International Market Square

THE LOFTS AT INTERNATIONAL MARKET SQUARE 290 Market Street A redeveloped underwear factory on the industrial fringe of Downtown, International Market Square was a big hit among designers and vendors right from the start, when it opened in the 1980s. The Glenwood corridor seemed just funky enough a location, and the property was thoroughly renovated, offering plenty of fenced-in on-site parking. So this was a bit edgy but not at all scary, as postwar bohemian Manhattan—the stated cultural model for IMS—might have been for many Minneapolitans. The factory has plenty of floor area, so there was room to add 96 loft units to the mix of showrooms, offices, restaurant, deli, convenience store, and business services. These condos are unadorned spaces, plausibly suggesting the abode of the mythical starving artist. This attribute is reinforced by the Lofts' urbanista motto, "not a suburb in sight" (not strictly accurate from the upper floors).