Minneapolis Downtown Council CEO Steve Cramer to retire

Steve Cramer, CEO of the Minneapolis Downtown Council, has announced plans to retire in December after a decade leading the business association.

He's departing at a pivotal moment for the organization, which advocates for downtown businesses, vitality and economic interests. Minneapolis, like many other major cities, is still recovering from the effects of the pandemic that emptied many offices, stores and hotels in the central business district.

"The overall trajectory for downtown is unmistakably positive," Cramer told the Star Tribune earlier this week. "But that doesn't mean every single development over the next few years is going to be seen in that light."

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey praised Cramer's legacy and his decades of civic service.

"Steve approaches each day with a profound commitment to service," Frey said. "I don't remember a project that he's shied away from."

Minneapolis Regional Chamber President Jonathan Weinhagen called Cramer his mentor and friend. His "pragmatic optimism" and steadiness will be greatly missed, Weinhagen said.

"Steve has provided a generation of civic leadership," he said. "In downtown Minneapolis, there are few things his fingerprints aren't on," especially Nicollet Mall and residential growth.

Cramer also serves as CEO of the Minneapolis Downtown Improvement District, a beautification and safety nonprofit known for its yellow-shirted ambassadors.

Cramer was elected to the Minneapolis City Council in 1983, serving 10 years, and mounted an unsuccessful bid for mayor in 1993.

He also served as director of the Hennepin County Department of Housing, Community Works and Transit, executive director of the Minneapolis Community Development Agency and past chair of the Minnesota Ballpark Authority.

Before joining the Downtown Council, Cramer served for a decade as president of Minneapolis-based affordable housing nonprofit Project in Pride for Living.

Cramer said this week that as the pandemic's aftermath and the impact of hybrid work come into focus, "There's going to be a lot of shakeout in our commercial real estate market. And we can't hyperventilate about every last change."

In a statement Wednesday, he added: "I'm confident the path we are on will lead to renewed vibrancy after the historic disruptions of the last three years."

The next leader of the nearly 70-year-old Downtown Council will need to manage that transition into what Weinhagen called the next "season" of the city's center.

"Cities that see true success are not the ones clinging white-knuckled to what once was but are embracing change," Frey said. "That's what we're collectively prepared to do and certainly something Steve has supported."

"Obviously, we're going to miss him."