Why This Place Matters

In moments of heightened civic tension around immigration and belonging, Rethos is grounding the conversation in place: how communities form, endure, and adapt over time. Riverside Plaza offers a powerful lens for that reflection.

Riverside Plaza: Cedar-Riverside’s Legacy of Community, History, and Resilience

The Cedar-Riverside neighborhood of Minneapolis is one of the Twin Cities’ most storied and distinctive places: a crossroads of culture, home, and community life shaped by generations of arrivals from around the world. In a moment where national conversations about immigration enforcement and civic engagement are once again intensifying, it is important to reflect on Cedar-Riverside’s history and the role of Riverside Plaza within it.

Cedar-Riverside: A Neighborhood Shaped by Generations of Immigrant Life

Long before large redevelopment projects reshaped parts of Minneapolis, Cedar-Riverside was already a vibrant community anchored by immigrant life. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Scandinavian settlers established homes, businesses, and cultural institutions along Cedar Avenue. Over the decades that followed, waves of new arrivals — Somali, East African, Latino, Southeast Asian, and others — transformed the neighborhood into one of the region’s most culturally diverse and economically dynamic places. Today, Cedar-Riverside is home to speakers of dozens of languages, small business owners, interfaith congregations, and families whose roots span the globe. It remains a hub of community organizations, cultural exchange, and everyday life in Minneapolis.

Cedar-Riverside’s multigenerational character — from long-established families to recent arrivals — reflects an enduring belief in this place as a home, not a transient stop, and underscores its value as a cultural and economic asset to the city.

Urban Renewal, Riverside Plaza, and Community Transformation

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Minneapolis, like many American cities, embarked on ambitious redevelopment under federal urban renewal initiatives. Major public policy goals of the era included addressing perceived urban blight and creating new models of mixed-income, integrated housing.

It was within this context that Riverside Plaza — originally known as Cedar Square West — was developed. Designed by renowned architect Ralph Rapson and completed between 1971 and 1973, the complex was part of the New Town-In-Town program, a federal effort to promote diverse, high-density housing in urban cores. At the time of its completion, Cedar Square West was the largest housing development of its type in Minnesota and one of the few New Town-In-Town projects nationwide. Its bold design and scale reflected both the optimism and the controversy of urban renewal — seeking to foster community and density while also restructuring the existing urban fabric.

For decades, Riverside Plaza has housed residents from across socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds, offering more than 1,300 units of housing in a setting integrated with transit, shops, and community services.

Stewardship and Preservation: Sherman Associates’ Role

In 1988, Sherman Associates acquired Riverside Plaza out of receivership and has managed the property since. Over the ensuing decades, Sherman has invested in the Plaza’s renewal and sustainability, recognizing its significance not just as real estate but as a community anchor.

In 2011, a major rehabilitation of the complex was completed that preserved its architectural character and modernized critical building systems while the complex remained occupied. As part of that work, Riverside Plaza was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, making it eligible for historic tax credit financing. The resulting renovation was among the largest ever completed using Minnesota’s historic tax credits, securing the long-term viability of the property and underscoring how preservation incentives can support community-serving housing.

These investments have helped sustain Riverside Plaza as a stable, mixed-income residential community in a neighborhood that continues to adapt and grow.

Looking Forward: History, Community, and Shared Value

As Minneapolis and its neighborhoods navigate complex civic and policy discussions — including issues around immigration enforcement and community trust — it is valuable to ground these conversations in the history of place and the experiences of residents.

Cedar-Riverside’s story is one of resilience: of immigrants and long-time residents creating livelihoods, of advocates and neighbors building institutions that endure, and of physical places like Riverside Plaza that have housed and connected people across differences. In that history, there are lessons about how cities evolve, the role of intentional housing policy, and the ways in which diverse communities contribute to the social and economic fabric of our metropolitan region.

Rethos celebrates the cultural richness of Cedar-Riverside and the importance of preserving not just buildings, but the networks of relationships and histories that make neighborhoods meaningful. Riverside Plaza — as a landmark of design, a site of community life, and a testament to long-term investment in urban housing — remains a testament to that legacy.