still lead developers to build more than the city requires.
A 270-Unit Building Rises on a Parking Lot
Elsewhere in Bloomington, a 270-unit apartment building is already under construction on what used to be an overflow parking lot for an office tower. The project reflects a broader pattern described by Finance & Commerce, which reported that the city's planning commission unanimously recommended approval of the development, the first phase of a plan that could eventually bring 360 apartments to the site. A development director with Chase Real Estate told the outlet that the property's current owners have understood that they don't need all the parking and are reinvesting in their office tenants and the tower itself.
Bloomington has also changed its zoning code to allow greater residential density in established neighborhoods. The Star Tribune reported that the shift could lead to more townhomes, fourplexes and similar housing, potentially prompting friction with existing residents. The city has said it wants more density near transit stations and a mix of residential and commercial uses in the same areas.
A Longtime Lawmaker Urges Patience
State Rep. Steve Elkins, a 74-year-old DFLer who represents Bloomington, cautioned that the city’s urbanist policies may take years or longer to produce widespread change. He told the Star Tribune he has worked on similar policies for 30 years and would like to see faster progress.
The parking changes give Bloomington another tool for redevelopment, but the city has not eliminated minimums as Minneapolis, St. Paul and Duluth have. Whether the revisions contribute to broader changes in the city will take years to assess.
