Building Amenities For Commuters (and customers)

Design for Downtown

215,000 individuals work and 51,000 live in downtown Minneapolis and more arrive every day. People want to be downtown!

Don’t let your building be second class when companies are shopping for new locations. Tenants and employees want a space that speaks to their values and preferences.

More than 40% of the downtown workforce uses transit or other non-driving modes like bicycling and walking to get to work. It’s a key part of the urban experience that Minneapolitans love so much. When developers and property managers add sustainable transportation amenities to their buildings, they establish a reputation as a destination of choice.

Building Amenities for Green Commuters

Whether you’re shopping for new office space or remodeling your current square footage, be sure to investigate the following popular building features:

• a dedicated bike room or other secure bicycle storage with an overnight option
• 24-hour assigned lockers for personal items
• shower and dressing facilities
• a bike repair station and parts vending machine (multiple options on the market)
• an on-street bike corral with cost sharing provided to property owners
• free or low-cost on-site carpool and vanpool parking
• on-site parking for one or more car-sharing vehicles (provided by a vendor)
• space for seasonal bike share docking stations
• designated areas for scooter share and free-float bike share parking
• corporate or building memberships for as many shared vehicle systems as are available to your location
  • HOURCAR – cars, crossovers, and pickup trucks by the hour

Transit-Specific Building Amenities

• Enroll your office or residential building in Metropass and sponsor tenant memberships. Metropass is Metro Transit’s unlimited ride transit pass – truly the gold standard for your tenants.
• Add TransitScreen to your building lobby. TransitScreen provides live, hyperlocal information on mobility options: transit, bike share, scooters and ride hailing, all from the comfort of your lobby, lunchroom, elevators or wherever you place monitors. Customize your display to include travel time to nearby destinations like restaurants, shops, and attractions.
• Adopt your closest transit shelter and alert Metro Transit if it needs upkeep between their regularly scheduled maintenance visits.
• Add your own transit amenities: Install outdoor seating, weather protection, trees and flowers, or water features near transit stops.

Finally, design and operate your building so that pedestrians and other sustainable commuters are your most welcome guests.

After all, these are your tenants and their customers. Make it easy for walkers, cyclists, and people using mobility assistance to enter your building from the street and get to the elevators or bike room. Install secure outdoor bike racks for visitors. Lure lunchtime crowds with sidewalk seating. Encourage bus riders to use your lobby as a weatherproof waiting room. Create a vibrant, safe streetfront (skyways are great but streets are magnificent) by offering affordable, street-level leases to independent local businesses and creative organizations.