Writer: Eleana Teran
2 min read October 2022 — Known for its dramatic skylines, pro sports, award-winning theater, renowned restaurants and booming craft beer scene, the Twin Cities offer a wealth of entertainment and culture.
The innovative economy of Minneapolis touches many industries, from software to renewable energy, making it the sixth-best place to live in the country, according to Livability. The city recently ranked No. 2 in the Top Cities for Generation Z thanks to its affordability when compared to other markets, low unemployment and highly educated population.
Additionally, Minneapolis is the seventh-best place for outdoor enthusiasts to live and work. In the area, over one-tenth of commuters walk or bike to their offices. Similarly, the city ranked well for green spaces, with nearly 15% of its land reserved for parks. St. Paul’s park system ranked second nationwide in the Trust for Public Land’s annual ParkScore Index.
Invest: heard from public and private sector leaders in the region on what makes Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul a great place to reside and do business.
1. A trailblazer for innovation and entrepreneurship
Peter Frosch, President & CEO, GREATER MSP
Innovation and entrepreneurship are significant growth drivers for the region. The startup ecosystem has grown significantly over the past five years and accelerated during the pandemic, in part because venture capital started flowing to many more metros across the United States, outside of the Bay Area. We’ve seen a significant increase in the number and scale of venture funds and capital in this market as part of a virtuous circle with fast-growing companies in the region. There is a global startup ecosystem report that was released earlier this summer and rated Minneapolis-St. Paul as Top 5 globally and Top 2 in the Midwest for its emerging startup ecosystem. This is a real moment for innovation and leadership, and we feel like it is the right time to be accelerating in that direction.
2. Great educational offerings
Thomas Wallrich, Office Managing Partner, Cozen O’Connor
I was born in St. Paul and educated at the University of Minnesota. I love the market. It’s invested heavily in education and we have a highly educated population consistently between Minneapolis and St. Paul. What you get from that are good workers. We are home to 23 Fortune 500 companies that started here and maintain an office here. There are a lot of big companies here. What has happened in the last 20 years that’s different is that the national firms started to pay attention to that. We used to have large regional firms. Then we started to see national firms coming in.
As a result, the legal market and the clients have gotten so sophisticated that you have to have solutions immediately no matter where they pop up. The biggest change that I’ve seen over my 30-plus years is that the firms have gotten so much larger and that’s because they have to carry the resources and the overhead to deal with providing solutions. When I started to see the national firms come in, my clients started to feel the demand for those kinds of services and that’s been beneficial for my clients and the firm. With the growth and the size of all of our Fortune 500 companies, we needed more resources to deal with it and we needed to become more comfortable with it. It was nice to bring those resources to my clients here and also to the market.
3. Setting the pace for DEI and employee engagement
Kate Reschenberg, Executive Director, Economic Club of Minnesota
I see leadership changing their hearts and minds about how they do business. In the recent past, many organizations compartmentalized initiatives like DEI and it has become clear to most leaders that these opportunities for improvement are interwoven. We see employees wanting skin in the game, so employee ownership is another growing trend. Employee engagement takes a more holistic approach to creating the culture the labor force desires. A happy employee translates to a happy customer.
4. An invigorating Downtown
Paul Edlund, CEO, J. Benson Construction
In August 2022, we moved our office from the suburbs to Downtown Minneapolis. The suburban locations were less expensive. We were able to get more space and they would have worked geographically well for what we were doing. But I felt it was important for us to be in Minneapolis for who we are as a company and who we want to be as a company, particularly as I hear more about people concerned about crime or the decline of Minneapolis and things of that nature. I can tell you I am not seeing that from where I sit, and we want to be part of changing that perception. We are doing that by showing up, being present and spending our dollars here. We’re sending the message that we are here and here to stay. Our team was very excited about coming Downtown. It is an invigorating place to be and exciting for our business, becoming a part of the growth and what’s ahead for the city.
5. Development happening across the board
Lance Stendal, President, Omega Property Management
We’re based in the northwest metropolitan area of the Twin Cities. We see a lot of growth outside of Hennepin County and the other counties northwest of there. That’s where a significant amount of new community development is happening. We manage communities all across the Twin Cities and we’re starting to see a lot more development in the southeast metro, where we’ve also added a few clients, but the biggest driver for us is the northwest metro area.
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