Metadata: Commercial, Industrial, and Public and Institutional Permits, Twin Cities Metropolitan Area

Commercial, Industrial, and Public and Institutional Permits, Twin Cities Metropolitan Area

This page last updated: 04/16/2024
Metadata created using Minnesota Geographic Metadata Guidelines


Go to Section:
  1. Overview
  2. Data Quality
  3. Data Organization
  4. Coordinate System
  5. Attributes
  6. Distribution - Get Data
  7. Metadata Reference

Section 1: Overview

Originator:Metropolitan Council

Title: Commercial, Industrial, and Public and Institutional Permits, Twin Cities Metropolitan Area

Abstract: This dataset consists of summary data for commercial, industrial, and public and institutional projects, based on building permits issued during each calendar year by cities and townships within the Region. Data is collected via an annual survey of building officials, in conjunction with collection of data on residential building permits.

Purpose: This dataset was created to summarize and analyze development trends of commercial, industrial, and public and institutional building in the seven-county Twin Cities Region.

Time Period of Content Date: 04/16/2024

Currentness Reference: This dataset reflects permit information collected annually from 2003 through 2023.

Progress: Complete

Maintenance and Update Frequency: Annually

Spatial Extent of Data: Twin Cities 7 County Metropolitan Area. This includes the counties of Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott and Washington in Minnesota.

Bounding Coordinates: -94.012
-92.732
45.415
44.471

Place Keywords: Twin Cities, Anoka County, Carver County, Dakota County, Hennepin County, Ramsey County, Scott County, Washington County

Theme Keywords: commercial, industrial, public, institutional, nonresidential building permits, building permits, permits

Theme Keyword Thesaurus: None

Access Constraints: None. This dataset is public domain under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act (Minnesota Statutes Chapter 13). If the dataset is not available from the Online Linkage in Section 6, please contact the Distribution Contact Person.

Use Constraints: None. This dataset is public domain under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act (Minnesota Statutes Chapter 13).

Station Area are defined as half-mile, non-overlapping transit-influenced areas based on existing and planned transitway station locations as defined by MetroTransit. In general, transitway stations are defined as a centrally located, single station point representing multidirectional transit stops or platforms. Additional consolidations of transitway stations were made to "coexisting" multimodal stations (i.e., Blue Line's 46th Street Station (Hiawatha Ave) A-Line's 46th Street Station) before defining Station Area. Both the consolidation of stations and definition of station areas are supported by the Federal Transportation Administration (FTA) Reporting Instructions for the Section 5309 Capital Investment Grant Program.

The source and allocation methodology of data included in the Station Area Statistics can be found in the data layer metadata record.

Because some station areas can represent more than one transitway corridor, the statistics for all Station Areas are provided with the download of any data layer requested at the All Station Area geography. Each Station Area is associated with a transitway Corridor segment (Corridor_ID). A Corridor segment can include one (1) to eighteen (30) stations. Use the following matrix to associate and/or summarize Corridor segments to a specific corridor(s):

Corridor_ID = Corridor
1001, 1002, 1003, 1005, 1014, 1025, 1027, 1036, 1039 = Blue Line
1001, 1004 = Northstar Commuter Rail
1005, 1006 = Red Line
1001, 1002, 1007, 1015, 1025, 1027, 1031, 1039 = Green Line
1008, 1026, 1032 = Green Line Extension
1009, 1024, 1026 = Blue Line Extension
1010, 1027, 1034 = Orange Line
1012, 1029, 1033 = Gold Line
1019, 1029, 1031 = Purpled Line
1013, 1014, 1015, 1037 = A Line
1028, 1032, 1033, 1035, 1036, 1037, 1038 = B Line
1016, 1022, 1024, 1026, 1027 = C Line
1018, 1022, 1026, 1027, 1035 = D Line
1030, 1038, 1039, 1040 = E Line
1023, 1025, 1029, 1033 = Riverview

Note: avoid double counting common Corridor segments (i.e., 2001, 2002) when summarizing multiple corridors (i.e., Blue and Green Lines).

Contact Person Information: Joel Nyhus, Reseacher
Metropolitan Council
390 Robert Street North
St. Paul, MN  55101-1805
Phone: 651.602.1634
Email: [email protected]

Browse Graphic: None available


Associated Data Sets: None

Section 2: Data Quality

Attribute Accuracy: Valid code tests have been conducted. No known attribute errors exist.

