$25 Million Renovation To Mall Of America

BLOOMINGTON, MN — Regional leaders gathered Thursday morning to break ground on renovations to the state's busiest transit hub. Metropolitan Council Chair Alene Tchourumoff was joined by officials from Metro Transit, Bloomington, Hennepin County, and the Mall of America at a ground-breaking ceremony to celebrate the start of construction at the Mall of America Transit Center.

“This transit center is a critical hub for our entire region,” Tchourumoff said in a statement.

“Thousands of people come here every day, whether headed to work, to shop or take in entertainment, or simply a connection point as they head home for the day. This renovation will provide a safer, more efficient, and overall more enjoyable experience for those customers who know that transit provides accessibility to jobs and opportunity.”

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Safety is a major factor in the redesign. The current vehicle entrance to the transit center is used by regular mall employees and contractors, in addition to transit vehicles.

The renovation will create a bus-only entrance, cutting down on delays created by traffic backups.

Also, buses will no longer cross the light-rail tracks, providing improved safety for bus customers, according to officials.

The transit center will also provide customers with a direct connection to the mall’s east entrance.

This is the first major renovation for the 25-year-old transit center, which was last upgraded in 2004 when the METRO Blue Line opened. The transit center sees more than 5,600 boardings a day, as a connection point for light rail, the Red Line, and dozens of Metro Transit and Minnesota Valley Transit Authority bus routes.

“Bloomington is thankful to the partner organizations working on this project that made it a reality,” said Bloomington Mayor Gene Winstead. “The new transit station will be an amenity the region can be proud of.”

“Transit hubs like the Mall of America are critical elements of the regional system that all the partners are building. They magnify people’s mobility by geometrically increasing the number of destinations accessible by transit. That’s our shared vision. And this project helps make it more of a reality,” said Commissioner McLaughlin.

The transit center will also include improved lighting, a family restroom, emergency telephones and NexTrip real-time departure signs. Inside the building, there will be a new police substation along with a new operator breakroom.

Construction is expected to be completed in late 2019. During construction, customers will board at temporary locations adjacent to the transit center.

Total project budget: $25 million

• MN State Bonds: $8.75 million
• Federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ): $7 million
• City of Bloomington: $5 million
• CTIB: $2.25 million
• Metro Transit: $2 million

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