The Resurrection of Northtown
The mall is dead. Long live the “Mixed-Use Lifestyle District.”
📐 The Master Plan
STATUS: IN PROGRESSTurning inside-out. Open air streets.
Apartments & Townhomes on-site.
Redeveloping the adjacent industrial land.
Walkable, Live-Work-Play.
Bartender’s Note: Don’t cry for the old food court. What’s coming is going to boost your property value way more than an Orange Julius ever did.
Do you remember? The smell of Auntie Anne’s pretzels? The neon lights of the arcade? Meeting your friends by the fountain because nobody had cell phones?
If you grew up in the North Metro, Northtown Mall wasn’t just a place to buy jeans. It was the center of the universe.
But let’s pour a cold one and be honest with each other: that era is over. The “Enclosed Mall” is a dinosaur. The asteroid hit about ten years ago (it was called Amazon), and we’ve just been watching the dust settle.
However, if you drive past University and 85th today, you aren’t looking at a funeral. You’re looking at a metamorphosis. The City of Blaine, along with developers and even 3M, is cooking up a plan that is going to change the entire southern edge of the city.
Here is the deep dive on the Northtown Master Plan and why smart money is watching this corner closely.
What is “De-Malling”?
It sounds like a painful medical procedure, but it’s actually brilliant urban planning.
The problem with Northtown is that it’s an island in a sea of asphalt. You drive there, you park, you walk inside, you leave. It doesn’t connect to anything.
The Master Plan calls for breaking that box open.
- Externalizing Retail: Instead of facing a hallway, stores will face the street. Think West End in St. Louis Park or Ridgedale’s new additions.
- The Grid System: They want to extend the city street grid through the parking lot. This slows down traffic and makes it feel like a neighborhood, not a drag strip.
- Green Space: Replacing parking spots with parks. Actual grass. In a mall parking lot. Revolutionary, right?
The 3M Connection
This is the part most people miss. Right next to the mall, there’s a whole lot of industrial land owned by 3M.
The city documents explicitly mention the “3M – Northtown Redevelopment” and “Lexington Meadows.”
Why does this matter?
Because for decades, this land was “off-limits” or just utilitarian. Now, with remediation and redevelopment plans, this land is being unlocked. We aren’t just remodeling a mall; we are building a new district on top of old industrial sites.
This brings scale. You can’t build a “Downtown Blaine” on just the mall footprint. But if you combine the mall + the 3M land? Now you have enough acreage to build a mini-city.
Living at the Mall?
Ten years ago, if I told you people would pay $2,000 a month to live in the Northtown parking lot, you would have told me to cut you off.
Today? It’s the hottest trend in real estate.
The plan relies heavily on Mixed-Use Housing. We’re talking 4-to-6 story apartment buildings with coffee shops on the ground floor.
Who is this for?
1. Young Professionals: Who want to be 15 minutes from downtown Minneapolis (thanks to University Ave) but can’t afford the North Loop.
2. Empty Nesters: Who want to sell the big house in Ham Lake, get rid of the snowblower, and walk to dinner.
Where the Bartender Places His Bet
Okay, so the mall is getting a facelift. How does that help you make money?
🏠 The “Halo Effect” Strategy:
When a billion dollars of investment drops into a neighborhood, the ripples spread outward. The homes directly adjacent to Northtown—in Spring Lake Park and the southern tip of Blaine—are currently undervalued.
These are often 1960s and 70s ramblers. They aren’t flashy. But in five years, when they are walking distance to a high-end “Lifestyle Center” instead of a dying mall? That location premium kicks in.
Look for homes along 85th Ave and University. That is the sweet spot.
Last Call
Northtown Mall isn’t dying. It’s molting.
It’s shedding the 1980s skin of food courts and department stores and turning into something that actually fits how we live in 2026. It’s going to be messy, there will be construction cranes (more of them), and it will take time.
But if you’re betting against this corner of the metro, you’re betting wrong.
So, let’s raise a glass to the old arcade… and then let’s go check out the blueprints for the new rooftop bar.
The future is mixed-use.
Jacob Zwack
Realtor | The Minnesota Real Estate Team
The Development Insider.
Serving the North Metro. RENE, C2EX, SRS, ABR designated.
“I watch the permits so you don’t have to.”
Jacob Zwack is a licensed Realtor with The Minnesota Real Estate Team. All information presented is for educational purposes. Redevelopment plans are subject to city council approval and market conditions. Always verify current project status before making real estate decisions.
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