From forest cabin to 19th-floor condo: a Minnesota couple embraces downtown life

Stacy Brooks, raised in northern Minnesota’s woods, spent a year in a downtown Minneapolis high-rise and now plans to buy the apartment she and her husband rented.

Raised among deer and bears in northern Minnesota, Stacy Brooks never imagined she would enjoy high-rise living, but she consented to a year-long experiment in downtown Minneapolis to fulfill her husband’s dream of skyline vistas. The couple split their time between their suburban townhome and a rented 19th-floor apartment, gradually trading forest trails for a ten-minute walk to grocery stores, a farmers market, and cultural sites such as the orchestra hall and baseball stadium.

The building’s resident mix—mostly empty-nesters and child-free couples—offered book clubs, holiday parties and even an adult prom, fostering friendships that shifted Brooks’s perception of city life. After learning the landlord intended to sell the unit, they made an offer and are now completing the purchase, planning to put their suburban property on the market. Brooks acknowledges she will miss the park reserves but looks forward to the convenience, community and vibrant public spaces of permanent downtown living.