Northrup King Building

What Northrup King Building does

The Northrup King Building is a 106-year-old, 10-building industrial complex in the Northeast Minneapolis Arts District that has been repurposed into the largest art complex in Minnesota. Originally constructed in 1917 as the headquarters of the Northrup King & Co. seed company, the property was converted to creative arts use after the late 1980s and is now owned and operated by nonprofit Artspace Projects, Inc., which acquired the building in 2018. The complex houses more than 350 tenants, including over 300 working artists across mediums such as painting, ceramics, sculpture, photography, jewelry, fiber arts, printmaking, and woodworking, plus small creative businesses and nonprofit arts organizations.

The building's core product is leased studio, gallery, and workspace (priced in publicly listed examples from $110 per month for display space to $525 per month for up to 400 sq ft of combined work and display space). On top of the rental base, the building operates an event-driven go-to-market layered around a year-round calendar that includes weekly Open Saturdays, three annual Northrup King Nights evenings, the regional Art-A-Whirl open studio tour (May), Art Attack (November), Summer Sizzle (August), Holiday Lane (late November to mid-December), and monthly First Thursday After Whirl events. The building is open to the public from 8am to 8pm, individual artists set their own studio hours, and direct artist-to-visitor sales are the primary commerce flow. Digital channels are limited to a directory website, an E-Shops marketplace, email newsletter, and Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts.

Revenue is generated through subscription-style recurring monthly rents from the long tail of artist and small-business tenants, with event programming and the E-Shops marketplace serving as minor supplementary streams. The operating entity is small (8 disclosed employees) and is owned by Artspace Projects, Inc., a nonprofit focused on affordable space for artists. Pricing is not centrally published and the building reports no vacancies and no waiting list, indicating full occupancy at the listed price points.

Name

Northrup King Building

Legal name

Northrup King Building

Website

https://northrupkingbuilding.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1917

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Northrup King Building is a 106-year-old, 10-building art complex in Minneapolis, Minnesota, owned by nonprofit Artspace Projects, Inc., that leases studio, gallery, and workspace to more than 350 artists and small creative businesses and operates a year-round calendar of public open-studio events.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Creative Arts Complex and Artist Studio Leasing

NAICS

Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (7121), Historical Sites (712120), Art Dealers (459920)

akta.pro primary industry

Art Galleries & Exhibition Spaces (Commercial & Nonprofit) (THAJADAH)

Keywords

• Artist studio leasing
• Creative workspace rentals
• Art complex events
• Studio space rentals
• Arts district facilities

Headquarters

HQ city

Minneapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Infrastructure, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Studio and Gallery Space Rentals: The primary revenue stream is leasing studio, gallery, and workspace to artists, small businesses, and nonprofit organizations. The building has no vacancies and artists rent individual studios. Shared spaces, display spaces, and work/show spaces are available at various price points.
2. Leasing Commissions and Fees: Artists and studios pay monthly rent for their spaces. Listing mentions range from $110/month for show space to $525/month for up to 400 square feet of work and display space.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Northrup King Building leases studio, gallery, and workspace to artists, small creative businesses, and nonprofit arts organizations within its historic 10-building complex in Northeast Minneapolis. It operates as a public-facing destination through recurring open-studio events (Open Saturdays, Art-A-Whirl, Art Attack, Northrup King Nights, Summer Sizzle, Holiday Lane, First Thursday After Whirl), an online E-Shop marketplace for artist-made products, and an artist directory serving over 350 tenants.

Product overview

The Northrup King Building is a 106-year-old arts complex in Minneapolis, MN, operated by Artspace Projects. It is the largest art complex in Minnesota, housing over 350 tenants including approximately 300 artists and various small business and nonprofit organizations. The offering consists of commercial artist studio spaces for lease, a public-facing artist directory, an E-Shop online marketplace for artist-made products, and recurring event programming including Open Saturdays, Art-A-Whirl, Art Attack, Northrup King Nights, Summer Sizzle, Holiday Lane, and First Thursdays After Whirl. The building serves as both a physical workspace for artists and a destination for art lovers to purchase original artwork and meet the creators.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Artist Studios

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Artspace Projects, Inc.coreOthersArtspace Projects, Inc. acquired the Northrup King Building upon Debbie Woodward's retirement in 2018. Artspace is a nonprofit organization that owns and operates the building. They specialize in creating, preserving, and advocating for affordable, sustainable space for artists and creative enterprises.
• Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association (NEMAA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNEMAA presents Art-A-Whirl, the nation's largest open studio tour, spanning the entire Northeast Minneapolis Arts District including the Northrup King Building. The building participates in and promotes NEMAA events including Art-A-Whirl, First Thursdays, and other district-wide initiatives.
• Metroplains (NKB Lofts)minorOthersNKB Lofts are residential spaces adjacent to the Northrup King Building, managed by Metroplains. The building directs inquiries about residential leasing to Metroplains.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Torpedo Factory Art Center: A former munitions factory converted into one of the largest artist studio and gallery complexes in the U.S., with ~80 artist studios and galleries open to the public. Closest analog in scale and mission: large, historic, publicly accessible artist-studio destination.
• Pioneer Works: Brooklyn nonprofit that converts a historic industrial building into artist studios, galleries, performance space, and a recording studio. Closely comparable operating model (historic building, nonprofit, mixed studios + public programming + retail).
• Open Book: Minneapolis-based nonprofit creative center housing literary and visual arts organizations, performance space, and a coffee shop. Comparable as a multi-arts nonprofit venue complex in Minneapolis that combines workspace, public programming, and retail.
• Artisan's Asylum: Large maker and artist studio complex in Somerville, MA offering workspace, classes, and event programming. Comparable as a multi-tenant creative-workspace venue with a workshop/event-driven public programming model.
• Casket Arts Building: A converted historic industrial building in Northeast Minneapolis that houses artist studios, galleries, and small creative businesses. Operates the same small-studio rental model in the same arts district and competes directly for the same artist tenant base.
• California Building: A historic studio building in Northeast Minneapolis Arts District offering artist studios and event space. Direct competitor for artist tenants and a comparable conversion-of-industrial-to-creative-space asset in the same district.
• The Plant: Chicago nonprofit that operates a former meatpacking facility as a multi-tenant hub of food, art, and small-business tenants. Comparable as a historic industrial-conversion, nonprofit-managed, mixed-creative-use complex with public events.
• Hennepin Center for the Arts: Historic downtown Minneapolis building providing rehearsal, performance, and studio space for performing and visual arts organizations. Comparable as a multi-tenant arts workspace venue that mixes affordable space with public-facing programming.

Broad incumbents

• Artspace (national portfolio): The parent operator of the Northrup King Building and a national nonprofit that owns and operates dozens of affordable artist-space projects across the U.S. Provides portfolio-level benchmarking on rents, occupancy, and capex for this asset class.

Emerging players

• The Compound (Atlanta): Atlanta creative campus combining artist studios, galleries, retail, and event space. Comparable as an emerging multi-tenant creative-arts venue mixing studio rentals with public events and curated retail.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/northrupking
• Facebookfacebook.com/NorthrupKingBuilding
• Instagraminstagram.com/northrupkingbuilding
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/northrup-king-building

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Northrup King Building