Mayor Frey tells developers: Ask me for money

Context: Frey made the comments at the RE Journal's annual Downtown Minneapolis Summit. He was emphasizing that he wants to use more tax-increment financing to help fund conversions of office buildings to apartments.

What they're saying: "If you don't ask and therefore you don't get the thing approved and therefore you didn't get the investment, don't come crying to me because you didn't ask to begin with," Frey told hundreds of real estate professionals. "We want to help you."

State of play: While the city has seen some recent success in office-to-residential conversions, a recent Newmark report put the city near the bottom in volume compared to nine other Midwest cities since 2020.

Frey's comments were backed up by Council Member Michael Rainville, who represents half of downtown.

• "Don't give up on downtown," Rainville told the crowd. "We're here to help you with your investment — to make you rich, to help you prosper."

Reality check: Even with state and federal historic tax credits and tax-increment financing, developers have struggled to get investors and loans for conversions because construction is so expensive and rents aren't high enough.