Good idea to rent at loft space in North Loop? (Minneapolis: upper-class, apartments)

[mikeaug]

Hi all. I'm new to city-data, and definitely new to the discussion boards, so please forgive me if this question has been covered, like, a million times already

Is the Warehouse/North Loop area a safe & good place to live? Are there nice lofts to rent there? Knowing that area & what I'm looking for, is it realistic to assume I'll find a place within the first 3 or 4 days, if I have up to $1800/mo to spend? I am moving to Minneapolis in a little over a week, and looking to rent a loft (I think) for the first year I am in town. (I'll buy a house in the 'burbs after that... but that's a question for a later time).

For those who are interested, a little background: I'm a 30-yo professional that works early morning hours ... so I need a place that's quiet enough to get to sleep at 7pm every night. Given my work schedule, I'd love a quaint, safe, friendly place to stop & grab a coffee or a bite to eat, but I won't be needing quick or direct access to any clubs or bars In short I'm looking for "quiet, safe & hip" as opposed to "can stumble out of a bar into my house".

Sorry if this message is way too long... and THANK YOU for taking the time to read, and hopefully respond

Mike

[Minnehahapolitan]

The Warehouse District is safe, trendy and within your price range. It is, however, the main bar district for the city. A great majority of the storefronts are bars, clubs or restaurants.
If you want an area that would be more quiet, look on the riverfront on either side. The downtown side is home to the Mill District. It is more upper-class and has an older demographic. Across the river, you will find Saint Anthony and Main Street. It is older feeling, less trendy but quiet, safe and convenient. Both still have many conveniences but won't have the sorts of establishments that would cause alot of noise.

[BillyB]

Yeah, it's a nice place for a young person. Probably loud though? I think it would be around 1200 to 1400 for a nice loft around there. For 1800, you could probably get a nicer place on the chain of lakes.

[Thedosius]

Originally Posted by mikeaug

Is the Warehouse/North Loop area a safe & good place to live? Are there nice lofts to rent there? Knowing that area & what I'm looking for, is it realistic to assume I'll find a place within the first 3 or 4 days, if I have up to $1800/mo to spend?

Mike

A good and safe place to live? Sounds more like a "dream" than "good". I'd love to live down there, but as a first-time homebuyer without $1800 a month to spend...

You'll find a great place for that price, and I love that area. The warehouses are in my opinion some of the loveliest and grandest architecture in the city. My only words of advice would be this:

Parts of the warehouse district are party central, particularly 1st Avenue. My suggestion would be to walk around the area and make note of where the bars and night clubs are clustered. Then look for buildings at least a block away from those clusters. You will also likely want to stay off the wider streets- they are the traffic thoroughfares that people use to get to/from the bars. I might even suggest coming down to the area on a warm Friday or Saturday evening, just to see where exactly the traffic is heaviest and lightest.

There are plenty of quiet nooks and crannies, particularly as you get closer to the Mississippi River. In fact, there is a wide parkway going along the river which would be very quiet to live along, yet be in the middle of downtown.

As far as safety goes: again, it's an urban downtown, and party central. For such an environment, it is relatively safe- I've never felt particularly scared or threatened in downtown Minneapolis, but crime is a reality here like in any city. I assume you have street smarts acquired from city living, and so you should be fine.

Good luck, I envy you! It's a very cool area!

[silverjet]

In another thread someone mentioned a website called Minnescraper. It seems like a good place to find information about lofts/condos in the downtown area. There is also a forum there where you can ask others what they think. The forum seems to be pretty active.

I really like the North Loop and wouldn't hesitate to rent a place there. But being there are so many places available close to downtown, it would be worth it to check out as many as you can.

[K-Luv]

There are many desirable lofts/condos/apartments within this area. There are also many trendy and/or well off people that occupy these dwellings. However, the area in and around the Warehouse district is shady at night. There are many bars and clubs down there that attract a huge thug and white-hat following (both annoying). These people tend to act like morons when they drink and a lot of drama ensues on a weekly basis. Go to Pizza Luce on a Friday or Saturday night (morning?) at around three a.m. and you'll change your mind quick about the area.

Not only are the majority of the cities clubs located here, this area is also home to Deja-Vu, Choices, Dream Girls, Sex World and maybe one more. Sex World is a three-story sex shop, and the rest are strip joints. All are open 24-7 and all are located smack dab in the middle of these trendy lofts (well, kind of).

There are also some homeless shelters near by.

The Loop is pretty damn safe during the day, and if you are one of those people that never ventures outside of their homes at night, then you will be safe then, too (at least mentally).

I've worked in the Warehouse District for 5 1/2 years and played in it for almost 10.

[mikeaug]

What K-luv mentions was my concern... I will be going to work at 3am 5 days per week. Even when I was in college I avoided the "party central" areas, because drunken frat boys and alcohol-induced bravado & stupidity is wasted on me.

I am going to scope out the neighborhood at different times of day to see what's up, and also check out the Lake Calhoun area. Might that area be better? Again, traffic/commuting into downtown is absolutely no concern to me because of my hours.

[talktobrent]

I wouldn't worry about the bar scene. None of the nice lofts will be right above rowdy bars. The bars are almost exclusively clustered on 1st ave, which is virtually all office space above. Most the new lofts are a few blocks west of 1st ave, just to the NW of where the new stadium is. While it's the same neighborhood, it's actually completely off the path for drunken pedestrians (the freeway exits and parking ramps kind of divide the area). I'd actually be a little more concerned about the congestion the new twins stadium might bring at times.