Logical Consistency:

Completeness: Entire seven county geographic area is covered.

Horizontal Positional Accuracy:


Lineage: The data were obtained through an annual survey sent to communities by the Metropolitan Council in conjunction with collection of residential building permits. Respondents are asked to provide project information for new buildings and additions to buildings if permit valuation is $100,000 or more. Data does not include permits for work such as plumbing, mechanical, reroofing, etc. or if the project is for remodeling only (not involving a new structure or adding square footage to an existing structure) for $500,000 or more (starting in 2023 data; prior to 2023 data, the remodel threshold was $1 million or more)..

Data on square footage and value should not be used to attempt to determine value per square foot, as not all projects include data for both variables.

A small number of communities each year may not provide data. These are typically places with no nonresidential construction occurring.

The data on returned surveys were verified by Metropolitan Council staff through various means including: contact with community staff, community websites, and comparison to data in the Council's Service Availability Charge (SAC) reports where possible.

For this data, projects are counted at the time local units of government issue building permits. No information on demolitions is included, so the data represent a gross construction volume, but not the net gain in property value or space. With subsequent annual updates, the data should be useful for assessing longer-range trends.

Multiple building permits may be issued for a given project, separate from the permit for the major structural work, for example, for foundation work, mechanical, electrical, and finishing work. Metropolitan Council has attempted to represent the permit valuation and square footage for all new projects and additions (if over $100,000) and to avoid duplicate reporting of these. However, there may be some inconsistency because of the complexity of some projects and differences among local permit record-keeping systems. Where it was possible to differentiate, permits that were for remodeling, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and finishing work only have not been included.

Project 'value' reflects the estimated cost of construction reported on the building permit. Permit values exclude some costs including land and landscaping, and are typically lower than market values of completed properties.

City-to-city comparisons may not be entirely valid if there are differences in survey completeness or methods of permit valuation.

Other construction activity may have occurred on properties of state and federal jurisdictions that are not included in this report. The University of Minnesota, for example, is not covered in Metropolitan Council's survey since it does not have to apply for building permits from local jurisdictions.

Occasionally a project will be put on hold after the building permit has been issued. All permits reported by local officials for this survey are included in our data base and in this report, regardless of status. It would not be feasible to do continuous follow up of all projects through the construction process.

Council Research staff designated each listing as "Commercial," "Industrial," or "Public or Institutional", based on descriptive information provided by survey respondents. The Public or Institutional category includes government-owned structures and semi-public buildings such as hospitals, schools, churches and community centers, owned or occupied by nonprofit organizations (including religious). All schools were coded as Public or Institutional use, whether ownership is public or private.

The Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport is not within the boundaries of a minor civil division. The Metropolitan Airports Commission provided data on airport construction.

For complete information for each construction project, and mapping capability, see the MetroGIS website at http://www.datafinder.org.

Historical data may be available for the following places:

Burns Township (became the city of Nowthen, July 2008)
Chaska Township (merged with the city of Chaska, January 2005)
Columbus Township (became the city of Columbus, September 2006)
Credit River Township (became the city of Credit River, June 2021)
Elko (merged with the city of New Market to become Elko New Market, January 2007)
Forest Lake Township (merged with the city of Forest Lake, March 2000)
Grant Township (became the city of Grant, January 1997)
Hassan Township (merged with the city of Rogers, January 1, 2012)
New Market (merged with the city of Elko to become Elko New Market, January 2007)
New Scandia Township (became the city of Scandia, January 2007)
Norwood (merged with the city of Young America to become Norwood Young America, January 1997)
Oak Grove Township (became the city of Oak Grove, December 1993)
Young America (merged with the city of Norwood to become Norwood Young America, January 1997)


Section 3: Spatial Data Organization (not used in this metadata)


Section 4: Coordinate System

Horizontal Coordinate Scheme:

Horizontal Datum:

Horizontal Units:

Vertical Datum: not applicable

Vertical Units: NA

Depth Datum: NA

Depth Units: NA

Section 5: Attributes

Overview: CO_CODE: 3-digit FIPS and state standard county ID code.
003 = Anoka County
019 = Carver County
037 = Dakota County
053 = Hennepin County
123 = Ramsey County
139 = Scott County
163 = Washington County

CTU_CODE: 5-digit FIPS55 'Place' code for CTU. As of 2006, the federal government has officially retired these codes. The Census Bureau will continue to create FIPS55 Place codes for new cities and townships through the 2010 Census. After that, no new FIPS55 codes will be created. Note that for townships that wholly incorporate into cities, the same FIPS55 code for the former township will usually be used for the new city. Conversely, GNIS creates a new ID for the new city.

