Green rail lines with icons of people in a meeting and person sitting by a tree. Text says: "Connecting Communities"

METRO ORANGE LINE

The METRO Orange Line connects communities

The 17-mile METRO Orange Line began service in 2021 and has since expanded, enriched, and mobilized communities along the transitway. Since 2014, more than $4.5 billion has been invested along the METRO Orange Line, bringing residents more places to work, play, live, and shop all connected by one Metro Transit ride.

History of the METRO Orange Line

Construction of the Orange Line began in 2018, but it was planned much earlier, appearing in the Metropolitan Council's 2030 Transportation Policy Plan to replace Route 535 on I-35W. The Metropolitan Council engaged directly with communities at each station, gathering input from transit riders, residents, students, and businesses. This feedback shaped the line's station design, walkability, naming, and bus service. Since launching, the Orange Line has connected people to jobs, homes, businesses, parks, and more.

What is happening on the Orange Line?

We're connecting communities.

The Orange Line has brought more jobs, homes, businesses, and more all accessible with one transit ride. While the Orange Line directly serves Minneapolis, Richfield, Bloomington, and Burnsville, the METRO transit system allows residents to go even further with just one connecting ride. The Orange Line connects with the Green Line, Blue Line, C Line, and D Line in downtown Minneapolis.

Riders can reach St. Paul, Brooklyn Center, and locations like the Mall of America and the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (via the Blue Line.) When operational, the Green Line Extension will further mobilize residents on the Orange Line and allow them to reach St. Louis Park, Edina, Hopkins, Minnetonka, and Eden Prairie with just one connecting trip.

Homes are being built.

Through 2023, communities have permitted 9,500 residential units along the Orange Line, worth more than $2 billion.

Housing can be expensive. About 14% of the housing permitted and built along the Orange Line from 2014 to 2023 is defined as affordable. The Orange Line connects our most economically disadvantaged community members with affordable access to homes, jobs, businesses, parks, and more.

Businesses have the opportunity to grow.

Commercial development worth more than $2 billion has been permitted and built on the Orange Line corridor from 2014 through 2023. This creates jobs and gives communities more ways to shop, dine, and lodge – all connected with one short ride on the Orange Line.

Communities invest in amenities and connections where we build transit.

From 2014 through 2023, communities have permitted more than $411 million for schools, churches, and other community spaces and amenities along the Orange Line. That development will connect residents with parks and green spaces, walking and bike paths, public facilities, and more public and institutional development along the Orange Line.

We're creating jobs.

Industrial development along the Orange Line will bring jobs to the area, with nearly $16 million invested in industrial facilities, factories, and more.

The METRO Orange Line is a vital transitway that connects communities with jobs, homes, businesses, parks, and so much more. Since the Orange Line became operational, communities have become mobilized and connected to more places to live, work, shop, and play. Learn more about the METRO Orange Line.

Notes: Information based on data for the 2024 development trends report, which will be published soon. Market forces will impact when developments open. For more information, view the reports released by the Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) office, or contact them at [email protected].