Airport travelers have a new place to leave their cars in the South Loop. The Bloomington Planning Commission voted 5-0 to grant a conditional use permit for up to 490 remote airport parking spaces. The spaces will be inside the existing RiverView parking structure, which sits next to the RiverView office tower and the Crowne Plaza.
City of Bloomington@CityofBloomingtonMNThe commission voted 5-0 to grant a conditional use permit for up to 490 remote airport parking spaces inside the existing RiverView parking structure next to the RiverView office tower and Crowne Plaza in the South Loop.10/01
A parking study looked at whether giving 490 spaces to travelers would squeeze the ramp's everyday users. It found the structure would still have surplus capacity. That finding did a lot of the work in getting the permit through.
The application came from Bloomington QOZ Ramp LLC. The city noticed a public hearing for the commission's October 1, 2026 meeting at Bloomington Civic Plaza and listed Planning Supervisor Mike Centinario as the contact for the case.
City of Bloomington Planning Commissionyoutube.com
Most of the hearing was about the ramp's condition. City staff said parts of the structure had been deemed unsafe. The developer bought the office tower and the ramp in December and already owns the hotel and apartments next door. It said it has spent "many millions of dollars" over 6 months on repairs.
Renting space to airport travelers is one way to make that repair bill pay off. The company plans to use shuttles to carry parkers between the ramp and MSP.
One commissioner raised an obvious point. Light rail runs close by, yet travelers parking here will ride a shuttle to the airport instead. The commissioner lamented that but still voted yes, and the permit passed without opposition.
City of Bloomington@CityofBloomingtonMNThe developer, which bought the office tower and ramp in December and also owns the adjacent hotel and apartments, said it has spent 'many millions of dollars' over six months repairing a ramp that city staff said had areas deemed unsafe due to crumbling concrete.10/01
Where it stands: the commission has approved the permit. The sources don't say whether any further city step is required before parking opens, or when the first cars might pull in. We'll update this story as it moves.
From the meeting: Planning Commission Meeting, October 1, 2026.