CTU_ID: The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) official federal unique identifier for each city, township, or unorganized territory.

COCTU_ID: 11 digit identifier for the combination of county and CTU (concatination of CO_CODE and CTU_ID_CEN). This is the official U.S. Census Bureau format.

CTU_NAME: Name of the city, township or unorganized territory, e.g. Benton Twp., Blaine.

YEAR: The year the permit was issued.

NONRES_GROUP: Designation of non-residential projects into 3 general categories:
Commercial
Industrial
Public and Institutional

NONRES_SUBGROUP: Designation of project into one of 12 subgroups:
Commercial -- Other Services
Government
Hospitals and Nursing Homes
Industrial
Mixed Office and Retail
Office
Office and Warehouse Mix
Recreation -- Public
Religious
Retail
Schools
Transportation Structures

NONRES_TYPE_DESC: Designation of non-residential projects into one of 24 building type categories:
Airport
Arts, Entertainment and Recreation
Bank
Eating and Drinking Establishments
Government Office
Hospitals and Nursing Homes
Hotel-Lodging
Manufacturing
Medical--Commercial
Mixed Commercial/Residential
Office
Office and Retail
Office/Warehouse
Other Commercial Services
Other Industrial
Other Transportation
Public Works
Recreation--Public
Religious
Retail
Schools
Transit
Utilities--Commercial
Warehouse

BLDG_NAME: The name of the building, developer, or owner of the building.

BLDG_DESC: A description of the building's use.

PERMIT_TYPE: Designation of non-residential projects into 3 general categories:
New
Addition
Remodel

PERMIT_VALUE: Permit value of building or addition

SQF: Square footage of building or addition.

ADDRESS: Location of the project

ZIP_CODE: Zip code of the residential unit(s)

PIN: The unique parcel identifier (PID) or parcel identification number (PIN) that is use within the county

COMMUNITY_DESIGNATION_NAME: A designation of each city and township based on the overall state of development and regional issues faced by the community

Detailed Citation: None

Table Detail:

Section 6: Distribution

Publisher: Metropolitan Council

Publication Date: 04/16/2024

Contact Person Information: Joel Nyhus, Reseacher
Metropolitan Council
390 Robert Street North
St. Paul, MN  55101-1805
Phone: 651.602.1634
Email: [email protected]

Distributor's Data Set Identifier: nonresidential_building_permits

Distribution Liability: NOTICE: The Geographic Information System (GIS) Data to which this notice is attached are made available pursuant to the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act (Minnesota Statutes Chapter 13). THE GIS DATA ARE PROVIDED TO YOU AS IS AND WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY AS TO THEIR PERFORMANCE, MERCHANTABILITY, OR FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE. The GIS Data were developed by the Metropolitan Council for its own internal business purposes. The Metropolitan Council does not represent or warrant that the GIS Data or the data documentation are error-free, complete, current, or accurate. You are responsible for any consequences resulting from your use of the GIS Data or your reliance on the GIS Data. You should consult the data documentation for this particular GIS Data to determine the limitations of the GIS Data and the precision with which the GIS Data may depict distance, direction, location, or other geographic features. If you transmit or provide the GIS Data (or any portion of it) to another user, it is recommended that the GIS Data include a copy of this disclaimer and this metadata.

Ordering Instructions: See Online Linkage Below

Online Linkage:Download Page

Section 7: Metadata Reference

Metadata Date: 04/16/2024

Contact Person Information: Joel Nyhus, Reseacher
Metropolitan Council
390 Robert Street North
St. Paul, MN  55101-1805
Phone: 651.602.1634
Email: [email protected]

Metadata Standard Name: Minnesota Geographic Metadata Guidelines

Metadata Standard Version: 1.2



This page last updated: 04/16/2024
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